Chronicle 1
Donald McGlynn
Tuesday (Mardi) 23rd Sept, first
anniversary of St. Padre Pio.
Neve Shalom
In the afternoon Abbot Paul took me for
a drive through the farm/property. This is very extensive, some 240 hectares,
and serves various functions. In a very dry land, the terrain looks very poor
to the eye of the green field expectations of Scotland. In fact the land is the
backbone of a very successful production of wine and olive oil. The construction
of the present monastery commenced in 1926. The site was only too well chosen
for its location of solitude and prominence at that time. Unfortunately,
although it has become a great landmark and can be viewed from many sides, it
is now also at the junction of two major motorways, Latroun Junction. “If only
…” is an old afterthought for many monasteries. Here likewise, Abbot Paul
points to quiet spots in the property which would now be more favourable for
silence and solitude. But then the style of building would now be different
also. Out of site of the monastery but still close enough there is a hermitage
which can be used for one night. There are also the old Crusade stables now restored by the German Lutheran
Community now more suited to a simplified monastery. I was introduced to the
community there by Fr. Rene and we received a great welcome. The ‘Fraternity’
is well concealed in the hilly brush land but the noise from the motorway
junction is the same. This evening, if it bothered me, the noise is multiplied
by some celebration of the local army camp. The disco sounds reverberate
through the house. One good point is that the Service station is very
convenient for petrol and diesel.
Next call on the conducted tour of the
Abbot, within the property, enviable for its height and quietness, is the
amazing interfaith village of Neve Shalom. The community of Jews, Christians
and Muslims, some 40 families, was founded by a French Dominican 40 years ago,
and is a very rare example of the Faiths living and working and living
together. The land was given by Latroun, each family was given a plot on which
to design and build their own home. The population varies. It has been up to
150 families. Kibbutzim villages are settled everywhere. In the near distance I
could see a cluster of endlessly low long structures. Paul identified them for
me as a Kibbutzim poultry farm. Fr.
Pierre had the Liturgical books bound in one of these Kibbutzim. But I diverge.
The Liturgical Books of the Community are completely revised and form a first
class one volume Office Book. When I congratulated Fr. Pierre he said it took
him six years on his own to produce the text, music (and small graphics) on
foolscap pages. It was an immense work and his only regret, as is the regret of
the Abbot of Septfons, the Fr. Immediate, that there has not been collaboration
on the project. There is a small manual edition also reproduced to the same
high quality. Pierre already has the proofs in hand to produce the Lent section
of the Office.
Needless to say the work is fully
computerised. The major contribution to the technology is the application for
editing and inserting music, staves, notes bars, the works – even to the extent
of typing, playing, printing all in one operation. The application is called
“Music Time”. Pierre has become quite expert with this in normal music script.
He finds the Gregorian Chant application more difficult.
The principles are the same, it is only
a question of learning the system. You can guess that we were on the same wavelength
of computers here.
End of digression. Back to my
archaeological discoveries . . .
In this one, not well known location of
Latroun, the evidence of everything from archaeological antiquities to ultra
modern dwellings and motorways, stands up and hits you with all too immediate
impact. Jerome Murphy O’Connor (The Holy Land, Oxford Press), for example,
dismisses the Crusader Castle overlooking the monastery with a few lines and
does not seem to have noted the underground and over-ground features all
around. How could he? The monks are surrounded by stones about which
archaeological study has not yet been made. I suggested that the Lutheran
Fraternity might have received Israel funds for the remarkable work of
restoration they have made of the Crusader Stables in the grounds. Not a bit of
it. Israel would be loath to support this kind of initiative. Voluntary and
financial support was given from Germany. Nothing has been done to the Castle
apart from the addition of an Israel victory memorial.
In this situation it is hard to
disentangle the manifold overlapping of past and present, battles past and wars
very recent, in this restricted area. The Jordanians have left their trenches
around the Castle. Gun fire and bombs were all around the monastery although it
was never hit, The subterranean tunnels of the monastery gave good bomb shelter
and enabled the work of the community to be unterupted. This was the 1967/68
War – I have not yet disentangled the story myself. I suppose one can say the
monks have been very fortunate but sadly most (all) of their Arab neighbours
were deported, their villages raised to the ground, and the neighbourhood now
replaced by Aijalon (Canada) Park, a recreational area. But it is not a matter
of scratching just yesterday’s surface. The spot is identified with the
reference of the Book of Joshua, 10:12, the Vale of Aijalon where “The sun
stood still over Gibeon and the moon too”. Abbot Paul, an addict of Palestinian
archaeology, is to take me round these near by sites. According to the Abbot,
the Official archaeologist of the immediate locality lists over 1000 sites of
this nature. The adjoining site of Emmaus, (French say E-mouse), is
obviously better known. It is full of Byzantine and Crusader history and
excavations. Above it is a large modern building now in the care of the Community of the Beatitudes.
This contains a very impressive museum of mosaics. What interested me more, I
have to confess, was to find Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in a beautiful
setting. One of the Beatitude Brothers was keeping ‘watch’. This is a mixed
Charismatic “Community of the Beatitudes” well established in France sine 1973.
It is made up of lay people, priests, families, nuns and monks and welcomes
pilgrims from all over.
...Back to the Latroun farm tour, the time machine goes back 3000
years.
I had been reading James Mitchener’s
blockbuster novel “The Source” the account of a fictional archaeological dig in
Akko. Although nothing to do with it,
“The Source” was the name of the next item on the tour Dom Paul wanted to show
me. This took us down to the lower valley, as our track, an ancient Roman road
to Jerusalem ran parallel and below the highly Macadamised motorway. Here, in
the lowland fields, were laid out with vines and olive trees. Some of the olive
trees are 400 years old, some of the vines just one year old. At centre of all
this was a small concrete hut. This is the so called “SOURCE”. It is a deep
well going back 3000, three thousand years.
Through various trepidations the well was in ruins. At the time of the
coming of the monks it belonged to two villages and the monastery. The monks
had it repaired and modernised with an agreement to provide water for everyone.
This took place “before the war” after which, sadly all the Jordanians were
banished.
But going back further to biblical times
this well, spring, source, belonged to the tribe of Judah in the disposition of
lands to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Dom Paul has just given me chapter and
verse for this “tell”, hillock, which is at the origin, so to speak, of
Latroun’s present footprint in geography and history. [Note: BIR HELOU –Latroun. Cf. Joshua 15:60. “Kiriath-Baal, that
is Kiriath-Jearim, and Rabbah”. ‘Ha-Rabba’ is the tell, or hillock, which is
close to the monastery and which is the ruins
of “Ha-Rabbat”. In Arabic the
tell is called “Al Khirbet” – ruins. Significantly my dictionary defines a TELL
as an artificial hill formed from ruins of an ancient town.
Here among the vines and olive
plantation, the ancient well leads to a long underground water tunnel. The
water is not drinkable but is the centre of very efficient irrigation system.
Higher on the hill there is a more
modern water tank and also an Israeli water works.
- - I have not yet got to the bottom of Mitchener’s SOURCE story
but I suspect that once more FACT is an even better example of such a water
SOURCE as that to be found the heart of Latroun.
To my unenlightened eye, these dried out
old hills and fields and rocky heights look so unprepossessing, not to speak of
the burned out patches of frequent fires. It is something of a mind bender to
discover that literally you cannot turn a stone in the land without uncovering
layers of layers of history. If this is only a taste of it for a first time
visitor, what will I feel like after lectures in detail on the best know
Biblical sites listed for my course, Jordan River, Nazareth, Sea of Galiliee,
Holy Sepulchre, Judea Wilderness (Masada, Qumran), Negev & Sinai etc.
‘nuf the noo - I suspend operations to
see if I can obtain access to a printer – I will not burden you with the
technical hitches of being away from base.
Love, Donald
Holy Land Chronicle 2
September 30, 2003
Dom Raymond Email Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Thank you for your news of Cardinal O’Brien. I have his Email address and will try to send him a message.
When I shared the good news with the Latroun Brethren, they asked me if Keith
Patrick was the only one – just shows how myopic one can be on one’s own
interest. I assured them there must be other Cardinal’s just appointed. No
doubt I will hear. Is there word of the new Scottish Bishops?
I have not received anything from Fr.
Mark but I have been OFFLINE myself for these few days. The good news, for his
benefit, is that there are three problems which I have solved.
1. I do not have a Virus, the AntiVirus,
“Grisoft”, installed by Gordon Fraser, on the computers is also in my Laptop.
2. In the Windows Menus I found an
ACCESSORY, System Restore, which has put everything back to rights on the
portable.
3. In the same Windows I have found a
change of FONT which can toggle back and forth from Hebrew or whatever other
Font one wishes. So ‘forward’ to my Hebrew tutorials.
4. Meanwhile help has come from other
helpful friends to amend gobbledegook in some systems. One was good enough to
convert and correct format. Another advised me that the way to avoid such
gobbledegook is to SAVE AS TEXT – this means sacrificing layout. Also using
attachments avoids the problem.
Memos and News too much to record:
On Saturday the Abbot of Mt deCats
arrived with Mother Trees (Teresa) of Klaarland, friend of other Meetings, and
Sr. Martha enroute to Lebanon. They spent 4 nights to meet the Latroun
community. Dom Guillaume is going for a new deal for the monks of St. Saviour.
The Sisters for the projected Foundation in Lebanon.
Dom. Guillaume is on his way to Lebanon
to act as Delegate from the Founder Dom Paul of Latroun. Until the next General
Chapter he will be making a monthly (?) visit to guide the lot of this thriving
foundation in the Melkite diocese of Jounieh (See Elenchus No 97). The idea is
to have a fully integrated Melkite Rite monastery.
Everyone seems thrilled with the project
with all the consultation etc going well between the different communities. On
the side, one of the problems is Formation in Lebanon. The Brothers cannot get
Israel to Latroun Visas so for the present they have to go to Mt deCats for the
Formation programme there.
Regarding the Klaarland project for
Lebanon, you may remember that following the Algeria Martyrs crisis, the Abbot
General had volunteers from monks and nuns to fill the gaps, so to speak. To
begin with there was Algeria itself but this was impossible for the Sisters.
Then for various reasons suggestions of Morocco and Tunisia faded out and the
group still waiting at Klaarland, including Sr. Martha form Valsarena, Italy,
has focused on Lebanon. They have been setting about the language and
cultural challenge in real earnest. No
location has been chosen but I would guess that once the intial decisions are
made things will go faster than they think. Klaaland has 40 in the community
and their resources are good.
On Monday, Fr. Moise, a Jesuit of
Marseille, on a year’s Sabbatical at Latroun, drove the two Sisters and myself,
courtesy of the Abbot. on a round trip of The Galilee – hitting the highlights
of the best of the Holy Land. An incredible journey compared to the months or
years it would have taken the Pilgrims of old to cover.
I had better save the details for the
official excursions. On this first experience how ordinary and convivial were
the various encounters with such different peoples. Politics seem so remote.
The only NEWS I had was from the Community Bulletin Board. This has a typed account of the 27 Israeli Airmen who
refuse to bomb civilian targets or to carry military personnel on killing
missions. I think they are been pilloried as deserters.
On the other hand we found ourselves on a peak overlooking the Sea
of Galilee, Arbel in Tiberias area.
Among the few visitors to our picnic site a couple of nice young lads
asked us if we had bread because they had everything but forgot the bread. This
led to a lovely encounter. I will keep the container of Peanuts one of them
gave me. They were two soldiers on their 3 year military service out for a
trek. I happened to ask about their training, e.g. would they get COMPUTER
TRAINING. Bull’s eye, that is their department, Intelligence Service. Photos were taken, we offered a
lift and so ended a multi national encounter of pure peace.
Here ends the ramblings of the moment.
Love to all.
Donald
Palm Sunday
Chronicle 3
04 October 2003
Abu Gosh – OSB Olivetans
(860 words plus Insert of new Bishop
Zenit News 1906 Date: 2003-08-19).
Hebrew-Speaking Israeli Catholics to Get
an Auxiliary Bishop
Abbot Was Baptized at Age 23
News of John Paul II's appointment of an
auxiliary bishop of the Latin patriarch for Hebrew-speaking Catholics has
stirred considerable public interest in the Holy Land. The unprecedented assignment was announced by
the Vatican press office last Thursday and entrusted to Father Jean-Baptiste
Gourion, abbot of St. Mary of the Resurrection Monastery, of the Olivetan
Benedictine Congregation in Abu Gosh, a peaceful Israeli village where a
Hebrew-speaking Christian community resides.
Born in 1934 in Oran, Algeria, and
baptized at age 23, Gourion entered the Abbey of Bec in France and in 1976 was
sent with two men religious to Abu Gosh to found the monastery.
In 1990, the Latin patriarch of
Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, named him episcopal vicar and president of St.
James' Work of Jerusalem, for the pastoral care of the Hebrew-speaking
Christian community.
"Our community is small, born from
the creation of the state of Israel, made up of Christians who were not of Arab
formation or culture, and who stayed in Israel," Father Gourion explained.
"There were, for example, mixed marriages, persons who had converted to
Christianity, persons who worked in the Israeli environment." The future bishop told Vatican Radio that
the Pope made this decision because "there is a need to offer an ecclesial
structure" for these Catholics, who are not of Arab culture or tradition,
as is the case of the majority of the faithful who belong to the Latin
Patriarchate of Jerusalem. According
to Father Gourion, in some countries the press has referred to a conflict
between Arab and Hebrew-speaking Catholics which, in fact, does not exist. "It is an artificial creation," he
said. "It has related events which in reality are not related in themselves. Thus, they have placed me in
opposition to the patriarch, giving
this assignment a political interpretation." "It is, however, a pastoral measure of the Holy Father,"
he clarified. "It is obvious that the Arab and Hebrew culture are two
different worlds, but all remains here."
Father Gourion explained that with this
appointment the Pope also hopes to
promote good relations with the Jewish world. email this article
JERUSALEM, NOV. 9, 2003 (Zenit.org).-
Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem consecrated
Auxiliary Bishop Jean Baptiste Gourion
Sunday, to tend to the pastoral needs
of Hebrew-Israeli Catholics.
