Day 28 Sunday

The last full day of this pilgrimage starts today. The prospect of saying goodbye to all these people is forcing me in to denial big time. We'll deal with that tomorrow. 

For now our last day started with a bit of a sleep in and eventually assembled at 9 for a trip to one of the four possible places of the ancient town of Emmaus... remember the Road to Emmauas story, post ressurection where Jesus appeared to two disciples walking away from Jerusalem. The church was called the Benedictine Abbey of the Resurrection. I took some good shots in the crypt below.

The mass was another matter. With the procession of nuns, brothers and priests singing beautifully was the priest swinging the thurible  - incense burner -  at 180 degrees and smoke was pouring out. I nearly fainted so half way through the mass I had to leave and experienced the rest outside ... Where the birds and the church singing intermingled nicely.

In the afternoon, the time was our own , so I spent time Skyping the family, who I am really looking forward to seeing in a few days, washing clothes, relaxing and then going for one last walk around the Old City. In the late afternoon we had a sending off ceremony in the cosy sit-in-a-circle Salle di Sion room

We all graduated , according to Sr Bernadette, because we were delightful. We were given graduation certificates then a celebratory meal. The only difference between the meal and other delicious meals we have had here was that we didn't have to pay for the wine.

After tea, I helped with the dishes .... As always. .... I need to say this to avoid having to do the dishes for the rest of the school holidays ... A threat made by my daughter April earlier today, for not doing any for the whole of September.

Here I am helping Armani, a Social Work student at the Bethlehem University ( see Day 6 I think). She seemed to love taking some of these photos ... Once she worked out which way to face the camera.

Doing the washing up .... Shhh ...This was posed ... We never did the actual washing up

Helping Victoria, the Egyptian candidate for the Sisters of Zion. This was posed too ... As if you didn't know.

After tea, we had a singalong on the balcony... And the wine kept coming.

Photos courtesy of Mike Delaney.

Insert photos when the emails come through

7748 a bit disappointing .... But wait and see how little I can do at airports tomorrow

Day 27 Saturday

Sunrise this morning from Ecce Homo was spectacular. It's now my new screen saver. Sorry Luc, Bianca and Gabby - three Chocolate Lily students back at Croagh Patrick - I have been looking at your faces all month but I have just worked out how to change it.

I know sunrise was beautiful because it was another early morning. 6 am breakfast before heading off to the desert. Sounds impressive doesn't it. I'm not sure if I have explained how close the Judean desert is from Jerusalem. 10 minutes of driving East and you are into this....

We made a stop here about 30 minutes in on the road to Jericho. A place called Wadi ( a word that means "passage way for running water.... I know ... No water ... But great word to remember for scrabble ) Kelt. This was meant to be a stop for half an hour reflection, but contemplative views of the desert was interrupted by the reality of the Bedouin people who had come to sell things to tourists. They set up their table in the place where we were listening to our guide and then when we spread out over the surrounding areas they set themselves up behind us ready to approach us when we had finished reflecting. I was jolted out of my poetry writing by the munching sound of a donkey who had been strategically placed a metre behind me ... For maximum effect.

When he finally approached me , before I realised what was happening he had my hat off and a Bedouin head wrap folded and place on my head and explaining that the Bedouin people need our help. Then I asked for a price ... 200 shekels ... Or $60 . It was off in a flash, I offered 20 shekels and he was down to 50 shekels pretty quick. But by then I no longer felt inclined to haggle with this people who tore at the heart strings but were just after a buck like any shop seller in souk. I went to the bus and listened to the stories of what others had bought or had given without a second thought. I felt a little hard-hearted, but more than that I felt sad for the kids who were out here, learning a trade that seemed unnatural for these people who were once shepherds and nomads.

I softened a little more at the next stop, where I bought the head gear for 30 shekels.

Suits me don't you think. The funny story with this sale was that after I had bought it, another man told me that white ones were for women and would I like to buy a man's one. Considering the men's hats looked suspiciously like some K-mart tea towels we have at home, I declined the offer. I also said 'no' to buying one of the black rope ties that apparently were also a sign of manliness. At this second stop we had a look at a particularly curious monastery set in the desert hills in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit like a desert version of Rivendellfrom Lord of the Rings. 

