We arrived into
Israel in the morning to start our Pilgrimage.
After arriving we were blessed to start our trip by visiting the city
that saw the birth of Christ. The tour
guide reminded us as we entered the town of Bethlehem of the meaning of its
name: "House of Bread." How
beautiful our Christian faith is, Jesus Christ was born and later proclaims,
even now, "I am the bread of life."
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| Door of Humility |
Today, I had the
opportunity with half of the seminarians (the other half will do the same in a
few days) to visit the birth place of Christ at the Church of the
Nativity.
The Church is shared with
three Christian Traditions: Roman Catholics led by the Franciscans, the Greek
Orthodox, and the Armenian Orthodox.
To
enter the church leading to the Grotto (the place where Christ was born) you
have to bow your head!
It's just like in
the Mass, when we bow our heads during the Creed, a slight bow acknowledging
the Incarnation of God: "
and by the
Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man."
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| Mass at the Manger Grotto |
Love always has
the ability to capture.
And to say that
I was captured by the Mass in the cave in which Christ was born is an
understatement.
During the Mass, I was
pushed back into a cove area because we were squeezing into a very small area
with 20 men.
I later found out that
where I was standing was precisely the cove where the manger was in which
Christ was laid.
I couldn't help but
lift up a prayer to all the families I have encountered, for this is the place
where the Holy Family began and resided.
Please be assured of our prayers.
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| Venerating the Place Where Jesus was Born |
The Pilgrimage is just beginning, yet I
believe that one of the most powerful moments of this trip will be when I was
able to receive Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, in the town named "house
of bread," the place he was born.
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| After Mass |
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