Born in Algeria (1934) to a Jewish family, Bishop Gourion was baptized at 23 in France. He
entered the Benedictine Abbey of Bec
(once home to the famous medieval
writer and teacher of epistemic "hyper
realism," Lanfranc, a disciple of St. Anselm of Canterbury). In 1976, Gourion became
superior of an Olivetan Benedictine
monastery in Abu Gosh, a peaceful
Hebrew-speaking Israeli village. There may be some 400 Hebrew Catholics in the State of Israel
today. The overwhelming majority of
Christians in the Holy Land are Palestinians
of Arab origin. Arab citizens of the State
of Israel are known as "Arab Israeli's." The new
bishop's consecration begins a "new phase" in Catholic-Jewish dialogue. It is an episcopal
office without precedent. There is said
to be an even greater of number ‘Christians’ among Russian immigrants, those
Jews related to Russian Orthodox or other Christian Churches. This is another
pastoral challenge to the Church in Israel.
Abu Gosh once the haunt of the Beduin
Chief and his four sons who for 60 years extorted protection money from 18th
century pilgrims to Jerusalem now the Olivetan monastery of St. Mary of the
Resurrection.
It was a busy morning for the monks and
for that very reason we were immediately at home. For some reason Br. Antoine
was assigned to show us the historical features of the place. This may have
been because Br. Antoine is from Congo. He has been 14 years is Israel before a
time at BEC. Historically, the Church is an architectural gem of the Crusaders
standing solid because of its own impregnable
design. Going deeper, archaeologically, there are the remains of a
spring of immemorial vintage built around the lower foundation of a Roman
castle of the first century.
In the Church we joined the dual
community, 10 monks, 13 nuns, for Mass at 11.30 a.m. – all in Gregorian Chant.
By good timing, I presume, the Mussein is not heard at this time. A lofty
minaret dwarfs the monastery.
The Sisters have their own regime across
the enclosure. They produce vestments as part of their work. In the workshops
of the monks I later found Br. Antoine busy in the pottery enterprise. Lunch
lived up to Benedictine tradition but, as distinct from wine at Latroun, cool
clear water was the drink. The meal was followed by a community gathering over
tea or coffee. I commented to the Bishop Elect, John-Baptiste on a wall
painting in the community room, wondering if it was of the See of Galilee. No,
it was a picture of his native town in Algeria called Oran. This was a
surprising association with the Dominican Bishop Claverie who was martyred at
the time of the Atlas Martyrs. And he died in Oran. Mgr Claverie is included among
the memorial rocks of the Atlas Martyrs erected at Latroun. Another rock is
dedicated to Cardinal Duval who was said to have died of a broken heart at the
news of the Brothers of Tibhirine. (I was puzzled to see a stone for Archbishop
Tissier of Algiers there, but I was assured that he is still alive).
Joining in the party with the monks was a layman who is Music
Director of the Jewish Orchestra of Jerusalem. He organises performances for
places like the Church of the Arc of the Covenant, and had such a performance
at the large hall at Latroun. He would want to have it in the Church at Latroun
but Abbot Paul won’t have it except in the auditorium. Also among the guests
was a young Israeli soldier staying in the community for the first time.
In the midst of the 1947 conflicts Abu
Gosh was in danger of being destroyed by the Israeli army. Fortunately this was
avoided and Abu Gosh became the first
Arab-Israel village. Groups of young Israelis come for cultural meetings
with the monks. Hebrew seems to be the chosen interest of the community rather
than Arabic. There is a large very modern library with an up to date Hebrew
section. For more specialised studies the Institute Biblique is not far away at
Jerusalem. On the mechanical side the library is one of those designed on
smooth running blocks of shelves which can be moved at a touch. Ideal for
preserving books, for security and for fire safety - just the thing for the
Nunraw library as planned in the past.
We did not get much chance to meet the
Sisters in their extremely traditional Benedictine habit, apart from Sr
Elizabath from Congo in a flamboyant African habit of her own design. I had a
few words with Sr. McKenna who joined the community from Canada.
The monks have produced a very high
quality brochure of Abu Gosh which the Abbot kindly presented to us. It is
extremely polished and professional. I remarked to Frère Noel, on the way home,
that it is time to design a new booklet for Latroun also. The last edition
seems to have been about 1960 and marks the incredible changes of every kind in
the recent years.
Abu Gosh is only 15 or 20 minutes drive
from Latroun. The story of the course of
the Ark of the Covenant at Abu Gosh
goes a step further back to Bethshemesh which is even closer to Latroun.
It was from here that the Philistines begged of the Israelites to come and take
the Ark away with them. 1 Sam. 6:20- 7:1, “from Beth-Shemesh to the house of
Aminadab at Kiriath-Jearim”.
And it was to this location that Fr. Rene
drove Dom Simon and myself on Wednesday 1st October. Wheels turning within
wheels, it so happens that the Prior of the new style Carthusian Monastery,
Père Reginald, at Beth Shemesh was a monk with Dom Simon for twelve years at
Septfont.
Mar Saba
Chronicle 4
7th October 2003
Ecce Homo
Dear Dom
Raymond - Chronicle 4 sees me lodged at “Sojourn in the Land of the Bible,
Centre for Biblical Formation 41 Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem”
Dear Dom
Raymond,
Chronicle 4 – Just the
contrary of what one might expect on a Sabbatical ‘retreat’, it is more a case
of trying to catch up with events as they flow all too rapidly. In the course
of four days we have covered a lot of ground, most of which is concentrated on
the 2000 hectares which is the area of Old City Jerusalem.
There are 18 of
us enrolled here, compared with 26 on the previous year and a regular 45
students before that without any advertising of the Centre. In fact there are
other students and groups present but not on the scale of the normal complement
before the inafada.
The welcome to
our Sojourn in the Land of the Bible on 7th October, began our Orientation
Week. After the first four days, this ‘Orientation’ proves to be something of
an understatement. It has lead us from Ecce Homo, the centre run by the Sisters
of Sion, itself a unique point of vantage in the heart of the Holy City,
through the “Horizons of Jerusalem”, a conducted bus tour to identify the
outstanding view points. This made very good sense because it was preceded by a
very professional lecture on a thematic outline of the Biblical history
associated with the immediately visible physical sites. Bringing us right down
to earth, our guide/lecturer, Raphael Carse, took us along Route 1, a dual
carriageway circling the city wall. The significance of this wide thoroughfare,
Route 1, is that it constituted the boundary and ‘no-man’s-land’ separating
Israel and Jordan, between 1948 and the six day war of 1967 when the Israelis
began their (present) occupation of the Old City. The walls of the Sion Gate,
immediately in front of the Dormition Basilica and Abbey, (Benedictine), show
the marks of the bullets on the wall when the Israel’s took the city by storm
by two gates. To give them some credit the military had decided not to use
artillery., With this occupation by the Israelis, the term is used bitterly by
the Palestinians, the interior barricades and check points were removed. So, at
least, people pass through all the narrow streets unimpeded.
Our “Horizons”
trip began from St. Stephen’s. the Lion’s Gate, which is our most convenient
exit directly from Via Dolorosa and we drove clock wise round the city heading
towards Mount Scopus, the highest point
of view and next to Mount of Olives the second highest point. The views, together with the commentary on
foot and on the bus, gave us an invaluable grasp of how it all fits together
and labelled, as it were, with the Biblical references; Mount Scopus – 2712
ft,(Josephus , Wrts 2:19,; 9:478) Mount of Olives 2640 ft.,(2 Sam 15:30, etc)
Mount Moriah, Temple Mount 2427 ft., (2 Chr 3:1) Visibility was clear and it
has been ‘shirt sleeves’ weather up to the present (10th October). Between 10
am and 12.30 we got these magnificent views with every landmark clear from all
angels before taking a break for a picnic lunch. Even the site for this was beautifully
chosen. We branched off from the UN building, formerly the British Mandate
headquarters, and found ourselves at a leisure spot looking directly across the
Kidron Valley at the Golden Dome on the Rock. We were prepared to eat our lunch
outside but the restaurant keeper made us most welcome in the shade. In fact
the visitors are so scarce, with US and UK issuing warnings against travel to
Israel that the ordinary traders everywhere around Jerusalem are desperate from
the dearth of tourists.
To go back - we
made our first stop at the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus. This University
was set up by Jews from overseas in the 1920s before the subsequent troubles.
When Jordan still held east Jerusalem, the Hebrew University became an isolated
Israel enclave, until the Six Day war brought the whole area under the West
Bank – Israel Palestinian Authority. The University has a high standing. I have
been reading the second book by Fr. Elias Chacour, “We Belong to the Land”. One
of the things his Bishop did was to send him, as a new Melkite Catholic priest,
to qualify at the Hebrew University, and I learn that Elias Chacourt has succeeded in setting up a Palestinian
University in Galilee at Ibillin. His life is dedicated to reconciliation of
Jews, Muslims and Christians. That is another story, somewhat filled out for us
by a very fine lecture on the following day, given by the Nuncio, Archbishop
Pietro Sambi on the political situation of the Church in Jerusalem.
From our
vantage point on Mount Scopus, Raphael
Carse, an American who is a graduate of the Hebrew University and has spent 30
years as writer and guide in Jerusalem, explained the whole sweep in of
landscape from the skyline to the north dominated by large mosque marking the burial place of the Prophet Samuel.
Previously this mosque was shared by Jews and Muslims, but not any more.
Muslims are not allowed to use it. Previous generations of Jews, Muslims (and
Christians) held it sacred as the burial place of Samuel at Rama. (1Sam 25:1).
It is also the scene of the defining event of Solomon’s reign, his prayer for
wisdom (2 Chr 1; 3-12).
In the opposite
skyline away to the south, towards Bethlehem, another peak dominates but it is
in fact an artificial construction, the Herodian, set up as a Palace by Herod the
Great, the richest man ever known, and apart from his attempted suicide, it was
to be his mausoleum.
Coming closer
to hand, from the Hebrew University we moved over the nearby crest to look
east. The view was almost a shock. Just turning our back on the fascinating
view of Jerusalem and looking down we experience the most dramatic change of scene. We were looking down to the
River Jordan and hills of the Judea Desert. It was scene of utter wilderness.
Beneath us we could see a small Bedouin camp with some sheep and to the
untrained eye not a sign of vegetation could be seen. Tragically, the social
landscape here is even more dramatic. On the top of high hills a number of Jewish Settlements have been set
up. There can be no natural resources, the settlers therefore depend completely on Jerusalem for employment and the
social framework of their lives. They are provided with modern highways to
commute to the city. The Settlements take some 80% of the available water. The
surviving Palestinian villagers are not allowed to use the modern motorways and
are not allowed entry or employment in Jerusalem. The policy and
implementation of this situation is in
violation of all international agreements. That was the shocking scene before
our very eyes – a living drama revealed to us from just this one glimpse of the
stark contrast of the Holy Land. The physical explanation is much easier to
understand as a matter of geography or topography. The prevailing winds bring
the rain from the west, from the
Mediterranean. The land rising gradually to
Jerusalem receives sufficient rain, then suddenly there is a drop to the
Jordan valley and rainfall evaporates away to two inches per annum. According
to ecologists even the water level of the Dead Sea is falling seriously as a result also of the Settlements
exploiting water that should come from the River Jordan. So much for any
thought of a comfortable morning’s sight seeing. Painful realities jostle with
Biblical associations to rack one’s emotions. It is so true, everything is
connected - we finding ourselves sandwiched between ancient history and wisdom
on the one hand, and the painful realities of unsolvable problems on the ground
of today.
We skirted the
great Augusta Victoria Hospital set up by the wife of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the
drive took us on round to a spot on Mount of Olives. This did not give us
occasion for visits to the important
sites on the Mount of Olive but only served as a ‘horizons’ view of the Old
City from another angle, including our distance view of the Ecce Homo dome in
Via Dolorosa. Our driver for the morning was Abbu Elias, a Muslim. He had
difficulty negotiating the traffic jams through the Muslim village on the Mount
of Olives. We stopped for our picnic. In the course of chatting with the driver,
Abbu Elias, he pointed back towards the site of his own village, near the
Victoria Hospital, He explained that the number of Arab children has doubled or
trebled. The school is completely inadequate. When appealed to for more school
space, the Israel Municipality which provides normal schools for Jewish
children, had a ready response. “You have an increased number of school
children. Fine. All you need do is have the overcrowded classrooms work in
relay”, So, apart from the difficulty in educating the Palestinian children,
the social and family life is disrupted in every way.
The bus part of
our trip ended at Sion Gate. Missing the Cenacle and the Dormition we were to
experience a walk through the lanes and
alleys of the Old City. This meant walking through the Armenian Quarter. Why do
the Armenians get a full quarter slice of the not so large loaf of the Old
City? Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official
religion at the beginning of the 4th Century. There followed a great flow of
Armenians to Jerusalem. In the 7th century there is record of seventy monasteries. It has also been the
most persecuted Christian nation. At the heart of this Quarter is the Cathedral
of St. James the Lesser, first Bishop of Jerusalem. We could make our first
visit only as far as the porch but Raphael was eloquent in praising the singing
of Armenian Vespers at 3 o’clock each evening. I can interpolate from here,
regarding further details, because that is exactly what I did the next evening,
discovering without planning, that half a dozen other students of the course
had the same inspiration. On the walls around the Quarter we had noticed
placards headed with “Armenian Genocide”. When Hitler started his holocaust, he
was questioned about his Nazi policy. His reply was, “Look at the Armenians and
who will remembers them? It made us wonder. So at the end of Vespers when the
rows of Armenian seminarians were leaving in silence I stopped one of them for
a word. Because of their history they are said to be very closed and self
contained, that even the homes of the people are inward looking but beautiful,
I was not sure of intruding. The young Armenian seminarian I spoke to, in fact,
was able to speak English. He is one of the Deacons and we learned a lot from
him. He answered our first question about the Armenian Genocide. This was in
1915 when the Turks massacred almost two million Armenians. He told us a the
lovely story of the fate of the Armenian Church when Jerusalem fell to Suleiman
in 1187. When the Sultan, (excuse lack of precision here), entered the city, he
saw the cupola of St. James and took it to be a mosque and went into worship
there. He discovered his mistake. The people begged him not to destroy the
Church. He said he was on his way to Syria, He would light a lamp in the Church
and he had all the doors locked saying that that when he returned, if the light
had died out the Church would have be destroyed like all the rest. When he
returned a long time later the lamp was still alight and the Cathedral of St.