... Minus the water, the  height and the elves ... says Joe

Next stop was Jericho, and the Mount of Temptation ... so called because of the great range of quality tourist items you could buy from the shop at the base. I managed to resist all but a very hot coffee. The mountain was quite high so I was very grateful for the cable car experience to the monastery near the top.

This mountain was so named as it is traditionally thought to be the place where Jesus was tempted three times in the desert by the devil. The location we went to certainly had a great panoramic view of the "known world" (said in a Monty Python accent)  for Jesus to be tempted with...

Below is a hermit's cave found in the side of this mountain. Some hermits in times gone by used to come up to thes caves and chain themselves up in these caves to overcome the temptations of the body.  Some were found here as mere bones and chains. Some life ... Or death .. Heh?

A favourite pastime of peoples of the Middle East is to sit around in the souk - and obviously on the side of desert mountains as well - and smoke these things... Presumably just tobacco... but who really knows.

The Elisha Springs. In Jericho ... Just a photo opportunity really and a chance to cool the feet. I didn't really hear the full story about this place . I was hot, tired and hungry.

I couldn't even be bothered getting out of the bus for this viewing of the Sychamore tree Zacchaeus was meant to climb to get a better view of Jesus as he walked through Jericho. Zacchaeus was short. We were hungry.

Luckily Lunch wasn't far away. A delightful restaurant in Jericho where Tony Mullins (Irish Tony) was also waiting patiently to be fed.

When we finally arrived home, we rested, washed and revived ourselves.

A late afternoon walk through the souk proved profitable and a coffee at the coffee shop we found the day before, run by a young 15 year old with a name that meant Thursday, proved a nice way to finish the day.

Oh that and the light extravaganza at the King David Museum later that night. No cameras allowed again ... Sorry.

11986 ... Pretty good 

Day 26 Friday

Up very early today. 5 am in fact. The group was taken on an experience of the Way of the Cross up the Via Dolorosa ( our street ) and beyond, all the way up to the Holy Sepulchre. We witness groups doing this many times a day along our street, stopping at various points where there are signs on the wall to do so. It is thought that Jesus walked this trail on the way to Calvary, which he may have done but not on the streets we walked upon. The roads in Jesus' time would be a few metres under ground. But it is tradition. One spot in particular that seems what one guide has referred to as a 'popular' holy space is the mark on the wall half way along the Via Dolorosa where you place your hand in the exact same spot where Jesus  leant against the wall after a a fall. Can you see me rolling my eyes.

Suspending belief in the legitimacy of the path, the main thing is to remember that it was in this city that these events happened, and with that frame of mind, I was able to enjoy and attain meaning in this experience. I particularly felt my Mum's presence on this journey this morning... She is with me experiencing these things too I'm sure and I know she would be loving it.

No photos again during this time of course as we don't as a rule photograph prayerful times, but a photo from yesterday may help talk a bit later about a fellow I saw again this morning 

Do you see this fellow in the 'Jesus' clothes. Barefoot, wearing only this white garment and carrying a blanket, this man named James is famous for travelling the world and for the last four years walking the streets of Jerusalem relying totally of "God's providence" as a fellow pilgrim calls it. ... Other people's generosity. ... To be fed and to sleep at night. More about him later.

After Breakfast, Fr Edward ... The priest from Kentucky. ... And I went back to Bethlehem, by public transport this time, to buy a mosaic or a piece of art work for Ed to take home with him for a reminder of his trip in the holy land. The bus only went to the check point , where we had to go through a number of mysterious gates and walls to get into the Palestinian territory of West Bank.

No photos allowed here .... We found out later... Oops

The space on the other side had taxis everywhere offering to take us anywhere we wanted to go...

Luckily we were meeting our guide from two previous trips, Elios, who was taking us to see a couple of " friends " ...  actually they were cousins ... who could help Ed out. The first place was a small shop front and work room where a mosaic maker was working on his trade.

Despite this man's work being a little out of Edward's price range ... and miles out of mine ... we were not able to leave without Ed feeling obliged to spend far more than he wished to. It was partly my fault as I happened to say , I like that one and that ended up with Edward buying it. It' s along story and has been told, differently, many times already by both of us.

