THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD - CHRISTMAS
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| Bethlehem |
Bethlehem was one of those places you've heard about all your life and you just can not believe you are actually there!
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| Manger Square |
When the bus parked and we headed up the street and around the corner, everyone was so excited! It was hard not to be a "tourist" walking across
Manger Square! Thinking about all the times I've seen this place, full of Christmas pilgrims with candles on tv....it's just amazing to actually be standing there!
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| The Basilica of the Nativity |
The plaza directly in front of the Church of the Nativity was full of pilgrims and cars. It didn't look like a church at all, and I found out that the great wall in the photo above is actually the wall of a convent. In fact, the Church of the Nativity complex has three convents: the Armenian Convent, the Greek Orthodox Convent and the Franciscan Convent. And, there is a Coptic Orthodox Convent right next door!
Walking up to the
Door of Humility was a bit confusing. I thought we were going into the church through some back way or something, surely this wasn't the main door?
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| The Door of Humility |
Our Palestinian-Christian Guide Ramsey (another story for another time) explained that the door was once very tall (see the large rectangle), but was reduced in size twice (see the medium sized pointy arch) to prevent marauders from looting the church (also works pretty good to keep out camels and crusaders on horses! LOL!). They call it the Door of Humility because now all men must bow to enter. Seems pretty appropriate considering what is inside.
When I bowed to enter, it was dark inside and my eyes didn't really have time to adjust to the light quickly enough to see where I was going. People were coming in behind me and I was stumbling in the unexpected darkness. But in a perfect metaphor, there was Fr. T reaching out to take my hand and help me through the darkness and out into the light!
Here Fr. T is helping D into the light, maybe the flash from my camera helped!
When I entered the
Church of the Nativity, I was in awe. It was HUGE! It had a very high ceiling and many, large, very old pillars on the sides. There was light coming in from windows high up by the roof which lit the main part of the room, but under the lower roofs behind the pillars was dark.
Ramsey continued to enlighten us: this is the oldest, continually operating Christian Church on the planet! Wow.
It was considered a Holy Place from way back, the earliest reference to it was in the year 160!! Holy Cow! Constantine and his mother St. Helen built the first church, but it was fought over multiple times. They say it escaped destruction during the Persian Invasion because they found a mosaic with one of the Three Magi, the one from Persia, inside the church. So since their own ancestors were connected to the church, they spared the building and didn't destroy it. Divine providence? I think so!
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| Nave of the Church of the Nativity |
The long, central section of the room (called the nave) was nearly empty as all the pilgrims were in a huge, long line which was about 15 people thick and almost as long as a football field. That was a bit disheartening at first, but we all got in line. It was one of those times where your heart sinks at first and you think "Oh no, look at that line!" but immediately you knew that you'd stand in a line 10 times that long!!! ...it's the sacred spot where Jesus was born! Oh yeah, it didn't matter how long that line was and we all got in it. No one said a single word.
While we were in the line Ramsey told us more about the ancient building. Mosaics used to line the walls, but they are mostly gone now, a result of early pilgrims taking home souvenirs. Some of the mosaics can still be seen very high up the wall.
The pillars, left from Constantine's original church, were originally covered with Crusader paintings of Mary and the Saints, but have been rubbed off from so many people touching them over the years, plus the lighting makes it very hard to see them. I mean, come on, that paint is nearly 1700 years old!
There was a place in the middle of the nave where it looked like they were doing some construction, but Ramsey explained that it was a trapdoor where you could see the original Crusader mosaic floor! My gosh, just think of the millions of pilgrims who have walked on those tiles! We took turns going out into the nave to see it, just a few at a time so that our group wouldn't loose our place in line.
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| Some of the original floor from the original Crusader Church |
The Church of the Nativity is still an active church with a parish. As we stood there, people began to arrive and go up to an altar at the front of the nave and we were informed that they were about to have a funeral. There was no body or casket, only a photo, so maybe it was a memorial? In any case the "guards" or priests or monks or whatever they were asked us all to be quiet, which made perfect sense and we were all happy to comply.
Now in (almost) all the other sites during our trip, the other pilgrims were happy and friendly even when we couldn't speak their language. People were patient and kind and smiled at each other. But here we encountered problems with a very rude group directly behind us in line. They were from Spain or Italy and just continued to chatter and make noise. People from our group tried to make them understand, thinking it was a language thing, that they didn't understand, but no - they just didn't care. They continued to talk, in fact their guide actually got louder if you ask me. Then people from our group began to get mad, and Di actually had words with some of them. She got so upset she left the line and didn't return until we were nearly to the entrance to the grotto. I felt extremely stressed out and could feel my face burning and my chest tightening. The crowd seemed to push closer together and it was dark and the air was a bit stagnant and warm and even though I don't suffer from claustrophobia, I had a pretty good anxiety attack in the middle of it all. Ugh.
So looking at the map below, we entered at 1. and then got in line between the two rows of columns passing by 2. It was a relief to reach the first door which narrowed our groups down into lines only one or two people thick at the end of the columns.
We were in a side chamber that was directly beside the altar where the funeral had been taking place, but was long over by now. We were able to purchase prayer candles here, which I did. I got one specifically for my granddaughter Anabelle who will be baptized when I return home.
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| Thick, long line of Pilgrims waiting to enter the Grotto of the Nativity |
Catholics pray for each other and themselves, for their family, friends and strangers both alive and dead. We light candles for our special intentions, usually in front of an altar or statue where we are adoring, giving thanks or requesting a petition. Almost every sacred site had some kind of prayer candles you could light and leave to burn as your prayers lingered in the holy place.
