Fr. German’s Message
As I promised you in the last 2 weeks’
bulletins, I will continue to describe my pilgrimage following in the footpaths
of Jesus.
On the fourth day we were in Jerusalem
to accompany Jesus on His ascent to Golgotha.
During Lent and Holy Week it is
important to remember that the Passion and the Crucifixion of Jesus are two
historical events experienced by a man who passed through Jerusalem a little
more than 2000 years ago. We are preparing to celebrate historical events and
not a child’s tale.
We started the day at the peak of the
Mount of Olives where tradition commemorates the teaching of the Lord’s Prayer.
Then we descended downhill, passing the Church of Dominus Flevit (The Lord
cried), which commemorates the moment when Jesus wept as He looked upon
Jerusalem. We terminated our descent in the chapel of the Agony where we
celebrated Mass. In this Church, I thought and prayed for the members of our
community who are living through difficult times. I thought of the families and
the couples that are undergoing communication, health, or economic hardships. I
thought of the elderly and all who suffer loneliness. The agony of Jesus
reminds us also of the disciples who sleep and are not capable of watching with
the Lord. I thought also of all our difficulties in praying and following
Christ. I prayed for all of us, that we be faithful to the Gospel, above all in
difficult and weary times.
We continued the day with the visit to
Santa Ana, a historical site, with archeological excavations that show us the
probable pool where Jesus cured a
paralytic one Sabbath day and the place
considered to be the Home of
Mary. From Santa Ana we went to San Pedro in Galicanto (The rooster
sings) or Caifas’ palace where Peter denied Jesus three times. We stopped at
the Cenacle. The Last Supper took place in this hall and it was there where the
disciples gathered with Mary and received the Holy Spirit. The Birth of the
Church is commemorated there and there is a sculpture of three pelicans, the
same one which we have in the Tabernacle in St. Sebastian. We explained the presence of three pelicans
in the Cenacle and in the Tabernacle of St. Sebastian. The pelican wounds
itself to save its little ones when it has nothing to feed them. This reminds
us that Christ gives His blood for us. There are three. to remind us of the
Trinity.
We finished the visits in the Church of
the Dormition of Mary. How emotional when we sang a Magnificat in front of a
magnificent mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The community of St. Sebastian was
present once more in my pilgrimage.
The day came to an end with a conference
from the Assistant to the General Consul from France in Jerusalem who has the
function of Assistant to the Ambassador in Palestine.
He spoke passionately and with conviction
of the difficulties that still exist for the creation of the State of
Palestine. We discussed the shame that the wall constructed by Israel
represents. It helped us understand the difficulty of dialogue with Israel
posed to the international community when it comes to the creation of the State
of Palestine. He shared with us his hopes and his innumerable questions with
regard to peace in that part of the world so beloved by
the Jews, Muslims and Christians.
The last day of our pilgrimage began in
the Basilica of the Resurrection. Once again we entered the empty tomb and were
lucky since in the morning there are not as many people as there are during the
day. We celebrated Mass in the chapel of the crusades and then visited Golgotha
and the place where St. Helen (the mother of Emperor Constantine) discovered
the cross of Jesus and of the two men crucified with Him.
The empty tomb is an impressive place.
We had to disregard the crowd and the surrounding building in order to
recollect our thoughts and enter the place where the body of Jesus was three
days before the Resurrection. The darkness of the tomb and the noise of the
crowd outside reminded us of the shadows of death in which each of us is alone
in spite of the noise of the crowds surrounding us. I prayed for the families
who have lost a child, a teen, or parents. I prayed that the light of the
Resurrection illumine our obscurities and that the noise of society not prevent
us from discovering the essentials of our existence.
Sunday afternoon I visited, despite the
rain, the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem.
On Monday, I took the plane for my
flight back, having visited the ruins of the city of Maritime Caesarea .We
talked about St. Paul who was imprisoned a few months in this city before going
to Rome. I prayed to the Lord that He grant wisdom and strength for Christians
to live and proclaim the Gospel.
I
hope that this pilgrimage, in which you were present in my prayers, will bring
fruitfulness to our community and enlighten us to follow Christ towards the
Resurrection in this time of Lent
Have a great week.
Fr. Germán March 19th
/20th. 2011