Our next stop was different also as it was a dealer in antiquities. This man's grandfather was the man who first received some scrolls found near the Dead Sea by a shepherd in payment for a new pair of shoes. When he had some tests done in America it was confirmed to be authentic writings from 2000 years ago. This man somehow convince the shepherd to collect and supply ... Price undisclosed by the grandson ... as many more of these scrolls found in clay pots as he could and when these Dead Sea Scrolls were made more known he became slightly rich and was given the rights to be the exclusive dealer in ancient artifacts of the region (?) . He was allowed to keep one of the pots but two others are in the Israeli museum and one in the Vatican. Here is a picture of Edward next to the pot.

Edward bought a olive tree carved statue from this place and was a lot happier with his purchase. I had no influence here. ...  he was pleased to say I'm sure.

After skyping my beloved wife , I ventured out with Sr Gabrielle and Fr Ed once more up to shop in the Christian Quarter to make a special purchase ... Which we missed out on ... And it was here that we saw the Christ guy again. Well I just had to strike up a convo with this guy and we ended up have a chat and a coffee with this fellow for some time. He is quite a nice chap actually and not as insane as some may think him if they saw him from afar. You must ask me about him some day as I am too tired to type about him tonight.

Finished the night with a social evening ... Singing , dancing , stories, poetry and joke telling, food, drinks, fundraising , games .... I wasn't able to finish writing the song I had stated to farewell each of my fellow pilgrims , which was a bit disappointing , but I was able to tell my hunchback of Notre Dame joke which went down well.

Bern telling a story while Daryl eats cake.

11949 today, but Fr Mike, who only downloaded a pedometer app for his phone yesterday managed 22000 !!! On his first day!!!       Beginners  luck.

Day 25 Thursday

Today was our last day with Pino, learning about Matthew. We rushed through the last three chapters, the story of the passion and the resurrection, so much so I developed a sore wrist from writing so much. It was quite sad to finish up with him... I was soaking up every word he said in the end and loved his patience , wisdom and sense of humour.

We heard of a place outside of Jerusalem we hadn't been to, so after lunch seven of us rushed off to check it out. It was called Saint Peter ( my namesake ) of Gallicantu ( no idea what this means ) ... It was one of the three proposed locations of Caiaphas's House. ... part of the passion story .... Where Jesus was held captive and interrogated before going to Pilate. For those who know the Stations of the Cross at our Launceston church, it is where the High Priest rips his cloak.

church shot of the day : the stained glass roof.

Some interesting places in here in clouded a cell that Jesus may have been held in. You know by this stage of the pilgrimage, I'm only trying to take the perfect photo. ... So here is the best one from this place

Tony Brennan reading in his cell.

We had a talk by one of our guides back in the classroom at 3 o'clock so I had to rush back ... and we only just made it. It meant no rest in the afternoon so I'm afraid I needed to disguise 40 winks by pretending I was studying the plan of the Holy Sepulchre very closely and for a little too long I fear.

We had been here before but our guide showed us all the nooks and crannies that we didn't see ( or know what we were looking at ) last time.

This was on the way to the Holy Sepulchre. Looking for interesting shots again.

Christ's tomb under the "Rotunda" ... I was looking for the BBQ but found none . A lot of candle smoke and frankincense on the burn though.

Very aware that the AFL Grand Final's on this weekend so when one of the hundreds of priests who are looking after the different sections of this church weren't looking , Diane, my partner in crime for taking unusual photos, snapped me taking a mark in Adam's (Ch)apple. 

I may sound a little as religious , or at least irreverent about this place, the definitive church for the death , burial and resurrection of our Lord , but with seven different churches arguing with each other over the care of different sections of this place, it did not impress me nearly as much as it should.

Early to bed .... Exhausted ... Thus wriing this the following day.

15771 ... And everyone an effort.

Day 24 Wednesday

Time is ticking away too quickly now and I must admit I am starting to feel a little said about finishing. I have gained so much in this course so far and I 've been soaking it up like a sponge. Thank god I have this blog though. It has given me a chance to mprocess a little of what I have learned and experienced each day. I'll need a lot more time after it is all over to process it properly I think.

