Our first stop was in Abu Ghosh to see the Benedictine Monastery. Abu Ghosh is one of at least three places which claim to be the biblical Emmaus. It doesn't really matter if its the right one or not because the resurrected Jesus is everywhere.
It's a wonderful biblical story and an appropriate one for this pilgrimage. The grounds at the monastery were very lush.
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| A large fig tree |
The town was formed around a spring which can still be found n the crypt of the church. The Ark of the Covenant was here in the time of King David. During the Byzantine era they built cisterns to hold the water from the spring and the town flourished. The church was constructed during the crusades when they wanted to have a place dedicated to the Emmaus story. The church architecture and frescoes are a combination of Eastern rite and Western rite making it unique.
The church is known as St. Mary of the Resurrection. It has wonderful frescoes but you will notice that some of them have been damaged and most of the faces have been removed. This occurred when the Muslims took over the area. Instead of destroying the church, the just removed the images.
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| The Crucifixion. The cross with Jesus in the center was removed. |
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| The Dormition of Mary |
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| The Spring |
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| Crypt Alter |
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| Grapes |
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| Canticle of Zechariah |
Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist which has the Canticle of Zechariah in different languages in the courtyards. We have recited this many times during our pilgrimage.
The church itself is undergoing renovation
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This is the crypt where John the Baptist was born.
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| Ida |
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| Mary's spring |
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| Chapel |
Our final stop was at the Church of the Visitation set on the side of a large hill which was the vineyard of Elizabeth and Zechariah.
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| Berry Tree |
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| Stairs |
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| Stairs |
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| And more stairs |
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| Church of the Visitation |
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| Rosary |
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| The Magnificat in many languages |
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| Mural shows Mary's journey from Nazareth |
We prayed the Magnificat on the site it was first said.
Visiting this church completes our tour of Antonio Barluzzi churches. Inside the church its richly decorated in mural
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| The Visitation |
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| Zechariah giving thanks |
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| The rock |
To the right is the rock where Elizabeth hid John the Baptist during the time when Herod ordered babies to be killed just after Jesus birth.
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| The Spring where the Visitation occurred |
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| Mosaic floor |
Before leaving on the trip I asked my good friend, Sister Esther Marie Hart, IHM to pray for us on this pilgrimage. The artwork features many people in the bible, but for some reason the image to the left caught my eye.
It was no coincidence that I should see this at the last place we would be visiting on this pilgrimage.
We had Mass outdoors at a small altar next to the church
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| Zechariah |
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| Mary and Elizabeth |
We had lunch with Lois and Kevin at the Allegro Bistro in the hotel
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| A gigantic burger |
Tonight we have a farewell dinner in Bethlehem. As pilgrims we have bonded together as a group in the last 10 days so I am going to miss them but as I said at the outset, we both feel very blessed to have been able to make this incredible journey walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
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