James still stands in all its glory. In the words of Jerome Murphy
O’Connor, “In the sharp contrast to the
sombre weariness of the Holy Sepulchre, this church mirrors the life and vigour
of a colourful and unified people”. Very close to our Ecce Home centre there is
an Armenian Hospice. A question about this also added a new angle to the
situation. The Armenia of that Quarter is Orthodox. The hospice and other
Patriarchate in Via Dolorosa is part of the Latin Rite.
Our walk
continued with quite a zigzag of streets through the Armenian Quarter, a roof
top promenade taking in the immediate views of the Holy Sepulchre and the
Christian Quarter, and the Jewish Quarter leading to our final stand in front
of the Western Wall. From there a very convenient path takes us back directly to Ecce Homo. At this very location one can appreciate
how fortunate we are in this unique place at the heart of the Holy City. There
are very attractive alternatives but I don’t think any of them equal this place
set up by the convert Jews, the Ratisbonne brothers who also founded the
Sisters of Sion who have preserved and enhanced this convent site for so long.
If I find
myself unable to unpack all we learned from our day on the “Horizons of
Jerusalem”, it is very clear that even months in the Holy Land will prove that
one can never make a package out of all it has to offer.
At 6.30 this
morning, Saturday, Dermot (Kiltegan) and I decided to walk on the outside of
the Old Wall perimeter from the Damascus Gate to the Dung Gate. That was the
easy part and took only half an hour. But to get from there through the streets
to Ecce Homo took the better part of half an hour and only got us back in time
for breakfast.
In brief, for
the rest of these preliminary days we had the very weighty Catholic and Jewish
perspective of the Holy land given by
Archbishop Pietro Sambi and Rabbi Levi
Kelman with two lectures on Thursday.
On Friday we
had our first taste of the real pedagogic Jesuit “Introduction to Reading the Bible”, by David Neuhaus, S.J. Being
of a Jewish family in South Africa he attended Jesuit school and became
interest in Catholicism. His parents were concerned and sent him to Israel for
a Jewish education. His parents, Jews, have been visiting Israel and in fact
joined us in class to hear their son lecturing for us. Needless to say they
were made very welcome by the members of the group. David will be one of our
regular professors.
More involved
in the current political and social situation, Bernard Sabella, gave us the
views of a Palestinian Catholic. He is Palestinian. He is not a convert. He did
not come from either Jewish or Muslim religion. He did not come from overseas.
He was born and lives in Palestine as all his forebears have done since the
time of Jesus. Highly qualified he is a graduate in Sociology in the Hebrew
University.
And Bernard,
like all the other speakers, is highly qualified and articulate in his own
field and shares the common factor of being active in interfaith and
reconciliation concerns for the peoples of the Holy Land.
Extra to the
menu for this introductory week, preparation for the Sabbath and the Feast of
Tabernacle (Booths), another Rabbi, Ophir Yarden gave us an active Jewish
Rabbi’s teaching on the observance of the Sabbath, timed to mark the beginning
of Sabbath with two candles. . This was in the classroom but he proceeded to
take us to the Western Wall to show us the Jews gathering for the feast. And on
the spot, with Jews in the very traditional Jewish garb, originating largely
from early Polish style, black cloths with long coats if not tails, and black
hats, milling around, he explained that the great variety of garbs only
reflected the many strands of Judaism which are as numerous as the Christian
denominations. As we talked Jews kept coming and going in great numbers, women
included for their own section of the Western (Weeping) Wall, and will continue
ech day of the week of Tabernacles. The feast of Tabernacles has a joyful
spirit as distinct from the penitential Yom Kippur of the previous week. A
Jewish colleague in Jewish attire came over to greet Rabbi Ophir and offered us
all his friendly blessing.
This leaves me
with no space to speak of the members of the group on the course. Suffice to
say that of a group of eighteen we come from ten nationalities, from five
continents. And we would all, including the Sisters and staff who do such a
good job, ask you to keep us in your kind prayers.
With love
Donald
PS. Working on
the hoof, so to speak, please ignore the typos and mistakes.
Lavra Netofa
Chronicle 5
21st October 2003
Ecce Homo -
Commencemment
Dear Dom
Raymond,
Chronicle 5 –
(Begun) Sunday
12th October 2003 was the formal celebration of Commencement for the Course.
The Professors, Sisters of Sion, and other Staff were invited to our Sunday
Mass in the Basilica of the Ecce Homo Church rather than in our usual Chapel in
a transept tribune higher up.
It is hard to
appreciate that we are actually residing here on the spot, “at a place known as
the stone pavement which in Hebrew is Gabbatha” Jn. 19:13. It is one thing to
be a tourist but to be a resident in the multi-level, multi-age historic site
is something else. There are four main strata, the Cisatern, the Lithostrotos
(Pavement), the Basilica and the terrace roof viewing terrace. In between there
are 19 broken levels – an architect’s nightmare. The name “Ecce Homo” refers to
Jn. 19.5 “Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and purple robe. Pilate
said to them: “BEHOLD THE MAN”, (Ecce Homo). The Basilica was built by Alphonse
Ratisbonne after his discovery of the
ruins in 1857. Underneath is the “pavement”, LITHOSTROTOS. This extends next
door to the Chapel of the Condemnation. This was erected by the Franciscans.
The Franciscan Biblical Institute fills the courtyard at the opposite end of
which is the Church of the Flagellation. To go next door to say a prayer I find
myself on the First of the Stations of the Cross beginning here in the Via
Dolorosa. I will send you a copy of the leaflet on the Ecce Homo Basilica. But
two anecdotes will not appear on the leaflet. Leo XIII obtained the status of
Basilica from Alphonse Ratisbonne in
order that his foundation would remain
preserved for the future – this is a condition for a basilica and, no doubt,
now for building regulations in the Old City today – nothing must be changed.
Another anecdote in the annals of the Sisters of Sion is that their
neighbouring Franciscan archaeologists discovered, in the course of digging,
that they also hit the ‘pavement’. They went deeper and further and found the
“Struthion Pool”. Legend has it that the Convent was already using it for
swimming, and that the Mother Superior promptly made sure that the opening was
very promptly built up the opening again. To this day they have not yet agreed
to combine the parts and open the full remains of the lithostrotos to the
public. We can smile but this only illustrates how closely related these
historic sites are connected. One of the Sisters will give us a full historical
account of the Sisters of Sion, and later of the Cistern, the Pavement and the
Arch, although there is an excellent exhibition where pilgrims are given a
guided presentation – one afternoon I eavesdropped on a priest from the
Pontifical Biblical Commission conducting a group just below. The full details
of Herod the Great’s (around 30 BC) part in all this are fully documented.
Alphonse
Ratisbonne is the brother of the Jewish family, who had a miraculous conversion
at St. Andrea del Fratte in Rome and went on to dedicate his life to Our Lady
of Sion in Jerusalem. St. Andrea del Fratte is the Rome Church for Scots. It
became Cardinal Gray’s Titular Church. I wonder if Has Eminence of Edinburgh
has been given the same Church.
One of the
Sisters on the Course is a Franciscan Missionary of Mary. She is Sr. Keiko
Kataoka from Japan who was a Novice when my Sister Noreen was Novice Mistress.
On Sunday evening we went to visit the Convent not far from the Damascus
Gate. Of course having so many family
connections I was made very much at home. I hope my visit did not disturb the
peace of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament which takes place during three
hours in the morning and in the afternoon. This cannot be easy since there are
elderly sisters needing care and nursing. They are a fairly large community.
They can receive 50 pilgrims but at this time not many can come. They have seen
this situation change so often that they do not worry about it. Sr. Paschale,
Superior, was most hospitable. Sr Leiko, Japanese, has been in Jerusalem for 25
years. She attended the recent Solemn Profession at Latroun. Sr Felicity,
(England) and Sr Emmanuele could make up for my limits in French. From the
terrace Sr. Keiko was able to show me the city from another angle. On the Old
City side, St. Saviour and the Franciscan complex seems to be on the highest
ground actually overlooking the Holy Sepulchre level. In the opposite
direction, across the street from the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Convent
is the Dominican Church and Ecole Biblique. We paid a visit to the very large
Church, St. Stephens. There was no Dominican in sight but I hope to visit there
again.
It is the time of Succoth, the
seven day celebration of Tabernacles, (Booths), the seasonal harvest
thanksgiving time to include prayer for the rains of late Autumn. Jewish
events, especially at the Western Wall abound –in spite of Israeli check
points, it seems to on our walking path for other things as well.
I had the unusual experience of meeting
the Mayor of Jerusalem in a ceremonial Succoth Booth in the Citadel of David.
The Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary had invitations to this
special event and Sr. Keiko made sure I received one. Sr. Emmanuele explained
that Mayor Lupolianski, recently in that Office, is someone who is very
sensitive to the issues in the city regarding human rights. The invitation was
for two persons. Sr. Raymonde Maisonneuve, CSC, Canadian Sister working in
Peru, a member of the course came along.
For the occasion, the Citadel of David,
the best museum, seemed to be free and open to all. We met other friends on
this happy social occasion. Then as we browsed around we found extraordinary
exhibition presentations in every odd part of the cellars, the towers and ramparts. The points of access were not
clear but fortunately Sr. Raymonde had no inhibitions in opening every door in
our path. She actually has Jewish relations whom she hopes to meet in Haifa
This unofficial
tour of the Tower of David Museum resonated with much of the contents of
Tuesday’s class, “The Land of the Bible” by Allan Rabinowitz. The familiar
historical geography of the Fertile Crescent is something one has a vague
notion about but it makes a great difference to have one who is a master of the
subject. In our context of Study in the Lands of the Bible there is an emphasis
on the physicality and the precise identification of Biblical texts with the
actual locations, so the paths traced by the Children of Israel, make the whole
thing very real. Rabinowitz, accepts, as do all his colleagues, that we may end by feeling confused by the
history and geography and even by the spiritual content, but his presentation
certainly gives us the solid framework. In his next sessions he is going on to
the Israelite and Philistine divide by the ‘spine’ of the hills in Palestine.
Even now pieces of the great jigsaw puzzle begin to fall into place.
Tomorrow,
Wednesday, we take a trip into the Galilee. This is introduced by Raphael Carse
who will take us the Nazareth with the leading texts:
Mk 16 1:8, “You
are looking for Jesus of Nazareth . . . He is going ahead of you into Galilee”.
Mt. 21 10, “This is the Prophet Jesus of
Nazareth in Galilee”.
Every word here
can be unpacked into volumes of significance, as Raphael ably demonstrated. I
am looking forward to his commentary at the actual places on the ground. One of
the priests in the Course finds Raphael to be the most skilful in presentation
and exposition. He has all the skills of communication. I find that all the
‘Professors’ have something distinctive to contribute.
But Galilee, (A Glimpse of Galilee including Jordan River, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee),will
be special and there should be more say about the experience.
Now I have got
as far as Sunday 19 th Oct so I will try to FAST BACK on events in reverse
order.
Holy Sepulchre
Steps outside
lead to the authentic rock of Golgotha.
Chapel used for Eucharistic Adoration
On Sunday
morning, with the weather still pleasantly
warm and without rain so far, (the concluding part of the Feast of
Tabernacles, Succoth, is a ceremonial , in earnest, whacking on the ground with
willows praying for rain), I rambled along the Stations of the Cross route to
the Holy Sepulchre. It was before 6.30 a.m. In the Franciscan (OFM) Chapel a
Friar was preparing to say Mass. I asked to Concelebrate and was made very
welcome. At other times, before the intafada, priests had to book ahead
of time to reserve a place. The Mass
was in Italian but I was invited to read the Gospel in English, and even said
one of the Eucharistic Prayers in Italian. I offered the Mass especially for
the community of Nunraw.
This is a mere
Chapel, the Chapel of the Apparition based on an ancient tradition that Jesus
first appeared to Mary here after His Resurrection. This is also the Blessed
Sacrament Chapel and a quiet place for prayer in the normal bustling of crowds
of visitors. Another place for quiet prayer is right down two more levels to
the place where St. Helena discovered the True Cross. The Basilica of the Holy
Sepulchre does not correspond to any idea of a CHURCH that one can think of. It
is an interminable maze of Chapels and Shrines, each being the treasured
foothold claimed by the whole gamut of
Orthodox and Catholic Churches. A centre point to it all could be identified in
omphalos, (navel) of the Orthodox Cathedral which the Greeks regard as
the centre of the world.
The Anglicans
are permitted a complimentary use of the little Greek Orthodox Chapel in the
west courtyard. The Lutherans, on the other hand, have had a massive Church
almost adjoining the Holy Sepulchre. It was built by the Kaiser Wilhelm II in
1889.That marked a turning point in the flow Christian denominations wanting to
establish their presence in the Holy Land. The Church of Scotland has always
been to the fore in the Holy Land although I have not yet visited the Scots
Church of St. Andrew. Earlier, the Nuncio had pointed out to us that whereas
the attitude of Protestants had been that of disapproval of Greek and Latin
ceremonial in the early 19th century this has changed dramatically. The tower of the Lutheran Church of the Holy
Redeemer looms high above the domes of the Church of the Resurrection,
the name used very properly by the
Orthodox for the Holy Sepulchre – it is a dominating landmark which dwarfs even
the neighbouring mosques, one of which is also on the doorstep of the Basilica.
