“Lord, Teach Us How to Pray..."

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Today we found ourselves on top of the Mount of Olives, ultimately following the path of Jesus in the days leading up to Holy Week.  We began at the church in Bethphage, not far from the town where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived.  It was here that Jesus mounted the colt that would take Him through the Beautiful Gate into the City of Jerusalem and the drama of the Passion.  It was a beautiful morning and, near the peak of the Mount of Olives, we could see much of the surrounding countryside, truly a beautiful site to behold!

From there we proceeded down to the Pater Noster church, the site where Christ taught His disciples to pray the Our Father.  Attached to a French Carmelite convent, the church is designed to reflect the great gift Christ gave us in the Our Father: we are called to be true children of God and, by this, truly brothers and sisters.  The universal nature of this gift is reflected in the Our Father being written in 168 languages throughout the church.  We were all able to wander through the church and find the various translations that reflected our own cultures and backgrounds before gathering once more and traveling even further down the Mount of Olives.

Group picture after Mass at Dominus Flevit

As we entered the courtyard of the next church the Old City of Jerusalem came into full view, bathed in the morning sunlight.  It was fitting, then, that the church we found ourselves at is called Dominus Flevit, the site where Jesus wept over the future destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.  It was here that we had Mass as a community.  Having just visited the Pater Noster church, it was beautiful to reflect on the reality that we are all sons and daughters of God, and so the Lord is overwhelmed by His love and desire for us to be in relationship with Him and to be holy that He would weep over us as He did over Jerusalem.  With this is our call to live as sons and daughters of God, to be servants of peace and holiness, leading others to the Father’s love.

After a brief stop at the bottom of the Mount of Olives to see the Garden of Gethsemane once more, we returned to where we’re staying for a celebration of our time here together along with the March birthdays and the feasts of St. Joseph and St. Patrick.  It was a great chance for fraternity and fun as we come to the middle of our last week here.  Know of our continued prayers for you all as we travel through these last few days and prepare to return home!