Holy Land pilgrimage: Day Three

Colin and Fleur Brennan at Church of the Holy Sepulchre today

The torrential rain and thunder continued last night and this morning - but this did not stop our intrepid group of pilgrims from continuing on our program - armed with umbrellas and some fluorescent pink plastic ponchos.

Our morning in Jerusalem began with Mass at the Church of St Anne on the site of the house where the parents of Our Lady lived. A cave under the church is said to be the place where she was born. Fr Charles was the main celebrant. Deacon Patrick gave a very thoughtful homily ( see: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46951 )

From here we walked the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa - sheltering in shops doorways together with pilgrims from many other countries. This is a route that has been followed by pilgrims for many centuries. In the past it would have taken many months to reach here from somewhere like London - so a couple of hours in the rain wasn't so hard. Our destination - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - contains two of the most sacred Christian sites - the place where Jesus was crucified and the empty tomb where he was buried and resurrected. Founded by the Emperor Constantine, the church was consecrated in 335, demolished and rebuilt several times. Read more here: https://custodia.org/en/sanctuaries/basilica-holy-sepulchre

This evening we were visited by Fr Mamdouh Abusada, director of the School of Joy, the first school in Bethlehem for children with learning difficulties. Before the school was established there were no facilities for these children . They sometimes ended up neglected or abandoned. At the School the children get support and training and most importantly - lots of love - to enable them to discover their full potential and live their lives fully. Read more about the School here: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/school-of-joy

Tomorrow we are setting off for the Judean Wilderness. After Mass in Jericho - the oldest inhabited city in the world and a visit to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, we're going to the Dead Sea - where some of us plan to float and get covered in rejuvenating mud...