A special journey to Jerusalem

Sr Mary Camilleri

    My Visit to the Holy Land March 1st to 20th 2010

I started my journey with Patricia Solis, one of our Sion Associates, the night before on Saturday February the 28th and arrived at Tel Aviv airport early on Monday morning March the 1st. One of the Religious Brothers of Sion, Reinaldo, came to meet us and drove us to our countryside convent at Ein Karem, a delightful place surrounded by hills. Sister Rose Theresa, a Maltese sister who livs in Jeurusalem, came to see me in the evening and took me to visit the Brothers of Sion, whose house is on the same site, in the garden grounds. I knew these brothers, Edenildo, Reinaldo and Jose Maria, because they came to our house in London to study English recently. They are all Brazilians.

My pilgrimage started on the following day, Tuesday 2nd March. In the morning, Edenildo took me to visit the tomb of Fr Marie Alphonse Ratisbonne, one of our founders. There are many of our sisters buried in that same cemetery which is beautifully kept and situated in the most attractive spot.  In the afternoon Sr. Carmen Farrugia, another Maltese sister, took me to visit John the Baptist Church, which is built on the site where John was born, it is very beautiful. From there we walked up hill, and many steps to the church of the Visitation, which is built on three levels, a very impressive site. We heard Mass in French in that church. Remember all this is at Ein Karem, where Our Lady would have lived and walked up hill to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  On the way there, there is a water spring flowing out of the rocks, called ‘Mary’s spring’. It is possible that Our Lady would have fetched water from that spring. The scenery and views in that place are magnificent. Carmen and I enjoyed our afternoon together very much and when we got down again she treated me to a delicious pistachio ice cream to mark the end of a perfect day.

March 3rd was a very cold and windy day. In the afternoon I went to Jerusalem with Sr. Colette and Edenildo to buy some things needed for his ordination, which was to take place on the 13th. March. We first stopped at Ratisbonne Centre, the Brothers Study House and parked the car there. After the shopping we went back to Ratisbonne and had tea with the brothers. They are all Brazilians, a very nice group of young men! Afterwards we returned to Ein Karem. I was glad to get back home, because it was so cold that evening. As I had a couple of hours free I took the opportunity to decorate a small cake, which I took over with me for Edenildo’s ordination. I put a chalice, some wheat and grapes, which I made out of marzipan. It was very simple and attractive!

March 4th. I moved to Beith Ruth in Jerusalem, where Sr. Rose Theresa lived. She came for me in the afternoon and took me to visit three of the Holy sites, the Cenacle where Jesus celebrated the last supper, the Church of the Dormition, where Our Lady died (or went to sleep) and to Peter in Gallicantu, marking the site where Peter denied that he knew Jesus just before the Passion, then the cock crew and Peter remembered Jesus words: ‘Before the cock crows you will have denied me three times!’ In every place we went to, there were pilgrims from all over the world visiting, in silence and with great devotion. The Bible comes alive in these places.

March 5th. Friday. In the morning, Sr. R. Theresa took me to Bethlehem to visit the grotto where Jesus was born and the Shepherds’ field where the Angels appeared to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. Beautiful Churches and Basilicas are built on all these sites. In the afternoon, Patricia came and took me to visit the Holy Sepulchre, the burial place of Jesus. This is an enormous place shared by the Latin Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Coptics, Armenians, Syrians and Ethiopians. Opposite most of the Holy places there are also the Muslims’ Minarets, where the Muslims worship. In the evening I visited the Western Wall where most Jewish people gather on Friday evening to pray by this wall at the beginning of the Sabbath. This wall is what was left after the destruction of the Temple. It was a very impressive sight to see all these thousands of Jews praying and chanting together by this wall. Men were separated from the women!! There was a very happy atmosphere there. Afterwards Patricia took me to our ‘Ecce Homo’ Convent on the Via Dolorosa to spend the evening with the Sisters there. I had a very pleasant evening with them at the top of the house, which they call St. Mary’s. The outside view of Jerusalem at night from up there, all lit up was just like fairyland! When we finished the meal, two sisters took me back to the ‘Beith Ruth’ house where I was staying for the week.

March 6th.  A very hot day! Sr. R. Theresa took me to the Mount of Olives. On the way there she pointed out to me the desert from Mount Scopus, so we stopped to look at that tremendous view. Then we went to the ‘Pater Noster’ church, where Jesus taught the prayer of the ‘Our Father’ to his disciples. On the walls there were tiled plaques with the ‘Our Father’ written on them in different languages including Maltese and English. Next we visited the Church of the Ascension and onto Bethphage, where the Palm Sunday procession took place. In the evening I went to Mass with Sr. Rose Theresa at the Notre Dame Church, very beautiful and a very large building.