Today started quietly strangely as our first meeting wasn't until 10:30. While I was waiting around at Ecce Homo, down the street about 100 metres there was a demonstration going on about the Israeli government's decision to close access to the mosque found on the old Temple Mount. With so many Jews celebrating the end of Sukkot on the other side of the Western Wall, it was feared that stones may be thrown over the wall. The protest was being made by Muslim woman about not getting access to their place of prayer and because the schools inside that area were closed for the day. Apparently there were soldiers blocking the way and tear gas may have been used to disperse them. Rosemary, from our group, was there and took some photos ... a Palestinian woman pulled her into her shop to keep her out of harms way when the crowd was being forced back. All very dramatic but once again , fairly normal for around here say the nuns and we are still safe.

On a brighter note , we did manage to get a lesson about this latest Jewish feast sitting in a sukkor attached to one of the temples in the Jewish quarter

The feast was explained to us and we were provided with a bit of a feast as well

In the afternoon a few of us had Arabic coffee over the road and went for a walk through the souk once more. 

We had an afternoon class on Catholic Jewish relations again and after tea went down to the Western Wall to watch the celebrations of the concluding day... the start of the eighth day of this seven day feast actually ... If that makes sense... With the celebration of Simchat Torah - the final day of reading the Torah for the year.

The festival involves dancing joyously cradling the Torah. A few of the male pilgrims, including myself , slipped on a kippah and slipped on down to Western wall to watch the celebrations close up. It was awesome being there amongst it all but I did feel a bit awkward being there also... Although many said with a kippah on , I fitted in quite well.

This evening I have spent quite an enjoyable time talking to a group of Year 12 students from Berlin who have been lucky enough to be on a trip into the Holy Land for a week long camp experience. I  had quite a long chat to a guy called Jannek ( pronounced Ya - neck) and also Wanda ( Vanda), Antonia and Sophie. All spoke quite good English and they told me of their night sleeping out in the desert last night. Sounded like a fantastic experience ... Although they were all afraid of scorpions of all things.

Not much else to report tonight , although I forgot to say I watched a great movie on you tube last night in my room that had been recommended by one of the guides that dealt with the political situation a little here known as The Lemon Tree. I highly recommend it . Think a serious version of The Castle, set in Israel

Not many other photos today telling stories so I'll include one of the dreamy shots I took while listening to Marcie talk about Sukkot

Oh... And here is Marcie, our lecturer, demonstrating what the Jewish people use as part of the Sukkot celebrations ... A palm branch, a willow branch , a myrtle branch and the "fruit of majestic trees" .. citron .. A citrus fruit like a lemon.

That's it from me as it is now Thursday and I need some shut eye. 

Unknown steps today but not quite 10000 I think . Oh well , always tomorrow

Day 23 Tuesday

Today was largely spent in the classroom studying scripture in the morning and Christian and Jewish relations over history in the afternoon. I am really enjoying and getting a lot out of the study we are doing over here but sharing too much about what I have been learning is probably not for this forum.

So let me talk about some other things relating to the down times of today.

The other Peter, is showing off a packet of rice cakes that were bought in the market this morning. The same type as we would have at home. Not looking too happy here but I guess rice cakes are not everybody's thing.

The classroom where we have most of lectures is a comfortable place where people tend to sit in the same place every time ... Other people that is ... I like to mix it up a bit and through people out of their comfort zone. Tony Brennan here has developed something of a silly walk as he re- enters the room after a break.

 

For the second time this week it was raining in Jerusalem today ... It was so nice to smell the rain again.

It's night time now and I had few photos to show for the day  so I thought I would take a few photos and share a bit about some of the people I'm doing the course with.

These two wanted me to call them "the two old ladies" but I don't see them that way. It's Bernadette Fleming, an ex teacher from Brisbane and her niece, Carmel Street ... Sister Carmel , a Josephine nun, as I found out a little later. She lives in Townsville and worked in pastoral Care throughout the North.

Edward Linton , or more formally, Father John Thomas Linton, a Benedictine priest from Kentucky ... He shaved off his white moustache ... But who does amazing work in Chicago right now ... I can hear myself using an American accent just saying Chicago right now ...  We've spent some fun times and together and we have even had some lively discussions at times. Overall though he has been pretty inspiring for me.