If this sounds convoluted, the actual sites and the creeds are even more
complex. When the Nuncio, Pietro Sambi, spoke to us he explained that while
there are 13 traditional Churches in Jerusalem, of which 6 are Catholic and 5
Oriental, there are now, in contrast, at least 40 Denominations. We have had an
in house example of this in our own situation. There has been a Messianic group
of 30 Americans staying with us at Ecce Homo since I came. They came to be here
for Succoth, feast of Tabernacle, for the Coming of the Messiah, as they
predicted, on the exact spot of the Mt of Olives which can be seen from our
windows. They, from toddlers to granny
in a wheel chair, spent each evening on the top terrace of Ecce Homo
playing and singing charismatic music at which they were actually very good.
But they were very serious and only began to thaw out. They left us last
evening disappointed that the Lord did not arrive on cue but not discouraged
and they plan to come again for next Succoth. Later we had, as guests, some 20
Menonites from America.
For thirty
years now there has been great collaboration between the 13 traditional
Churches and the 40 Denominations. Joint statements are forged together on
major issue. Only 2% of Israel is made up of Christians. Their Vote counts for
nothing in politics but the support of World Christians can have some
influence. Recently the Nuncio was able to intervene favourably on behalf of a
Convent being blocked off by the awful Israeli Bethlehem Wall.
Some of our
group went to Notre Dame for the Filipino Mass. Notre Dame is another landmark
of a Statue of Our Lady flanked by two towers. It looks straight into one of my
windows from the other side of the city wall. We were informed that the Nuncio
will be coming to that Church on Wednesday to mark the Holy Father’s Silver
Jubilee as Pope.
I had time on
Saturday morning to do some laundry and get a medical check up. With some
technical help from our second generation handyman, Issa, (Arabic = Jesus),
his elderly father now works in
Reception, I managed the washing alright! There is a great spirit among
workers, staff, community and visitors. They include Muslims, Catholic,
Melchites etc.
The visit to
the Community Medical Centre was equally useful. The lady Arab Doctor was
extremely efficient. I returned in two hours for the results and was given a
very precise diagnosis – all satisfactory within my customary regime. The staff
there were equally friendly and efficient, and the charges quite reasonable.
Insurance should refund it when I get home.
That evening
two of us went to find St. Saviour’s Church and monastery in St. Francis
Street. It was closed for the siesta. Oddly, it is not mentioned in the Guide
books, perhaps because it is more of a place of intense practical activity by
the Franciscans and not a historical monument. They formed a Province in
Palestine in 1217. They were officially appointed the Custodians or
Guardians of the Holy Places by Clement
VI in 1342 and after many expulsions and exiles are still maintaining their
special role. The Franciscan Superior in Jerusalem ranks on a par with the
Patriarchs and Archbishop. The Monastery of St. Saviour is the Grand Seminary,
the Custodial Infirmary and the Latin Parish, but above all it is the Curia of
the Holy Land Custodians. As a Province, the Franciscans must be the largest
Province in their Order. The Directory lists 95 Friars at St. Saviour, 18 at
the Friary of the Flagellation, the Franciscan Biblical, Institute next door to
us, and thirty other communities. At the regular Friday Way of the Cross in Via
Dolorosa, Franciscans were everywhere. I would say they are living up to their
reputation as Custodian of the Holy Places. Italian and Arabic are the
languages they speak.
Passing along
the route of the Stations of the Cross, it was interesting to find the Little
Sisters of Charles de Foucauld very touchingly located at the 6th Station;
“Veronica wipes the Face of Jesus”. Just like any other stall along the narrow
stepped street it is the shop for the sale of Icons and cards and a vaulted
Crusader Chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for quiet prayer. The
work of the Little Sisters of Jesus puts in concrete terms the story of the
woman who offered to wipe Jesus’ face with her head cloth on which the verum
ikon, (the true image) was imprinted.
The “field
work” on Wednesday was our “Glimpse of Galilee” trip – only a glimpse because
we are to return to the Sea of Galilee for a two night sojourn. On this
occasion we had more than enough to assimilate getting our feet into the Jordan
at the place of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, and a visit to Nazareth and
to Tabgha, the site of the Multiplication of the Loaves. At Tiberias there is a
purpose built visitors centre for ‘baptism in the Jordan. Our theologian guide
gave us very up to date treatise on sacramental theology in the context of
Jordan bank. We enjoyed an improvised Baptismal renewal ceremony with shoes off
and the crunch of sharp pebbles. The facilities are there for full immersion as
well.
At Tabgha,
there is a small community of Olivetan Benedictines, a branch from the
Dormition Abbey, at Tabgha. There are two Benedictine Sisters from the
Filipinos in our group, Sr. Elisa and Sr. Emma, and they actually have a small
community of Sisters at Tabgha helping the monks with their Guesthouse, and
hostels for the handicapped and for youth. Again they are looking for better
times with the return of Pilgrims/Tourists. We were given of welcome access
down to the shore to spend quiet time with the Jesus of the Multiplication of
the Loaves. Some far seeing Benedictine Superior has a policy of sending two of
the Sisters to Jerusalem on a regular basis.
Early morning,
late afternoon, there is always something new on the horizon to keep us on our
toes. At the same time, for our regular course we have very well prepared lectures between 8.30
a.m. and 12.30 p.m. This means in practice that I cannot hope to unpack too
much of it in too little time.
The
‘physicality’ of this course is its special feature. It is amazing how so much
of the Bible takes on new dimensions simply by being in the places identified.
The study of St. John, for example shows that John is the most accurate of the
Evangelist on the geography, Jewish Feasts, and religious practices. During the
past week we have been in and out of the area of the Western Wall for the Feast
of Succoth - Shelters (Jerusalem Bible). I got a great lift to find that
Chapters 7, 8 and 9 of John begins with the busy Succoth celebrations in the
Temple and goes on the Mt of Olives and the Pool of Siloam, (healing of man
born blind). Every step is within minutes of our Centre. The Pool of Siloam is
part of the amazing water system from the Kidron Valley. I had only a quick
look at a magnificent model reproduction of the system at David’s Tower Museum
but hope to examine it more closely. This discovery of the underground system
was discovered by a British engineer, Charles Warren in the 19th century. The
same Charles Warren, back from military service, was assigned investigation of
serial killer<Jack the Ripper. Maybe archaeology and criminology have
something in common.
That is a Word
Count of 3000 words and events have already gone away ahead of me.
Please excuse
the delay. There has been an hiatus in communications because of the delay in
new computers and Internet connection. Israel is reputes to be very advanced
technologically. This does not apply to the Old City in Jerusalem. The
technicians are reluctant to come inside the Old City to supply or to service
the facilities newly provided by the Sisters for the Biblical Students. Today,
at last, (27th October), we are Online.
On the other
hand, the group now has a passion for learning Hebrew so I do not know if I
will have time for chronicling events.
Meanwhile best
regards and love top all.
God bless.
Donald
Chronicle 6
03 November 2003
Weekend back at Latroun
Chronicle 6 of “Sojourn in the Land of
the Bible, Centre for Biblical Formation 41 Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem”
Dear Dom Raymond,
Chronicle 6 –
In this upside
down Chronicle, I have to begin at the end, that is from my return from the
weekend at Latroun. If you remember, there was a television company which
contacted us at Latroun in September wanting to include Emmaus in a documentary
on the coming Easter, 2004. Well I did
my star turn, even if the presenters for the series were in fact two attractive
young ladies whose normal occupation is opera singing. It had to be for English
viewers and Abbot Paul was apparently enthusiastic for the project. All went
well until something of a stalemate
arose – no women in the enclosure, and enclosure included the main target of
interest which is the winery. There was no problem with the male production
team but with out the role of presenters by the two young ladies it seemed to
be an impasse. In the end, as the best compromise, I noticed that we could get
a good side view of the cloisters from the Church steps. So making sure that
the girls did not cross the line we managed the interview there. Also since we
could not get into the highly mechanised wine and olive oil factory we had a
wine tasting session in the “boutique”, the shop.
For the
interview, only that morning, I had rooted out a very telling piece of
confirmation of the earliest veneration of Emmaus as the sacred spot where
Jesus met the two disciples on the day of his resurrection. Even my notes have
gone to Josephine, the team secretary. The Map of Madaba, near Amman in Jordan,
is the earliest known map of the Middle East, circa 595 AD. It consisted of a
very large mosaic made of coloured
pieces. It is an illustrated pictorial map, parts of it destroyed, but
Jerusalem of that period, for example is well preserved AND SO TOO IS EMMAUS.
In the famous Map of Madaba Emmaus in the guise of the Greek letters of
NIKOPOLIS features bright and clear.. In other words veneration of Emmaus as
the place of Jesus’ encounter with the two disciples was well established by
this time. There was not scope to quote even earlier references, Josephus,
Jerome, Eusebius, destruction by the Persians and again by the Arab invasion of
the 7th century.
The main message
was that until the time of the Crusaders none of the alternative sites had been
heard of, Abu Gosh, El Quibeibah, Qalunieh. The Benedictines at Abu Gosh have
their version, a Franciscan scholar makes a case for El Qarab, Qalunieh has
disappeared in the Six Day War. These alleged sites are closer to Jerusalem,
but if the distance walked by the disciples is the only factor for consideration
I thought of how in penal days, in
Scotland, people thought nothing of walking surprising distances for Mass. In
pre-automobile days people walked much farther distances.
Whatever the
geography of the matter, the important thing is the encounter with Jesus and in
that meeting there is an even richer understanding when it is understood in the
tradition of Torah practice. The familiar conclusion is that after breaking
bread they recognised him. The significance is even more powerful in Luke 24,
32, that their hearts burned when Jesus spoke to them and explained the
Scriptures to them, something in line with the Jewish devotion to the Torah or,
as we would call it, the sacramental power of the Word.
(As other
background to this, we had an extra-curricular session with a group, Bet Kol,
who share the Scriptures on a regular basis. There is a course of readings of
the Torah designed on an annual cycle, not unlike our own series of Readings
for Office and Mass. It is a wonderful catechesis in Lectio Divina. Excuse
another diversion; - there is an association known as Bat Kol Institute
Extended Community devoted to this method of reading the 5 Books of Moses (the
Torah). The Institute organises summer schools for overseas students who only
have to pay their travel, everything else is provided in keep and tuition and
field trips. A couple of the Group came to give us a demonstration. I arrived
to hear the main speaker and I was convinced he was a Jew immersed in the Torah
tradition and spoke with great enthusiasm for sharing the Scriptures. In fact
he turned out to be a Christian Brother, Retired Head of a big School in New
York, Jack Driscoll by name, an engaging exponent of the Bat Kol. On the above
point of Luke 24: the Emmaus walk on
Easter Sunday afternoon, for example, he happened give a good idea of the
essential method. On that occasion, maybe the disciples felt an association of
ideas with the ‘Last Supper’ or were reminded of the multiplication of the
loaves. “But it was in the opening of the Scriptures that their depression on
the road, (“with their faces downcast”, was lifted. Jack expressed it all more
dramatically. The Sabbath observance
and the Torah readings seem to be the main focus. There is a Website for Bat
Kol which I will have to follow).
Incidentally one
of the classes I missed yesterday was
on Jewish Rabbinism by a Ophir Yardin. It is great to get some of the Jewish
teaching from Jewish speakers. The course on Jewish life and practice is but
sampling of the vast teaching whci is showing little sign of dying out – just
the opposite. But last night I had an
even closer encounter with the Rabbinic Judaism of a different kind. At Latroun
the Brothers of Jesus, the Lutheran fraternity settled in the Crusader
Stables in the Trappist property, were
celebrating their 30th anniversary and we were all invited. Abbot Paul had a
key address and ended on a spontaneous note on how the TWO disciples were
united in coming to know the Lord, “wherever two are gathered in my name”, as
summing up the great Ecumenical relationship of the communities not merely of
friends. but of BROTHERS.
There were
endless speeches, mostly in German, but right at the tail end an Israeli spoke
in English. It was hard to place him but in fact he was a MESSIANIC JEW and had
a rousing message of Messianic renewal
appearing in all the bodies of believers in the Messiah – not the Messiah to
come but already with us. There are some 6,000 of these Messianic Jews in
Israel. They are not very enamoured of the Christian Church but they do accept
the Messiah as having come in Jesus Christ. That is the merest sample of
strange and wonderful variety of groups appearing out of nowhere.
Concluding my
filming role, masquerading as an expert
on the Latroun wines, we toasted a wonderful sample of Latroun MUSCAT.
One can always
learn new tricks. So while at it, I got a bottle of the best wine available,
Latroun MERLOT 1999. I have brought this with me to take as a present to the
Abbot, (Archimandrite), of St. Catherine’s monastery on Mount Sinai. On
Saturday 8th November we will be setting out for the Negev and Sinai. This four
nights on Mt. Sinai will be the highlight of our excursions – if we succeed in
getting through all the bureaucratic obstacles. The Sisters of Ecce Home have been struggling to get through all
the red tape to obtain the necessary Visas etc. We have been warned about
sleeping rough in anticipation of a winter climate. Up to this moment, 3rd
November, the weather has been extremely hot.
Abbot
Christopher of Glenstall, also on the Ecce Homo Course, accompanied me for the
weekend at Latroun. Since it was All Saints and All Souls it was a very
opportune time for a break. Christopher was immensely impressed by the
hospitality of the monks at Latroun. He got back to Jerusalem in time for the
classes. I am afraid I have suffered a gap in today’s output of very
concentrated lectures.
To get some
shape into this Chronicle, I guess the days for FIELD WORK, (Excursion) each
Wednesday are the best markers.
On
Wednesday 27th Oct, our theme was
“Jesus the Pilgrim”. Starting off from Lion’s Gate, (St.Stephen’s Gate, near
where he was stoned. - there is a Shrine of St. Stephen in the Latroun region
which is supposed to have been the Jewish school of Gamalial, teacher of Paul
and also, it is said, teacher of Stephen!), we went by bus to the west of the
city where there is a complete scale model of the Jerusalem of the 2nd Temple
period. During the years that the Arabs occupied the city the Israel’s had to
be content with this extraordinary model reproduction to examine the old city
and for guided tours for children. It is a beautiful piece of work and
excellent as a visual aid supplementing the detailed topographical and
historical details. One can almost feel the illusion of now grasping the nature
of Jerusalem.