March 7th. Sunday. I made a trip to Galilee with the Brothers of Sion.
Again it was a gorgeous sunny day, we started off at 7.00am because it was a long journey. We arrived at Mount Tabor first, the Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus, a very majestic church. By this time we were ready for a drink, so we had a few sandwiches and a drink in the car park up there. Next we visited the River Jordan where Jesus was baptised and sat there by the river for a while. Then we drove towards Tabgha, Peter’s Primacy Church and to Caphernaum Peter’s house. A very modern looking church is built on his house. We also, visited the ruins of the Synagogue close by. Round the corner from there we ate ‘Peter’s fish’ for lunch by the Sea of Galilee.  After lunch we drove off to the Mount of Beatitudes, very beautiful Church and scenery all round. Finally, we drove off to Nazareth and visited the Basilica of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s house. At 5.30pm we started our journey back home and made it in two hours. We were exhausted, but very happy with the day’s excursion. The brothers dropped me at Beith Ruth and they continued their journey to Ein Karem. I enjoyed my day with the brothers very much. They had great patience with me, so did Sr. Rose Theresa, Sr. Carmen and Patricia when they took me out. Everybody tried to help me understand the historical background of the various places.

March 8th.  Monday, Patricia came for me at about 10 am and we went together to visit St Anne’s church on the Via Dolorosa, Our Lady’s birthplace, a delightful place and as usual there were many pilgrims there. Then we went to our Ecce Homo Convent close by and visited the Lithosthrotos, the place where Jesus was kept prisoner before his passion, near to where he was scourged and crowned with thorns. On the stone floor, there are the marks of the games the soldiers played when they cast lots for Jesus garments, a very impressive site. Afterwards we went up to the terrace of the house to look at the view of Jerusalem from up high in daylight. In the afternoon, I went to the Old City market to buy two puffs with Sister R. Theresa to bring home with me for our Community room. As we were near the Holy Sepulchre we went in for Mass, which was in Italian.

March 9th.  I visited Gethsemane with Sr. R. Theresa. I saw the garden of Olive Trees where Jesus used to go with his disciples and the church of the Agony. In front of the high altar, there is a large rock on the floor where Jesus prayed during his agony. When we got there an English Mass was starting, all the people were standing around the stone of the agony. There was a very prayerful and meditative atmosphere in that church. Close by there was the Chapel where the disciples were sleeping during Jesus’ agony. There were many pilgrims venerating those holy places. Opposite Gethsemane there is the Valley of Josephat, where, according to tradition, we are all to meet at our resurrection on the last day! We also visited Our Lady’s tomb in the same area. In the evening we went to Mass at the Jesuits church nearer home and went out for a meal at the Notre Dame restaurant afterwards. It made a very nice ending to a full day.

March 10th. Wednesday. I spent that day resting and doing a few things for myself as on the following day I was to return to Ein Karem to be present for Br. Edenildo’s ordination, which was to take place on the Saturday. It was a very hot day again, I only went out to the 12.00.noon Mass, which was in French and rested in the afternoon.

March 11th. In the morning I packed my suitcase and after lunch, Sr. R. Theresa drove me to Ein Karem. When I got there I met Edenildo’s family and friends who came over from Brazil especially for the ordination, a lovely group of people. However, we were unable to communicate with each other because neither of us knew each other’s language. Edenildo was our interpreter!

March 12th. The eve of the ordination, everybody was looking forward to the great day, as this was the first time that an ordination was taking place in a house of Sion. The Brothers were busy organising everything, booklets for the service, which was in French, Latin and Portuguese, vestments for all the priests who were going to concelebrate with the Patriarch, those had to be borrowed and so on. In the afternoon we had a choir practice for the hymns with Reinaldo, who played the guitar and Marina played the little organ. The Contemplative sisters were responsible for the singing one of them played the flute. There are six of them at Ein Karem, a delightful group of sisters. They were also responsible for the exquisite flower arrangements in the Chapel.

March 13th. This was Br Edenildo’s Ordination Day, a very important day. In the morning everybody was busy with the preparations. There were more singing rehearsals in the chapel, for the service, we set seventy places at the tables ready for the meal after the ordination, all in green and gold colours. Somebody prepared very delicate flower posies for the Tables. It all looked very attractive for the occasion. Edenildo seemed very calm, on the outside at least. The Ordination service itself started at 5.00pm. Everything went off very well, there were twenty priests on the altar con celebrating at the Mass with the Patriarch. It was all very beautiful and dignified. The moment of the actual ordination took place after the Gospel. Afterwards Edenildo took his place on the altar next to the Patriarch who ordained him. I was very privileged to be asked to take up the stole to him, his mother carried the chasuble and his sister took up his chalice. When the Ordination service finished everybody went to the dining room for a delicious meal prepared by Elias, the cook. Everybody was delighted that everything went off well for Fr. Edenildo on his Ordination Day, a very special day for him.

