Reflection by: Ben Liow
Chronicles of a pilgrim – Day 11 – Jerusalem
#sequelachristi2022
Today was what you might call the climax of our pilgrimage. It was to be a long day ahead, packed full of sights, smells, sounds, emotions and mostly retracing the passion of Christ.
We started the morning by walking the Via Dolorosa, going through the 14 stations of the cross that Christ had undergone. Walking the route, I could not imagine the brutal pain and suffering that Jesus went through even before he was crucified. Having been flogged and a crown of thorns put on his head, Jesus would have already been bleeding profusely and suffering from terrible wounds. Interiorly, he had also been humiliated and jeered by throngs of soldiers eager to mock this self-proclaimed “Son of God” who could not even help or save himself.
As we continued to the different stations, there was a noticeable ascent in the gradient of the slope, and it became steeper and steeper. I remember thinking to myself that it was no wonder Christ fell three times, such as the physical demands of the route, the heaviness of the cross, and his physical wounds. What would Jesus have been thinking of or feeling as he carried his cross to where he was to be crucified? Was he thinking of you and me? Was he, the one who existed even before time and space existed, he who is all-knowing and all-powerful, looking upon you and me in love? Seeing our sins, faults, and weaknesses, and loving us so much that he knew he had to die on the cross in order that we may be saved? I recalled Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, that God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Perhaps on the road to Calvary, Jesus saw each person in the world, existing in the past and future, saw their sins, and precisely because of their sins, knowing that He had to fulfill the mission given to Him by the Father.
Reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we climbed the stairs to visit Mount Golgotha, the exact spot where Jesus Christ was crucified. We were able to place our hands in the hole where his cross was placed and to look into an icon of him as we said a short prayer. I thanked the Lord for his deep, deep love for us; that he was willing to undergo such trial, desolation, and suffering, in order that we may be saved. My heart was wrenched when I saw a mosaic of Christ hanging on the cross, with his face contorted with despair and grief, and I could not help but think that it was my sins that had nailed Him to the cross. The gravity of sin came home to me, and each time I chose to turn away from God, it was akin to hammering a nail into the feet of Jesus. However, I was reminded even more of the result of his crucifixion; that by his death, he has conquered death and enabled us to be reconciled with the Father through the sacrament of reconciliation. Deep gratitude filled my heart that because of what Jesus had gone through, we are now able to (undeservedly) be in constant union with God.
We later visited the Mount of Olives where we had Mass overlooking Jerusalem, and we proceeded to the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. It was here that Jesus agonized in the garden about his impending passion, and he was in such deep grief and sadness that he prayed that the cup would pass from him; yet not his will but the Father’s will be done. In Jesus we see total obedience to the Father’s will, not understanding the difficulty of the situation he was in, and yet totally surrendering to the Father. His cry to the sleeping disciples, “could you not stay awake one hour with me”, reverberated as a cry to us Catholics in this modern age; could we not spend time in prayer with the Lord every day? Could we not stay awake in our faith, accompanying him?
Finally, we ended the day with a visit to the Franciscan Custody in the Holy Land where we met a Singaporean Friar who had been working there for close to 30 years. He shared about the work of the friars in the Holy Land, which was essentially protecting and upkeep holy sites, welcoming pilgrims, and providing education, and social work. It was inspiring that he had come through many difficulties in his time in Israel, but despite these difficulties, still stayed on and was also obedient to God and his superiors in the Order.
Tomb of David (Mount Zion)
The Tomb of King David is a building on Mount Zion. It is a memorial to King David, but not his actual burial site.
Last Supper Room + Pentecost (Cenacle)
History: The site of the Cenacle was also the first holy place the Franciscans obtained, bought in 1335 through the efforts of King Robert and Queen Sancia of Naples, “after difficult negotiations and huge expenses”.
The structures around the “upper room” are in fact remnants of the Franciscan medieval friary.
Over the centuries the buildings the Franciscans constructed were frequently destroyed and friars were ill-treated and even killed.
Verifying authenticity: The Cenacle is not universally accepted as the site of the “upper room” mentioned in Mark 14:15 and Luke 22:12.
But archaeological research shows it is constructed on top of a church synagogue built by the first-century Jewish-Christian community of Jerusalem. Fragments of plaster have been found with Greek graffiti, one of which has been interpreted as containing the name of Jesus. This would have been the first Christian church.
The only competing site is the Syrian Orthodox Church of St Mark (also on Mt Zion), which also claims to possess the “upper room”.
Last supper: Luke 22, Mark 14
Pentecost: Acts 2
Dormition Abbey Church in Mount Zion
Mass @ Dormition Abbey
The hill of Mount Zion, the highest point in ancient Jerusalem, is dominated by the Church of the Dormition. The location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died — or “fell asleep”, as the name suggests.
The fortress-like building, with a conical roof and four corner towers, stands south of the Old City’s Zion Gate. Nearby soars the bell tower of the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey (formerly the Abbey of the Dormition), a Benedictine monastery.
During the Byzantine period, the Church of Hagia Sion (Holy Zion), one of the three earliest churches in Jerusalem, stood on this site. Built by Emperor Constantine, it was regarded as the Mother of all Churches. In AD 614 it was destroyed by the Persians.
Abu Gosh
See the Emmaus of the Crusaders, one of the most beautiful Crusaders’ Churches in the Holy Land.