The aim was to
introduce us to the Holy City and then begin to walk the actual streets from
the South Temple Wall through the Jewish section and on to the Holy Sepulchre.
So we abandoned the bus at Sion Gate and our long-legged guide, Raphael, strode
along the city wall as far as the Tanner Gate and Dung Gate. There was once a
road built by Queen Eudoxia at the Tanners Gate leading from a Church at the
Poll of Siloam and some of the paving is still there but the road as such is
cut short at that point. The main Dung Gate leads in to a very highly developed
Archaeological Garden. The main interest for us here was the approach to the
South Wall of what was the Temple and more specifically to the entrances
through which Mary and Joseph would have passed. This wall now built solid from
the stones of Herod’s Temple and later constructions of the Crusaders gives
some idea of the steps ascending to the Temple. On the side of these stairs the
baths for purification, such as Mary would have performed, are clearly seen.
That was as
strenuous a mornings exploring as one could ask for so we stopped right in the
middle of the Jewish section where there was a convenient spot to eat our
packed lunch. I can tell we are learning to become as mobile as the best
itinerants. These are fun explorations but for that very reason marvellous
means of invaluable learning.
I have always
been interested in maps. A large area of the Jewish Section was excavated years
ago and a whole Roman style town was found here. It has been restored as the
Cardo, a high quality shopping street. This Cardo forms the main artery leading
to the Holy Sepulchre. On one of the Roman walls there is an exact reproduction
of the Jerusalem part of the Madaba Map (6th Century) with the main Holy Places
clearly portrayed in colour Mosaic. This was obviously where the Guide was
taking us as we went through the Souk towards the Holy Sepulchre. Rather oddly
our introduction to the Holy Sepulchre began in an former sweet shop among
other market booths. The guide obviously knew something others had missed. In
the back of the shop were the remains of Crusade and earlier stones and
pillars. This where the massive Constantine
buildings began. From there we went over the roof of the Ethiopian Chapel
which lies directly above the spot of the Chapel of St. Helena. A community of very poor Ethiopian monks live on
the roof as well. The celebration of the Ethiopian Easter, a week after the
Romans, begins at this point and is something not to be missed – if I am still
around. In a book sent to me by William, just in time for my journey, there are
unique cutaways and floorplans which give a clearer idea of how it all fits
together. Can you visualize us winding our way through these ancient hidden
approaches to bring us to the key spots of the very complex Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, more correctly called the Church of the Resurrection? There was very
good logic in the path of steps and stairs. At the lowest level is the ancient
quarry where St. Helena is said to have discovered the true Cross. 22 steps
higher, the Armenian Chapel of St. Helena is the oldest intact part of the
original Constantine Basilica AD 330. The dome in the ceiling is the cupola
peaking up in the Ethiopian monastery where we started. Upwards and onwards we
touched on the natural Rock of Calvary, Chapel of Adam, Golgotha and at the
main entrance the Anointing Stone backed by a great mural of the Crucifixion
with the skull representing Adam, the Anointing of Jesus, and the placing in the
tomb. Significant at this point is the tradition of the Orthodox in venerating
the Anointing Stone. For the Orthodox this is the important goal of their
pilgrimage, usually for elderly people who, traditionally bring the shroud with
which they wish to be buried. It is a wonderful symbolic appreciation and an
excellent catechesis or kerygma of participation in the death and resurrection
of Jesus.
Finally, but
bypassing countless other significant accretions, we arrived at Christ’s Tomb, the most sacred site for Christians,
where Christ’s body is believed to have been laid.
In the spirit of
our ‘exploration’ we had time for pauses for prayer and reflection and we ended
our day in the poorest most neglected Chapel just behind the Tomb of Christ.
This was the Syrian Chapel. And in this desolate little sanctuary we gathered
and we passed around some Resurrection Thoughts read verse by verse among us.
And then we dispersed to our own thoughts and the assimilation of the
un-assimilateable.
Before going on
to the next day of ‘field work’ 29th October another diversion occurs to me.
The German Benedictines have a notable presence in Jerusalem in the monastery
of Mount Sion and Church of the Dormition. Since 1987 they have sponsored the
Mount Zion Award for Jewish Arab relations. An open invitation to Ecce Homo,
brought by Abbot Christopher, Glenstall, to attend this significant Peace
Award. It was late evening but we now walk the dark alleys and Souqs through
the Old City with great aplomb. The Presentation took place in the Church of
the Dormition. The great and the good were there but son also was a large
contingent of youth both Jewish and Arab. Abbot Benedikt spoke in carefully
articulated English, the dignitaries in Hebrew and Arabic and, interestingly,
the young recipients spoke in English. The joint Award was made to an Israel
girl, 22, and a Palestinian youth, 23. They received the Award in recognition
of their collaboration in with young people working for reconciliation between
Israelis and Palestinians. The most enthusiastic applause came from the young
people. Everybody acknowledged the desperate need for some change in the
present crisis.
That the
situation has not improved politically was evident in the only opportunity
permitted to us to visit Bethlehem. There was a Celebration of the Olive
Festival recently and only on this one day was the check point open. That is if
you can call “OPEN” having to leave one mini-bus, negotiate a no-man’s land and
get a taxi, at exorbitant charges, to Manger Square. The Olive Festival was a
very brave effort by the local people and they contributed joyfully with
the singing and dancing and stalls for
various charities. But one could sense the ominous presence overshadowing it
all and the tangible intimidation of the Israelis and the obscenity of the
Bethlehem Wall.
Now let me see
if I can recall the events of our Excursion of 29th October. Some may find this
journal interesting but I have to
confess my selfish motive in having some record for myself of the extraordinary
array experience in the Land of Jesus.
In fact, now
being on the eve of our big Expedtion, three nights in the Negev and Mount
Sinai, I will have to telescope the account of the visit to the Chagal Windows
to the west of the city, the Israel Museum in the upmarket parkland area where
the Knesset, Israeli Parliament, is located, and the final sobering tour of the
Holocaust Memorial complex.
All three sites,
guided this time by Alan Rabinowitz, the expert on “The Land of the Bible”
embraced blend of Biblical and contemporary culture. He has a course of ten
hours of lectures in the programme. The
contemporary element took us into the art of the Chagall Windows, and into the
horrors of Israel memories of the Holocaust. The latter is overdone and could
have equally well convey the message of man’s cruelty to man in the very moving
memorial to the 1.5 million children who suffered death at the hands of the
Nazis. Something similar could be said of the very positive cultural
contribution of the Chagal Windows. These are a story within a story of Jews
coming to terms with their past, ancient and present. Mark Chagall, a
Russian-born Jewish artist (1887-1985) came from a very poor family. His
passion for art lead him to a career which defied all the obstacles to international
fame. He had only one visit to Israel after WW2 but that affected his whole
life. He created the 12 Windows for the Synagogue of the Hadassah Hospital.
This is a very successful hospital founded by an Association of American Jewish
Women. The Hospital commissioned Mark Chagall for the work which he
consequently donated. The Windows evoke all that is implied in this whole
situation. The Windows are massive and each represents one of the twelve tribes
of Israel. There are no human figures in the Rabbinic tradition. Each of the
tribes is represented by a symbol, a precious stone and a social role. I could
not resist obtaining a set of reproduction from the shop. They make a good
visual aid to the history of the Twelve Tribes. This busy shop, incidentally,
is inside a working hospital, which in turn is inside a security check area.
That was a fine
preliminary to a tour of the Israel Museum which we visited next. This was to
take us through as many of the Epochs of Biblical history as time would allow and
gives great background for the lectures of Alan Rabinowitz. The Museum is a
magnificent collection. All the exhibits and presentations are state-of-the art
productions. Again we had the usual check points before entry, but we also had
useful students. On our route we passed the Church of St. Andrew where a famous
discovery occurred in the find of the earliest inscription so far known. It is
in the Israel Museum and consists of a broach with the Shema Blessing
engraved. Along the route we also
passed through the so called German Colony. Unfortunately this colony gradually
disappeared in the anti WW2 of the British Mandate. This same area is now well
known for the bombing of Jews in one of the Cafes not many years ago. In
reaction, the restaurant-café was rebuilt within the year and remains one of
the trendiest eating places.
These
meanderings will have to be interrupted until the return from Mt. Sinai - not
that I am expecting to quite equal the delivery service of Moses from there.
Some of the techno skilled members of the party are combining their production
of digital photographs into a CD Rom discs. This will something for Christmas
mail not far from now.
Meanwhile my
very best wishes to all.
Yours devotedly,
Donald McGlynn
PS. Again,
please don’t expect a seamlessly drafted Chronicle 6. In the situation we are
learning to improvise as we go.
Chronicle
7
19th
November 2003
Chronicle 7 of “Sojourn in the Land of
the Bible, Centre for Biblical Formation 41 Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem”
Excursion,
“The Judean Wilderness Experience”
Wadi Kelt –
Massada - Qumran 5 Nov 03
Dear Dom
Raymond,
Excursion, “The Judean Wilderness
Experience”, began with 6.00 am departure from out side Lion’s Gate (St. Stephen’s). Guide and Commentator,
Raphael H. Carse
Half an hour later we were in the Judean
Desert at the Wadi Kelt view point.
That is all the time it takes between the city of Jerusalem and the Judean
Wilderness the contrast is as extreme as that. The theme for this ‘field day’
began with an excellent on site exposition of
the Wilderness contrast of the Jerusalem urban context to the west and
the Jericho oasis town community to the east. A series of springs provides
water carried by an underground aqueduct to Jericho. In between there is
nothing but the arid waste of rolling hills where we meditated on “THE TESTING
OF JESUS – AND HIS RESPONSE”. (Sadly the overlay of current affairs of all of
this is the ever present Israel – Palestinian conflict. Jericho is virtually a
prison for the natives of that historical city).
In the light of our special focus on the
Land of the Bible, the DESERT is a place of refuge and a place of testing. We
can follow in the footsteps of Jesus seeing him first in the whole spectrum of
the city urban society of Jerusalem on the one hand , and the counter-city
society of the desert on the other. As if on cue, the sound of the goat bell of
an approaching Bedouin shepherd taking his animals over the bare slopes
illustrated the kind of background that Jesus knew so well.
The description of Rachel was quite moving
in this setting. Rachel’s place in Hebrew affection holds a place corresponding
to that of Mary in the New Testament. In explaining the question of the “Tomb
of Rachel”, Raphael filled in the details of the shrine beside Bethlehem. This
particular shrine was set up by Montefiore in 19th Century, based on the
connection with Bethlehem “the place of bread”. This is a common name and the
consensus on the location of where Rachel was actually buried seems to point
rather to the area where we were standing, in Benjamin country. The account
from Genesis (see Gen, 48:7) further records the REJECTION suffered by Rachel,
the element of REJECTION as part of this desert experience. This is the desert
land allocated to the tribe of Benjamin. With these links in mind we were
directed to wander off for our own meditation.
We took our individual desert walks in
silence and when we gathered again, we enjoyed a very memorable meditation on
the Jesus wilderness experience in St. Luke given by Raphael Carse. In Luke the
threads of Bread. Kingdom and Temple were beautifully explained ,
bearing in mind that the final answer is not in Luke 4 but in Luke 22. This
brought us a very fresh theological commentary on St Luke’s purpose and
intention of NARRATIVE, rather than journal or video presentation. Luke had a
very structured narrative method based on
CHIASM. A story begins with a young man setting forth on his career,
then going through struggle until the final return home much the wiser. The
pattern is similar in the ‘chiastic’ nature of Luke’s account of the “testing,
the temptation of Jesus.
In this desert testing, three threads are
entwined; BREAD, KINGDOM, TEMPLE. The test is in Jesus making himself the
centre of feeding and nourishing (Bread), or in assuming authority to himself,
(Kingdom), the desire for immortality, invulnerability, (Temple). The answer is
not in Luke Chapter 4 but in Chapter 22.
Satan appears in 4.13 and he reappears
in 22.3.
Luke picks up threads of the story and
resolves the test of BREAD in the self giving of Jesus, of KINGDOM in teaching
the disciple to serve, of the TEMPLE not in the power of an Angel but in
embracing human weakness and mortality. Jesus became the Temple of Acceptance.
Guide Raphael obviously loves Luke’s
theology, (so far I find Luke difficult especially in the pre-Advent ultimatums
and apocalyptic passages), and has given much thought to it. His commentary is
an incentive to study it further. For our Desert ‘experience’ it was the
highlight of the day (Ref. Luke 4 and Luke 22) – before we went on to Massada
and Qumran.).
Massada
The route south along the Dead Sea to Massada brought us to the
top of that great rock fortress, by cable card,- no one volunteered to take the Snake Path -, before 8 o’clock on
a sun drenched morning. For our purpose, although Massada is not strictly
speaking a Biblical site, it provides the basis of a great exposition of the
whole political, economic, demographic scene of which Herod the Great, he of
the slaughter of the Innocents notoriety, is the key figure. Three hours was
not sufficient for more than glimpse of the wonders of that incredible place
which disappeared from the pages of history for centuries and still remains a
mystery for the most part. Books on the subject are plentiful.
Herod the Great, the mad and cruel, gets much coverage as the
central figure in the imagery of the Kingdom for the Gospels. The massive
Massada, (In Ecce Homo we are part of the foundations of Herod’s Antonia
Fortress), is but one example of the madness, the excess and the success of the
Man whom even the Roman Emperor envied for his wealth and power. He died in 4
BCE and his sons were unable to keep up the political momentum. The secret of
Herod the Great’s place in history is the convergence of race, religion,
geography, politics, all of which can be woven together into a useful guided
tour centred on Massada. I see that there is a copy of Paul Johnson’s, “History
of the Jews” in the Ecce Homo library. But our guide made a fair attempt at a
synthesis of putting Herod into context as a major backdrop to the Gospels.
Herod was not a Roman. He was of mixed race, of a marriage an Idumaean and an
Nabataean, the regions we could see in the distance. Herod converted to Judaism
and indeed he seems to have cobbled together marriages out of religion, out of
trade routes, and the whole entangled wed of his genius. Herod was perfectly
placed for his role as a Client Ruler in the Roman Empire and is the only one
to have been given the title of ‘Rex Judaeorum’, (“King of the Judeans” as
given by the Emperor in Rome), apart from the title appended to the Cross of
Jesus on Calvary.