This area also had some beautifully ornate and venerated things in it.
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| Altar of the Circumcision |
I didn't figure it out until I returned home but this was the Altar of the Circumcision which is from the Greek Orthodox Church.
I can't find any information on this gorgeous artwork of the Madonna and Baby Jesus, but it is full of jewelry. I don't know if pilgrims leave the necklaces and bracelets behind, but the bottom of the frame is full of such items!
After lighting my candle and saying a quick prayer, the line continued on to a set of semi-circle stairs going down into the Grotto of the Nativity. (you can see on the map, just past 4.)
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| Entrance into the Grotto of the Nativity, Bethlehem |
The doorway leading into the Grotto had a very bright, white light over it which radiated an unbelievable amount of heat. It was HUGE! It glowed! It was so hot! So bright! So blindingly BRIGHT!!
It was so tight right there, with the press of people, that I couldn't see my feet. Everyone was forced to hang onto each other to keep from falling forward down the stairs. We were funneled down the circular staircase, under the hot light and into single file onto another set of stairs. The group behind me (I was the last one in line from my tour group) were pressing against me and I had to hang onto the wall to keep from falling onto the people in front of me.
The walls were draped completely with very lavish, heavy material with embroidery and tassels and there were lamps hanging in odd places. There was absolutely no air movement here at all. I couldn't see around the corner of the walls to see what was ahead. It was very dark in this room after the brightness of that incredible light. It was very hot and humid in there and it was the middle of November...I can't imagine what it is like here in the summer!
So until I was at the bottom of this stairway, I couldn't see anything except the dark draped walls.
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| The Altar in the Grotto of the Nativity |
When I finally entered the small
Grotto of the Nativity, the altar was to the right at the bottom of the stairs.
When my turn came, it was all a blur! The sacred spot where Jesus was born, where he entered into human life outside the safety of Mary's body, the spot where our salvation began. And it was happening too fast!
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| The venerated spot of Christ's birth |
The sacred silver star marking his birth was under a heavily draped altar and it was very, very dark under there. Pilgrims must get down on their hands and knees and crawl to the spot. I reached out to touch it and my hand felt nothing....it was a hole! I was so surprised, I jerked my hand back! I have no idea how deep it was, but I inched up to it and kissed the silver star. The most heavenly smell came from the hole, it immediately reminded me of the baptismal oil they put on the babies, that heavy, sweet-musky smell. It smells holy.
Mom was there with me and we both laid our candles and the small Christmas ornaments and necklaces we had purchased earlier on the sacred star and said a quick prayer - I can't remember what I said - something along the lines of bless these objects and my family whom these gifts are for - and the man was pulling at us wanting us to move on.
The next thing I knew, I was standing back looking at the next pilgrims climbing under the altar. It was over.
But no, Di pulled my arm and I turned and there was another, confusing, heavily-draped alcove...she said it is the manger where they laid Jesus. We went into a very small little chamber and there was a golden gate with a space behind it. I realized later from pictures on the internet that there is normally a statue of Baby Jesus lying there.
Again, I said a prayer quickly for my family and had to move on. Our group was actually leaving and we were taken quickly up another flight of stairs and out of the church.
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| Mosque of Omar, Bethlehem, Israel |
In the Church I had felt stressed and anxious.
In the Grotto I felt rushed and confused.
Afterwards, as I looked at the sunset over the Mosque of Omar, I felt strangely happy and content.
* When I got home I was still confused about the holy birth-site and was trying to rectify it in my brain. I looked up the church on the internet and saw this picture that helped me make sense of it:
But just look. No wonder it didn't feel like a "manger" to me, even though I've known for several years it was a cave, not a barn. No wonder I couldn't find any reference point for my mind to make any sense of. Everything is so covered up. See, look how dark it is under that altar where the silver star that marks the site is (far left).
All the lavish and elaborate material, the ornate lamps, the dark corners and heavy air...and when I was there it was elbow-to-elbow full of people too.
No wonder I couldn't connect with this site.
And if you look over the top of the altar on the left, you can barely make out that there is rock there!! Part of the original cave!!! I didn't see that when I was there!
You can't really blame people for trying to venerate the spot with the lavish attempts to show Christ love and devotion with all of the decorative embellishments. But at the time, it was very confusing and overwhelming to me. Now, looking at this picture, I feel a sense of understanding and relief.
Dear God, Bless the Keepers of this Holy Place. Bless their attempts. Bless them for trying. For trying in our infinitesimally small, unworthy, earthly, human way to give this place the honor it deserves. God Bless anyone who trys to give you the Glory Lord. Amen.
** Thinking back on the entire experience, it's a lot like Christmas morning.
The waiting, the stress, the anxious thoughts, the planning, the crowds, the anticipation, the hopefulness, the busyness, the preparation - and then it's over in a blur.
Just like I know that in the hustle and bustle of what Christmas has become in our modern times, Jesus is there. The true meaning of Christmas is there, whether we can grasp it or not. Whether we make a connection or not. In all the noise and confusion and outside interference, Jesus still comes. It's hard to keep focused on that fact in today's world. Just like it was hard to stay focused and try to make a spiritual connection with Baby Jesus in his birthplace.
Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the opportunity to visit this very special place. Please help me to make my Christmas Season a more holy celebration of your son's birth. Give me the grace to make my Christmas more spiritual and less commercial. Never let me forget that I must work to stay focused so that your son, Jesus, does not get lost in my Christmas rush. Amen.
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| My rendition of the holy spot of Christ's birth. |
2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 7
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