 Fr Frank Hanley is from Charlston, South Carolina. He is a very knowledgable character who I spent some time with on Sunday at church and the museum. Lovely fella.

 Father Mike Delaney .... I seem to be surrounded by priests on this course but it is mere coincidence that I have shown thes three... They just happen to be with me in the coffee lounge tonight. Mike is a parish priest in Tasmania and has been whiz on the iPad and the spreader of the secret about chewing gum in class... ( it stops you going to sleep)

Here's Gerry. Sister Gerry Boylan, sgs. She lives and works in outback Western Australia with a largely aboriginal community. She is a real scream, has an infectious laugh and has been a delight to get to know.

Mark Garnsey, a primary school teacher from Penguin, Tasmania, a movie maker and a bearer of much wisdom. He is always the one looking after the back end of the group and he is very easy to talk and listen to.

Sister Carmel Solon, a fiery and friendly, Irish nun, who works in England and Father Tony Cullins a jolly Irish priest,  who works in a small village on the West Coast of Ireland. Amazing story of how these two met at Heathrow airport, never having met before , sat down next to each other in the gate lounge and started chatting... Discovered the were going to the same place to do the same course. They then got on the plane and found they were sitting next to each other as well.

So if you got this far today, you must be a real dedicated reader of my blogs. So I'd now like to talk about something a little more serious. On Saturday we were in Hebron and visited the mosque where Abraham et al were buried. We needed to go through a checkpoint to get in there ... It think I mentioned it. Well we found out yesterday that there was some unrest and a sniper killing of an Israeli soldier there the day after we were there. This article tells more. 

K

I'm not sure you can read it. Today too there was some unrest outside the Damascus Gate here in Jerusalem as a Christian group were marching and some Palestinian people were throwing things at the buses ... Not fully clear about this yet as it only happened late this afternoon. Sr Bernadette did some investigating but even though she said we were perfectly safe, she suggested we stay in tonight. All this has caused slight concern among the pilgrims I think... certainly everyone has gone to bed early. There have been some noises around that have sounded like gunfire but we have been told they are just firing some sort of noisy fireworks that help disperse the crowds. This made us is sit up a little more attentively in class this afternoon but it wasn't something people who live here showed concern about. I guess we will find out more tomorrow and we won't be allowed out tomorrow if it is not completely safe.

Tomorrow we are invited to spend time in a sukkah ... You know ... The Jewish equivalent to a bush tent and more about Jewish Christian relations with our Brazilian lecturer ... Who is a little hard to understand it must be said.

Only 2273@9:50 today. Couldn't be helped.

 

Day 22 Monday

Started the day off with a walk around the old city again. Made a quicker trip of it too. Saw the sunrise again.

... And we also saw a great many Jews coming in their gate on the south side of the city , near the wall and in their keenness to get in nice and early we witnessed not one but five cars parked in this most unusual fashion...

 There wasn't much room but this is ridiculous.

The morning was spent learning about the parables of Matthew with Pino again. The highlight of which was receiving a Skype video message from my class back home. It was great to see them all. Thanks guys.

In the afternoon, after a short nap and some thinking time we shared our reflections of our trip to Galilee last week. Sr. Bernadette invited us to express our thoughts in any way we chose and as creative as possible. We had a mime , a few poems, two songs , one with an interpretative dance attached. It was fun!

In the evening we went for a wander up into down town Jerusalem to join in the Sukkot festivities. A Thai meal followed by the unusual experience of attending a Hebrew Catholic mass in a small church set up for this small group of people. Here is one of the icons in this the one and only church of the day.

Can you guess what it depicts?

The talk afterwards with Fr. David Neuhaus, a Jewish Jesuit priest who was very articulate in giving the other side to the talk we received last night... the complex reality of Israeli Palestine . He was very articulate and a clever thinker ... A prophet Tony Brennan said  ... and he is not far from the truth.

On the way home we enjoyed an ice cream 

And a spot of skylarking on the night streets of the new city

An impressive 14613 today. Maybe I'll go for another long walk by myself tomorrow before breakfast. Especially as it a day in the classroom again.