After this introduction to
the history experience on the craggy cliffs of Massada I shall find unfathomed
links in the literature of both Bible the writers of the time, of Josephus etc.
Strangely, it was only in 1838 that the explorer Edward Robinson got on to the
trail of the vanished Massada and it was not until 1830 that a major survey of
the whole site commenced.
Ein Gedi.
Carrying the water bottle seems obligatory in all these excursions
to avoid dehydration, and heat was still intense.
Ein Gedi, on the shore of the Dead Sea, gave us a convenient
stopping place for our picnic lunch, or even more interestingly for our swim in
the buoyancy in the salt sea. Did you know that the word SALARY comes from
here? Apparently first century Roman soldiers were paid their wages in a
measure salt. The Dead See provided trade also in the bitumen, tar, that
floated to the surface and was valuable for the caulking of ships. Today the
export of phosphates from the Dead Sea is an international trade using Israel’s
port of Eilat in the Gulf of Agaba. Another mark of our global village is the
number of car carry trucks trundling through the desert to Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv. This is the route by which thousands of Japanese cars are exported
through Eilat at the Gulf of Agaba.
I enjoyed the dip in the Dead Sea, and the strange experience at
all those feet below sea level, the lowest point, (1200 ft.) in the surface of
the globe. Later I remembered we forgot to look out for the mud baths which are
supposed to be very beneficial for skin complaints, like psoriasis. I
remembered Nivard’s problem. In the gift shop there was a great variety of
mineral and herbal cures. I found a small bottle of the related cure but also
discovered the cost of $50 was not worth it.
As the name indicates, Ein Gedi, is an oasis which like so many
oases is an EYE, (EIN) of the desert. The Biblical associations recall the
encounter between David and Saul, 1 Sam 24), and again Solomon’s ‘Song of
Songs’ (1:14). After centuries of obscurity Ein Gedi has surfaced again in post
1949 Israel kibbutz and tourist prosperity.
Qumran.
We proceeded north along the Dead Sea shore to the place of
greatest Biblical importance and interest in this part of the Judean Desert,
QUMRAN. Writing, lectures and exhibitions have probably provided more than
enough coverage on the subject for monks. The only thing to be added was visiting the actual site and hearing again
the main story, of the Qumran discoveries (1947) and academic tussles over the
texts, which actually reads like a thriller. The caves, now officially numbered
– Q1, Q2 etc., were pointed out to us. At the time the site was under Jordan
control and Fr. De Vaux and his team jealously kept their finds to themselves.
Recent researchers, with more access, come to other conclusions but what cannot
be doubted is the vast amount of authenticated texts of the earliest Scriptue
sources. Raphael recommended that we read the best selling account of the
Qumran Scrolls, ‘Dead Sea Scrolls’ (Penguin).
Remembering the purpose of our “Judean Wilderness Reflection”, we
were able to relax and relish an hour on our own amid the scene of mountains
and caves which were the home of the Essenes. A time for quiet prayer.
Mount Sinai
8/11 Nov. Major Excursion – Negev &
Sinai
Ascending the Holy Mountain was our goal for the major excursion
of our Ecce Home Course.
We were to set off at 3.30 am, making Beersheba our first stop for
the Negev at an early hour, too early to get the reception centre open on the
Sabbath without some delay. Two hours allowed us time to view the extensive
archaeological site and to absorb the very full Biblical History of Beersheba
and the Negev leading into the story of Mt. Sinai.
A travelling seminar or a mobile retreat is one way of describing
our peak excursion of the Pilgrimage to Mount Sinai. Rather than trace our
journey step by step I will just hang things on to the celebration of the
Masses en route.
Saturday 8th Nov. In the Negev via Beer Sheba, Arad, Arava, Eilat, Border Crossing
to Egypt at Taba. Meet Egypt Guide, Dr. Rabia Tewfik.
Made Camp. Celebrated Mass at Sundown. Dom Christopher presided
assisted for the Liturgy by the small group of volunteers on the theme,
“Rejection – Moses Flees into the Desert”.
The overall spiritual trip was meticulously planned:
THE WILDERNESS JOURNEY
Day 1 Sat.
8th Nov. Theme “Rejection – Moses flees into the desert”. Exod 2: 11-15.
Eucharistic Celebration at Sundown. Torch light for readings.
Day 2.
Sunday 9th Nov. Theme “Refuge – Moses is given refuge in the rock”. Exod 33:
18-23. Dawn Mass Fr. Tony Gill.
Day 3 Monday
10th Nov. Theme “Radiance – Face of Moses radiant” Exod 34: 29-35 Dawn Mass,
Sunrise of Mt. Sinai, Fr. Christophe,
(Poland), Homily – Donald.
Day 4.
Tuesday 11th Nov. Theme “Restoration - Death of Moses” Morning Eucharist at
Sunrise on shore of Red Sea. Fr. Dermot
Connolly, Homily, Fr. Eamon Gowing.
A fifth reflection on the Theme “Resistance – Moses at the Waters of Meribah” by
Guide Raphael Carse was to be one of the stages, in fact it came later on the
homeward bus and served to summarise the Wilderness Journey. This departure
from the programme was occasioned by the emergency evacuation from the summit
of Mt. Sinai of Sr. Rosalie who sustained a broken leg.
Sunday 9th November – The Pilgrims Way.
Sunday on our Jeep Safari was like no other Sunday I ever knew.
Spending the night un der the stars, in the cold of the desert, the cul de sac
valley and the monumental rocks shone in the light of the full moon. Everyone
must have slept later and missed the eclipse of the moon and only awoke to see
it reduced and shaded in the low horizon. But the stars continued to shine
bright and in slow motion light began show from the east until the sun rose to
flood our little valley in the desert. While all eyes were on the rising sun I
looked back into the encampment where the Bedouin drivers had already lit a
morning fire. As I looked into this
enlarged cul de sac the high rocks took on every hew of colour like a great
basilica and in the shade the camp fire sparkled like a welcoming sanctuary
lamp. The name of this wonderful desert site is Beir Sagheir. We could not find
it on the map but one of the group was keen enough to get the name from Dr.
Rabia.
For the Mass we had the bare essentials, just managing to balance
the paten and chalice on a convenient rock. Fr. Tony presided with the small
group who prepared the Liturgy following the overall theme of the days of
Pilgrimage. The theme for our Dawn Mass on that Sunday morning was on Moses
finding refuge in the rock, Exodus 33, 18-23. Tony, Fr. Anthony Gill, Kiltegan
Father, put the .words of the Reading into context and into action by sending
everyone off to find their own cleft in the rock, “I will put you in a cleft of
the rock . . .”, there to ponder and pray before continuing the offering of the
Mass.
Meanwhile the drivers were preparing our camp breakfast –
but we had guests. When we got to our solitude at dusk on the previous evening,
not having seen sight of even the smallest settlement, a group of Bedouin women
appeared as if from nowhere. The sat on the sand to spread out trinkets and
anything they possessed for trade. They disappeared again quite discreetly when
we were having camp supper round the fire. After our Mass and breakfast there
the ladies were again reinforced by the babes and children. It was a lovely
encounter of happy faces and quite a bit of unspecified purchases, gifts and
bartering. You would have to love them all, Muslim drivers, guides, Bedouin
families, - they all showed such gentleness and respect to each other. That was
the pattern. Wherever we stopped Bedouins seemed to appear from nowhere until
we were looking for them and the children. We had food that seemed to collect
with every precautionary next stage. It was not needed but when we came to look
for our Bedouin children friends they were no where in sight. In the end we
confided the package to our Egyptian Guide, Dr. Rabia for distribution. Dr.
Rabia is a Medical Doctor who has been working as Sinai Guide for twenty years.
It was just as well that this system of having one Guide on the
Israel side and a second FOR Egypt. This is probably unavoidable because of the
complexities of the Border Crossing between Israel and Egypt. The insufferable
red tape of the Israelis can take up to two hours. At the Egyptian side, on the
other hand, the police were so easy going that one of them was more concerned
with reading and reciting his Koran.
In fact, two guides proved to be indispensable in the emergency
when Sr. Rosalie, the Director of the Ecce Homo Programme, sustained a broken
leg on the final stretch to the summit of Mt. Sinai. Rafael, our Ecce Homo
Guide and the most agile of us all, accompanied Sr. Rosalie from the “mountain
rescue” on Camel and on trough the Border Crossing, made more readily open in
the circumstances, and by ambulance to hospital to Jerusalem. At that point we were more than relieved to
know that Dr. Rabia had everything in hand for our own return from Sinai.
The above crisis occurred
later after the journey by jeep through the Ancient Way of the Pilgrim.
We seemed to have arrived in the centre of Sinai as we drove along a wide
smooth sandy sweep of land with rocky heights to right and left. Far from being
the middle of nowhere this was once a main thoroughfare of the Ancient Pilgrim
Way to Mt. Sinai. A special landmark is the “Stone of Inscriptions”. As clear
as the day they were inscribed on the rock, at head height, are the Byzantine
and Chaldean crosses engraved there by the Christian Pilgrims, the authentic
graffiti of history. We could easily visualize the caravans of Pilgrims who
traversed this way for hundreds of years. But even more intimately expressive
of that ancient devotion and dedication was something which seemed like an
aside. Just concealed and above the main track was a narrow path leading to an
enclosed view point looking down on an amazing little oasis, Ain Hudra. As the
name indicates it is one of the classic “eyes” of the desert. It was once a
little monastery, one of dozens which once peopled the Sinai desert, which is
still part of the St. Catherine’s monastery and maintained the monks by a
Muslim family. We could only observe this idyllic scene from above. Just over
the edge there seemed to be a footpath leading down but just we noticed it,
there appeared two camels carrying their burdens up the winding path from
below. Up they came at an impossible angle and passed through us with regal disdain
to go a little further to rest. It was an unforgettable sight, which linked
together a whole host of time challenging preconceptions. Or to put it more
positively it was a moment which prompts the mind and heart to recall the
forgotten splendours of the human spirit in this land. We can regard ourselves
as very small in the timeless expanse of the cultures and peoples of Sinai. The
Christian Pilgrim Way to Sinai has its twin counterpart further north in the
Muslim Pilgrim way from Egypt, across the Sinai peninsula, to Mecca.
Later Fr. Dermot gave a moving account of his impression of this
visit to Ain Hudra. Like him I experience the same sensation of the actuality
and presence of this geographical spot, so well documented and concrete and
evoking the memory of those hundreds of pilgrims. The finishing touch was the
plodding appearance of the camels, still moving at the same patient and
persevering pace of the ancient travellers. In contrast to our speeding along
in jeeps here was the pace of life that seemed everlasting, and which gave
Dermot the lesson, as he said, of the pace he would happily follow.
As if to keep widening our perceptions, the so called empty
wilderness brought us to another place
where we were humbled in the dimension of time. We came to dozens of small
circular buildings remote from any related civilization and could hardly fathom
their use or meaning. It is called Nawami. Ancient civilizations very sensibly
regarded their mortal remains as far more important that our passing lives.
They regarded temporary structures of wood or earth sufficient for their needs
but the abode of the dead had to be as permanent as possible – as in these
structures. These strange buildings are in fact the bronze age remains of a
large cemetery. In other words they predate the periods of the Biblical
peoples. And, if I am not mistaken, their style and intent does not differ much
from similar bronze age remains in Scotland and Ireland. It is a small world,
small in space, small in time!
Day 3 Monday
10th Nov. Theme “Radiance – Face of Moses radiant” Exod 34: 29-35 Dawn Mass,
Sunrise of Mt. Sinai, Fr. Christophe,
(Poland), Homily – Donald.
Arrived at St. Catherine’s Monastery in the evening about 5.00 pm.
(Our Ancient Pilgrim’s Way was interrupted at a place called Barka where we had
an hour’s wilderness prayer, walking or sitting, while the drivers got a great
lunch ready for us. At this time of day we were glad to get into the shade
because the heat was quite intense).
At the large Guesthouse of St. Catherine we were allocated rooms
in pairs. While I waited my turn for the shower, very welcome after a night in
the sands, I explored the monastery and regardless of information to the
contrary found myself at home inside the Church, and met three or four of the
monks who were most amiable. In the late evening the tourists had disappeared and everything had looked shut up.
But I found a small opening which is in fact the main entrance. In previous
generations this opening was placed high above and could only be negotiated by
a pulley system of lifting people up.
In the deepening dusk I found mmyself inside the timeless aura of
the Church with its forest of hanging lamps and the ever vigilant Icons in
every niche and cranny. A group of lately arrived Russians were being guided
through the Chapels and receiving the great privilege of seeing the tomb of St.
Catherine opened. In the difficulty of the Russian language I felt that the
four orthodoc monks I met were relieved to hear my English (odd world). Somehow I felt very much at home, wandering
unhindered on my own. There was a formal guided tour later by the Guide, Dr.
Rabia, on the following day.
There was time to recover from the early morning journey and to
prepare for the 7500 feet, (3 hours for the able bodied), climb to the summit
of the Holy Mountain, Gebal Musa, with a 3.30 a.m. departure. During the whole
journey, the briefings, both spiritual and practical, for all the stages of our
progress were excellent. We foregathered before supper for the appropriate
guidance. Guide Raphael began off with a moving passage from the travels of
Egeria her emotional response to every p-art of the pilgrimage. Unfortunately
the coffee shop where we sat was next to a coffee shop and at that moment an
Arab family decided to show off their new infant to the shopkeepers and more or
less drowned us with their loud voices.
Raphael struggled on through Egeria until at last the visitors faded into the
Sinai silence.