March 14th.  Sunday, Edenildo said his first Mass in the Contemplative's’ Chapel. There were eight priests con celebrating with him, Fr. Jose Maria assisted him throughout the Mass.  At the end of the Mass we all went up to kiss his hands. Afterwards, the sisters invited us for refreshments in their very pretty garden and enjoyed a very pleasant hour together there. The weather was gorgeous, but in the afternoon it began to change. Lots of dust started to rise from the desert into the atmosphere, it was not pleasant at all. We took it easy for the rest of the day. I wrote some cards and emails in the afternoon.

Monday March 15th was the start of my last week in Israel. There was much more to see and visit. So in the morning Carmen took me to visit ‘Yad-Vashem’ a Jewish Museum dedicated to the Holocaust Memorial. It is a very well set up exhibition. Carmen and I spent a great deal of time looking at photographs and objects, which were found after the Holocaust. Each photo and each object told some horrific story. It is a most sacred memory to all those who have been exterminated by the Nazis. In the evening, Carmen took Patricia and I to a Christian/Jewish Relations meeting. We had a snack to eat out before the meeting. It was a very cold evening and we had to take two buses to get there. Going back home we took a bus half way and a taxi for the second half of the journey, because we were getting very chilled waiting for the bus. Thank God I had some Brandy with me, I took some in hot water to warm me up when I got back.

March 16th.  I rested most of the day, as I was very tired and I had another excursion with Sr. R. Theresa and Patricia to look forward to on the following day, so I had to save my energy for climbing up and down steps!

Wednesday March 17th.  Patricia and I were fetched at 8.20am.  We went to the Red Sea with Sr. R. Theresa. It was quite a long journey, on the way there we passed through the Judean Hills, beautiful views, and we could see Jericho plain in the distance. When we arrived at the old city of Jericho, the oldest city in the world, we went up the Mount of Temptations first. We took the cable car for the first part of the journey then we climbed up 120 steps to reach the Armenian Monastery at the top. There are several hermitages up there. We saw the caves in the rocks where the hermits use to stay in the past, now there are better rooms built for them. We saw the rock where Jesus was praying when he was first tempted by the devil. There is a magnificent view from the top of those hills. I took various pictures from up there to keep as a memory. When we walked down the 120 steps again we stopped for an ice cream and a rest. Then we took the cable car down again and got back into the car. Next Rose Theresa drove us to see a newly built Rumanian Church, it had the most attractive icons painted all over the walls inside the Church which were very beautiful and colourful. From there we went on to visit Zaccheus tree, it was enormous. There I was persuaded to buy a necklace by a man who was trying to make some business. Then we drove along the coast quite a few miles towards the Dead Sea. As we travelled along the coast, we could see the Moab Hills on the other side. Exquisite views everywhere. We had lunch in a restaurant at the Dead Sea, but as there were lots of people there, we didn’t go down to the water. Then we drove to the Jordan River to see the exact place where Jesus was baptised, but we were not able to go right there, as the Army took it over and closed that area to visitors. We passed through Ein Gedi and saw the Qumran Hills in the distance. Finally we arrived at a Greek Monastery, it was the Church of St Gerasimus and it was his feast that day. There was also a funeral of one of the monks on that day. It was a very decorated church in a typically Greek way. After that we started our journey back and arrived home by 6pm. First we stopped at Beit Ruth to say goodbye to the sisters there, then Sr. Rose Theresa, very kindly, drove Patricia and I  back to Ein Karem.

Thursday 18th March. I spent the day getting things ready for the journey back to London, doing my washing and some of the packing.

Friday 19th March. I got up for the 7.15 am Mass, then I spent the morning moving myself to another room because there was a group coming and my room was needed.  I did most of my packing and in the evening I went to the Contemplative's to say goodbye to them. They gave me a jar of home made marmalade to bring home with me. They were very sweet. At about 8.00pm we had a little party in the Community room to say a proper goodbye to each other.

Saturday March 20th.  My return journey to London. Brother Reinaldo, very kindly, drove me all the way to the airport at about 1.00pm. He stayed with me until I checked in to make sure I had no problems, then we said goodbye. I had a good journey back to London after an hour’s delay on the plane. My brother Jack was waiting for me at Heathrow airport and was back home by 10.30pm. Some of the sisters were waiting up to see me, so we had a cup of tea and a chat together, then I went up to my room. Thank God everything ended well and I was back home safely. It was a wonderful experience to have had the opportunity to visit the Holy Land and to be present at Edenildo’s Ordination.  My very grateful thanks to each sister and brother who took a great deal of trouble to make my visit a memorable one. Last and not least very special thanks to Patricia who looked after me so well, especially on the flight there!