We were well geared up for the great ascent. The experience is always
quite unigue and unpredictable. It was so in my case. With my usual nonchalance
I enjoyed every step of the journey. It was expected that it would be cold on
the mountain and it was, but this was something different. In the early hours I
was physically shivering. The prospect of 3 o’clock rising, and not feeling
well made me resistant to this whole crazy venture. Significantly one of the
Themes was on “Resistance” and I certainly got that feeling. ‘Dom Christopher
was there to chivvy me through, but it was an unusual problem. The worst was
yet to come. A large pilgrim party started off before us. How crazy can people
be? And where did all the people going up and down the climb come from? The
same group had obviously commandeered all the camels. Off our party started and
for some strange reason the guides set off a killing pace. After a few hundred
yards I was fagged out. Sr. Raymonde was in similar straits so we decided to
rest. After a while two camels appeared on their return journey so providence decreed
we should continue with this doubtful help. The camel ride up the mountain was
even worse. I thought I would never make it. The camel was biased to the outer
edge of the path overlooking endless
space, the saddle was cramped and every bone of my body was shaken.
Eventually we got to the camel terminus and staggered on up to
Elijah’s Hollow. At this point there was a helping anchor man/woman of the
marking the path to the cliff where everyone waited for the rising of the sun –
such was the collaboration of the group.
Then as we gazed on the sun rising above the mountains, I had
suddenly forgotten about all my woes and silent whinges and can only wonder how
the little devils of ‘resistance’ had been so busy.
We celebrated Mass on our usual very precarious altar. Our little
group had prepared the Liturgy and the Homily fell to me. The congregation made
a captive audience in more sense than one. It was great moment for each one of
us.
We had our packed breakfast as the valiant ones prepared for the
final ‘assault’ to the summit. It must be said that St. Catherine’s supplied
our back packs with breakfast fit for a couple of days, (In the end I saved it
for the Bedouin children). We were overlooking the Chapel of Elijah’s Valley
and here we had the parting of the ways. Most of the group decided to climb to
the top. The rest of us, timid souls, elected to walk down in order to be in
time for the Tour of the Church and Library of the monastery.
Then tragedy struck. We had hardly parted when the main group came
trooping after us escorting Sr. Rosalie who had slipped and broken her leg. The
camel men who are accustomed to this situation had splints to hand. Rosalie did
not want all the fuss but her leg was bandaged into the splints and she was
mounted on a camel for the descent. It was amazing how the rescue went at a
fast pace, a taxi was waiting at St. Catherine’s to take her to the Border
Crossing. An ambulance took her on to Jerusalem. She was accompanied all the
way by Sr. Helen, (the Provincial on Sabbatical from Australia) and by the
Guide, Raphael. He later returned to meet the party at the Border Crossing for
our return journey. The patient had a very serious breakage. (At the time of
writing she is back from hospital and will be six weeks in crutches).
As Rosalie insisted, the rest of the pilgrimage proceeded in good
order.
Our own departure from St. Catherine’s was less eventful. The visit to the Museum included the exhibition of some wonderfully
restored Icons. We were given special access to the Chapel of the Burning Bush,
somewhat to the chagrin of some German visitor barred from entry. And in the
little yard where the “Burning Bush” of tradition still flourishes every camera was at the ready – elsewhere
photographing was strictly excluded. I did not forget and the precious gift of
Latroun wine disappeared into the folds
of the robe of one of the monks.
Our three jeeps, with roof racks heaped with sleeping bags,
baggage and catering materials, set off for one more desert stop and prayer.
Dr. Rabia is a Muslim so Dom Christopher lead with reading and reflection and
others contributed. We had a contemplative walk on our own, and true to form,
the drivers had afternoon tea laid on before the end of our desert safari. We
were to discover later that the jeeps and their team of drivers had finished
their part and were somewhat surprised to find a large bus waiting for us next
morning at the Red Sea hotel where we spent the night.
Day 4.
Tuesday 11th Nov. Theme “Restoration - Death of Moses” Morning Eucharist at
Sunrise on shore of Red Sea. Fr. Dermot
Connolly, Homily, Fr. Eamon Gowing.
Fr. Dermot and his small group had set about the preparation of
this final Liturgy in earnest.
We were to gather to watch the rising of the sun by first greeting
each one in silence according as they encountered one another. We sat with
bated breath watching the sun come up on the Red Sea with the ever fresh
sensation of its wonder. Eamon gave a summary of the reflections we had shared
and others added their piece.
In the midst of this solemn celebration a large camel appeared
along the beach with its driver. We waved him away but Raymonde has the good
grace to call him to come back later. And this became quite a parting party for
those who had not ridden on a camel. We had a great photo-call for those who
wished to be pictured for posterity. At a dollar a time, the driver was only
too delighted but the camel was getting a bit browned off having to raise its
great bulk up and down so often.
And so back to the Border Crossing and the dreadful Israeli
Passport people.
It gave us, UK, Irish and Canadian people, no joy at all to be waived through security while our
companions with Passports from Poland, Romania, Check Slovakia and Asia were
given endless hassle. One of the happier aspects of the Sinai Peninsula had
been the absence of the Army. Under one of the International Agreements between
Egypt and Israel this area, within Sinai, is a demilitarised zone.
Raphael Carse reappeared at this point and he was able to be of
some help with the bureaucracy. We set off from Ailat, famous for its corral
reefs and underwater sports and the viewing of the marine life and were not
diverted into that bustling tourist and industrial city.
The drive home was far from being vacant. Raphael was asked about
the talk he had prepared for that missing reflection on the Theme of
“Resistance”. The acoustics of the bus
were excellent. We heard another brilliant commentary on the spirituality of
Moses. And I found Moses career, explained in this way, to be almost
autobiographical for the time of ‘retirement’.
- Moses died when God kissed him.
- He was blessed of all human beings.
- And HE (God?) buried Moses. No one else knew where he was
buried.
- God called Moses to Himself by his “MOUTH” as in the Hebrew. The
interpretation of the Rabbinic Sages is that by “MOUTH” is meant a “KISS”.
- It was really the time for Moses to die – the Lord was saying,
‘you have been active on my behalf, now you are entirely for Me, now I want
your prayer.
- it was time for the end of activity, the time to just be in
prayer until the moment of being called by God, CALLED BY THE Mouth of God,
i.e. by the Kiss of God.
- Moses had been show the ends of his land but he was not to enter
into that land. God call was not the denial of a finite gift but the the
promise of Himself in the Kiss of His mouth.
In the end, the Lord had made Moses, through his chequered career,
for Himself alone.
There is a meditation in Carlo Carretto’s “Letters from the
Desert” which expresses this same sentiment of final yielding up everything in
the discovery that God only wants our loss of all in order to receive all.
“This meeting between God’s totality and man’s nothingness is the greatest
wonder of creation. It is the most beautiful betrothal because its bond is a
love which gives itself freely and a love which accepts. The acceptance of truth comes from humility,
and that is why without humility there is no truth, and without truth no
humility. . .
“God has made me understand this, little by little. . . If I had
made the step while still learning catechism I should have gained forty years.
…
“Within myself I feel the inability to perform an act of perfect
love. . . Thousands of years may pass
and my position will not change. But . . . what is impossible for me, is
possible for God”.
As we approached our final run to Jerusalem, we listened to
the reading of the SONGS OF ASCENTS (Ps 121 et seq.), we could look back over
our journey, not so much geographically as spiritually, and look forward in the
certainty of enjoying another step of faith, moving onwards towards God.
Chronicle
8
24th November
2003
Abbot Raymond - Chronicle 8 of “Sojourn
in the Land of the Bible, Centre for Biblical Formation 41 Via Dolorosa,
Jerusalem”
Dear Dom
Raymond,
I don’t know when I shall catch up with
the Chronicle. It just about came to an untimely end, (cheers), on Mt. Tabor,
24 Nov. When we returned to the bottom of the Mountain of the Transfiguration
and drove off I suddenly discovered my note-book missing. I would have let it
pass, but everyone wanted to help get it back. Between mobile phones and taxis
back up the hairpin bends I retrieved the notebook in record time, 10 minutes.
Actually that was my third ascent to the Mountain of the Transfiguration. It
must be a record and should symbolise something. Perhaps Moses and Elijah had
some message in my undecipherable notes.
29th Nov. Paul McSherry and a group of
20 Knights of the Holy Sepulchre from Scotland arrived here for the
Lithostrotos tour at Ecce Homo. You may be sure that the Knights will have
their story and digital photos of the occasion for their diaries.
So events race ahead of the time
available. Plans are already being plotted for the Christmas break, especially
centred on Bethlehem - some will stay overnight. Happily I will make my
Cistercian Christmas & New Year at Latroun Abbey.
Meanwhile, let me see if I can uncover
some things from that ‘precious’ notebook’]
Emmaus Nikopolis – Latroun. We had hardly
arrived back from Mt Sinai when Wednesday, 19th November was prescribed as a
'field day' at Caesarea Maritime and Aphek. Since, the next day, Thursday was
free of classes there was a free trip, by popular demand to, Latroun and
Emmaus. There was no official guide so that role was imposed on me.
Actually Latroun Abbey was the happiest
of the trips. It was more than the usual archaeological and biblical visit
because we were meeting the people on the ground, both the community of the
Beatitudes at Emmaus and at Latroun – and in fact it was also our closest encounter
with an actual “dig”. There were to be no packed lunches on this trip. Abbot
Paul had promised to provide lunch for the 17 who came. (Abbot Paul was
actually in France and Prior Rene did the honours). And the monks gave the visitors their very best, (including a
crate of special wine at the end - when I was not looking. I got detained
inside the monastery).
At Emmaus, the occasion was also a
winner. Br. Anton, (Beatitudes Community), on his mobile phone and was
extremely good with a very detailed history of Emmaus and also of the Community
of Beatitudes. And then the occasion received a whole new dimension from a
volunteer lady who was busy in a nearby hole in the basilica ruins uncovering
more ancient mosaics. It was in fact the first site where we met someone
actually carrying out archaeological work
Billy Green will be interest in this
because while we all gathered round this hole in the ground the good lady
proceeded to describe not only what she was doing but the amazing story of
Blessed Miriam, the Arab Little Flower. Blessed Miriam could neither read or
write but was an extraordinary visionary whose prophesies were later confirmed
at various times and are still finding confirmation. (A sister companion of Blessed Myriam, beatified 1983, took down
all her sayings). I have found accounts of her life on the Web because everyone
is suddenly interested. (See copy of an eleven page biography in attachment.
Book: Mariam “The Little Arab”, A. Brunot, The Carmel of Maria Regina, 87609
Green Hill Road, Eugene, Oregon.).
Blessed Myriam’s visions also included Emmaus. The archaeologist lady and her husband are dedicated to the
work there, in their own work camp, (have been going back to it for 20 years.),
and are animated also by their great devotion to Blessed Miriam. I had been
making the case for the priority of Emmaus against the three alternative sites
which came much later, Abu Gosh, El Qubeibah, and Qalunieh. Now it seems that
we have the visionary, Blessed Miriam,
on our side, on the trail for proof of the authenticity of the site. This will
be clinched if the table at which Jesus broke bread with the disciples, Mensa Christi, is uncovered , i.e. the stone
table legs which are supposed to have been engraved and concealed in subsequent
persecutions. The enthusiastic lady asked our prayers for the success of her
quest. One of the other residents of Ecce Home has worked at the site and has
provided the name and address of the archaeology couple for future reference,
The experience of this encounter and
Latroun hospitality was therefore very different from the usual trips and I am
sure it was unforgettable for the friends from Ecce Homo. We had our Mass in
the Crypt of the Abbey, (Homily, see footnote), timed nicely to let us attend
the Midday Office and then a lunch with Latroun wine. At Via Dolorosa the drink
never varies from pure Palestinian WATER. Following the lunch we gathered in
the lounge for a surprise coffee and a chat with the Prior. One of the
missionaries has been working in Peru so we asked to see the Novice, Br.
Joseph, who is from that country. Joseph was in the Peruvian Navy. He gave us a
simple account of his story in fairly good English. I think he has more
difficulty in the learning the French as it is spoken in the community. The
more energetic then climbed to the ruined Crusader Castle (Toron). Meanwhile
Fr. Basil (80), the Guestmaster, was plying the visitors from the wine sampling
counter, as I learned later. This evening, Friday I was supposed to visit a
family just beyond the Old City, but I postponed it because we have been in the
maelstrom of the final days of Ramadan and felt it better not to get caught in
the crowds. I will see them after the Galilee excursion. Last evening a Guest
for Ecce Homo, Francoise, was brought from the airport and deposited at
Damascus Gate. The Old City is closed to all Ramada traffic. She had to walk
through the Souqs (market alley ways) to Via Dolorosa against the tide of
cheerful Ramadan Muslims, carrying her two cases. She made it – somehow!
Saturday, the Sabbath, is usually the
quietest day to get around some of the Holy places. The Mount of Olives in
Kidron Valley is outside the Old City. St. Peter in Gallicantu, near Sion Gate
is next to Dominus Flevit, high away opposite from Lion Gate, but there the
proximity ends in the prospect of long walks and long climbs up to the Russian
Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene and the Church of Gethsemane, i.e. the Church
of All Nations. It was all quite exhausting but unforgettable. On the return
through Via Dolorosa I had my first experience of a pick pocket. It made me
feel like I ma now built in with the stones. In the busy Ramadan marketing
morning I felt my purse being filched. I grabbed the arm of this burley Arab
thief. Caught red handed he pretended it was a boy who stole it. The said boy
was only a toddler! When he saw I meant business, the purse appeared from
nowhere. The pick pocket fellow handed it over saying I had to thank him for
getting it back for me. The hankie which was with the purse was not returned
but who is complaining?
Sunday, Christ the King is Ecce Homo’s
special Feast so we will be having the Patriarch or the Nuncio or high heed’yin
to Preside for the celebration.
In the afternoon I got the news of Fr.
Michael’s death. May he rest in peace.
MEMO.
By chance on the Periodicals shelf
Library here at Ecce I found Bible Today for Sept/Oct 2001 with striking photos
of St. Catherine’s and Mt. Sinai. Only one article was on the Ascent. But the
following article was, to my surprise, on “The Bible on the Web”. It has very
use full Internet Addresses on Biblical Subjects.
Also circulating here there is an excellent “National Geographical
Magazine” on “Abraham – Father of Three Faiths” December 2001.
- - - - - - -- -
- - - -- - -
CAESEREA -APHEK 19th November.
I would have thought this was one for
the guide books but in fact it was well worth the trip. The most memorable part
of it was our self produced enactment of Paul’s Trial before Claudius Lysias at
Caesarea’ Acts 23 with our own all star cast of Felix, Claudius, Paul,
Centurions etc by members of the cast. The stage for our performance was the
famous Roman amphitheatre.
This learning experienced gave us
insights to the development of theatre of Greece and Rome and therefore gave us
some of the background with which Jesus was not unfamiliar and which Paul knew
well.
The ruins of this ‘wonder of the world’
are the magnificent harbour constructed by Herod the Great. Flavius Josephus
waxes eloquent on how this harbour designed for a hundred ships defied and laws
nature on this coast line. There were even methods of underwater concrete
making unheard of in more recent times.
In an aside, answering our questions,
the professional Guide, Raphael had to admit that he was not fully abreast of
the newest discoveries. There are regular meetings of all the professional
Guides to be kept up to date by the Israel Tourist Board. (Another example of
this is the revised version of the water system in the City of David, Spring of
Gihon and Pool of Siloam).
There was a great pervasive
Hellenisation, 332-37BC, system in the middle east set in train by Alexander
climaxing in the Herodian 37-4 BC period to. There are shifts of people and
culture as e.g. the Jewish people continuing into the Rabbinic streams running
parallel to the new Christian religion and the pre-Islam Arab people. It is
worth identifying all these peoples, Idumaian, Philistines, Phoenicians,
Greeks, Roman, in their time and place in the land and recognising that the
Jewish people were already influenced more that the Bible admits by their
Canaanite neighbours. In this vortex Josephus has much to contribute.
Something very important in studies of
‘the Historical Jesus’.
The Caesarea exploration for example led
us back Aphek to cross the trail of St. Paul who was being taken under arrest
for trial, Acts 23: 23-35. Aphek is the old (or new) Antipatris and carries a
plethora of Biblical references indicating how central it was in the east west
topographical battles of Israelites and Philistines. I thought we could have
seen more and learned more but we were on the eve of final Ramadan celebrations
and it was necessary to get back to Jerusalem before traffic got jammed.
Note Saturday 6th Dec 2003. The dynamic of this Chronicle has
changed – from ongoing diary to the pursuit of all the events that have raced
away ahead. Perhaps I will try to simply headline the happenings that have
passed on.
Or maybe jump the gun to the present moment of our Sojourn in the
Holy Land.
The rains have begun in earnest. No one
is complaining since the rains are a month late. The whole country depends on
the heaven sent water at this season to provide for the whole year.
In the heavy rain, I eventually walked
to East Jerusalem, quite near, to visit the family of someone attached to the
British Consulate. Having spent some six years in Amman, Jordan, they have now
been in Jerusalem for some time. Having avoided a formal evening gathering, I
was very happy to visit in the afternoon and meet the children, Benedict (7),
Laura (6), Sebastian (5) and Oliver (1). I have to say that Benedict
slaughtered me at Chess. His father knows a great deal about that other chess
game, the politics of Israel and the Palestinians, but just as mystified as
everyone else as far as a solution is concerned. He was not optimistic about
the new Geneva proposed Peace Accord.
- - - - - - -- -
- -
I had the advantage of a previous day at
the Shrine of Our Lady of the New Covenant and at the Olivetan Benedictine
monastery at Abu Gosh. Now some of the Group are keen to go there also and
have just set off for the Sunday Mass. This of course again raised the question
of the true location of “Emmaus”. The Abbot, now Bishop Jean-Baptist Gurion
serving the Hebrew speaking Christians, has a wonderful address, reprinted in
the Monastery Brochure of 1995, summarising the extraordinary combination of
Biblical associations with this place, Quiriath Yearim, the Ark of the
Covenant, Emaus, Church, Place of Pilgrimage, I summarised the address from the
French for the benefit of those going to the place.
After nineteen years living here, Abbot
Jean Baptist is steeped in the traditions and of course shows a certain bias
for the claim of Abu Gosh to be Emmaus. This does not detract from his lyrical
account of the links between these holy places and their spiritual
significance.
First there is the Church on the flank
of the holy hill at the summit of which is the sanctuary of Our Lady of the New
Covenant. Quiriath Yearim, (1 Chron, 13: 5-8) is where the Arc of the Covenant,
rejected by the Philistines, sent away
by the people of Beit Shemesh, kept in the House of Aminadab, (1 Sam
7:1), during twenty years, until David, the messianic king par excellence, came
to fetch it, dancing all the way to Jerusalem. (Beit Shemesh is half way
between Latroun and Abu Gosh which is 15 minutes from Jerusalem.).
“The Ark of the Covenant is the sign and
place of the FIRST STRUCTURED (structurante) PRESENCE of God in the history of
Israel.
This Ark given at Sinai to Moses is the
sign of the presence of God during its exodus and installation in Canaan.
What did it contain? The Tablets of the Law – Word of God – the
10 Written Words – the holy seed of the Holy Book.
It also
contained, or strictly associated as witness of tradition, the Manna, the holy
nourishment if the people sanctified by the Presence.
The Rod of Aaron which blossomed and
represented the priestly authority.
- all encased in gold as it is quoted in
Hebrews 9, 4.
“This is the ALPHA of God’s presence”.
So also the PRESENCE is central to the
Emmaus story. The fact that Abbot Jean-Baptist may have got the location wrong
does not alter the eloquence of his reflection on the encounter of the two
disciples meeting Jesus after the Resurrection. When Jesus spoke with the
disciples he began with Moses and ran through all the prophets interpreting
them in the Scriptures as a whole. Lk. 24, 27. So their sad hearts revive to
life and burned within them.
The sharing of bread, the recognition of
the Lord, their witness to the Resurrection.
The Rod (Branch) of the Cross flowering
and bearing fruit.
The Staff of Pilgrims is also that of
the Pilgrim Church
The “way of Emmaus” is also that of the
Church of this day – the place of encounter, of the PRESNCE, place of the Word
actualised, viaticum for the journey, the place of our complete healing “It is
the OMEGA of the structured presence of God in the world”.
In the Abbot’s ‘litany’ of links;
The Shekhina / Jesus Christ risen.
The Tablets / Word actualised.
The Manna / The Bread Broken.
The Rod that blossomed / the Cross, the
Staff of pilgrims, the pastoral staff.
David, the messianic king / Jesus the
Messiah, son of David.
“And that Ark of the Covenant is for us
the Virgin Mary who carries the Living Word.
“The Alpha and the Omega of the presence
of God in his People meet together in
the same place.
- - - - - - -
Paul VI, in Marialis Cultus (1974) also links
these parallels between the Old and the New Testaments very precisely.
David cried out as the Ark was being taken to Jerusalem, “How can the aArk of
Yahweh came to me?” And Elizabeth cried out as Mary came to her, “How is this
to me that the the mother of my Lord should come to me?” As David danced before the Ark, so the child
in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy”. And as the Ark was left at the house of Aminadab for three months by David,
bringing it a blessing, so Mary brought
blessing to the house of Zachary and Elizabeth. Mary is indeed the ‘Mother of
my Lord’, an honorific title of the Old Testament by virtue of her being the
Ark of the New Covenant”.
This latter quote is from a booklet of
the Sisters at the Shrine of Quiriath Yearim which is the result of
collaboration between the foundress, Sr
Josephine and the famous Dominican biblical scholar, , Marie-Joseph Lagrange,
OP. Sr. Josephine is another example of holy women who have made their mark in
the Holy Land, such as Blessed Myriam, the Little Arab, and the holy Russian
Orthodox nun whose incorrupt remains are to be seen at the Church of Mary
Magdalene on the Mount of Olives. The golden onions of the Russian Church can be seen from outside my window at Ecce
Home.
For the sake of feminists we could say
the ladies are holding their own, that they are even cornering the market of
Holy Persons in Israel in recent generations.
This might offset the impression that
the male academics, Rabbinical Experts, Christian Scripture and Theology
Scholars rule the roost.
But to keep the balance, in addition to
the Biography of Blessed Myriam I add an attachment of an Article by Fr. David
Neuhaus, SJ. David is the outstanding lecturer of the course. He is a South
African Jewish convert. He looks very youthful. His lectures are concentrated
gold of biblical teaching. The article in on ‘Getting to know St. Paul’.
David’s present Course is on the Minor Prophets - which means the Minor
Prophets in all Scripture, the New Testament included. Next Semester he will be
doing the Suffering Servant in Isaiah and possible I might catch some of that
before I have to leave at the end of April.
Thinking of Mary, the Ark of the New
Covenant, is a good time to wish you all a happy feast of the Immaculate
Conception and to wish all the blessings of Advent.
With kind greetings.
Donald McGlynn
- - - -- - - - -
- -- - - -- - - -
[FOOTNOTE: Homily at Latroun Thursday
20th Nov. 03.
[As guide for the Ecce Homo Group I had
to stand in as proxy-guest master, so to speak, and celebrant of the Mass. The
mid-day Office, Terce & Sext was due at 11.40 a.m. so we got to the Crypt
of the monastery in good time after the neighbouring Emmaus visit. The Gospel
of the day was the Weeping over Jerusalem, Lk.19: 41-44. At another time on the
Mount of Olives, the Friar at the door gave me copies of the now very familiar
window showing through the window, the silhouette of the Host and Chalice
looking over the Old City of Jerusalem.]
DOMINUS FLEVIT.
St. Luke tends to put things in a
single-issue style, to put us up against the wall with an ultimate verdict. It
would be well to be attuned to the fourth Gospel, to the Jesus of St. John’s
Gospel to fill out the picture.
Jesus was not emotional in the sense,
for example, that Egeria is as we read the travelogue of her journey to St.
Catherine’s Monastery and Mount Sinai.
DOMINUS FLEVIT, Jesus wept: something came
to a head in Jesus as he looked over Jerusalem. With his sensitivity, which is
the sensitivity of a completely responsive human heart – something moved him
deeply. At that moment St. Luke’s view somehow reduces the focus to two things,
1. the fact that
Jesus wept.
2. that the picture frame is like so much of
what we have been hearing about the political issue of the Jews and Romans and
the destruction of Jerusalem.
DOMINUS FLEVIT, Jesus Wept, The Church
known by that name on the Mount of Olives represents that time very well. But
the sensitive heart of Jesus was moved at a much deeper, a much wider level
than that scene which might be reduced to a very simplistic dramatization. But
Dominus Flevit – the tears of Jesus welled up at that moment not only because
he looked over Jerusalem but because he looked back over His time from His Birth to His Death The narrative of all
his sayings and doings are multiplied from, for example, his first meeting with
His disciples to his meeting with the disciples at Emmaus. It is all there in
the Gospel, and St. Luke spotlights a very small part of it and it would make
one sad, even despairing in that description of Jesus weeping over the ‘doomed’ city.
From another point of view, this is
precisely where Jesus reveals much more to us than just our entanglement with
current affairs – where Jesus’ sentiments go beyond the media or television
approach to those events.
Earlier I was saying that we need to be
attuned to the Jesus of St. John’s Gospel.
DOMINUS FLEVIT, Jesus wept, - the tears
of Jesus represent the unfathomable sensitivity of a fully human person in
response to all that those persons he came to save.
But because of that very sensitivity to
suffering, sinful man, Jesus, as we read in every word of St. John’s Gospel,
was entirely sensitive to the Father, to the Father’s love. Sensitive to every
word of assurance that He and the Father are One, AND THAT He calls each one of
us into the heart of that love, that “all may be one”.
DOMINUS FLEVIT, Jesus wept, even in
those human tears, there are divine tears expressing His love of the Father.
And therefore, precisely because He
weeps for His weak, vulnerable friends, He multiples His love to the full
measure of His Passion and Death, and ultimately to the full measure of His
Resurrection, His Glory, and to the saving triumph over sorrow and tears.
The Icon of the Jesus of Sinai attempts
to portray this mystery of tears on the one hand and of joy on the face of
Jesus on the other.
May God use our hearts, not just to
portray but to embody and to know that sensitivity of tears and of joy. Amen.
Chronicle
9
Sabbatical in
the Holy Land
Monday, 26
January 2004
“Sojourn in the Land of the Bible”, Centre
for Biblical Formation 41 Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem”.
Dear Raymond,
For your
interest, and that of friends, the following is a little highlight very much in
harmony with the experience at Via Dolorosa.
Sojourn in the
Land of the Bible – a Highlight
22nd Jan. 2004 to Group on the Course of Biblical Formation, Srs. of
Sion Centre
Visit of
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini.
A year ago Cardinal Martini made
Jerusalem his place of retirement after reaching the age term of 75 years.
Now resident at the Jesuit House of the
Pontifical Biblical Institute, he very graciously came to speak to the students
of the Course at Ecce Homo. This was a special highlight for us.
I will note some
of the things that impressed me from his talk and replies to our questions.
Many of his books on what can only be called a life long 'Biblical apostolate'
are available although, as he commented, he has not read them. They were
produce from tapes of talks, especially those directed to young people in
Milan. (But see, e.g.
Ministers of
the Gospel – talks on St. Paul. Publ. S. Paul
L’Eglise pour
le Monde – on texts of Vat. II. Ed. S. Paul
La Femme de la
Reconciliation – talks to young people. Ed. S. Paul.
Voici Votre Roi
– the Spiritual Exercises in the Light of St. John. Cerf).
Very convenient for me is the finding of
an Internet translation of an address which Cardinal Martini gave to the
Italian Hierarchy. (“He
Explained the Scriptures to Us”, Italian Hierarchy May 1997). The copy which follows will be the best
means of expressing the ‘prophetic’ role of one so much at the heart of the
Church.
To begin with I will give some of the
personal account given by the Cardinal. He was asked by our Director, Sr.
Rosalie, NDS, why he choose to make Jerusalem his home and to explain the
difference reading of the Bible in Jerusalem makes.
Applying the words of an old Indian Sage
to his own time of life first, the Cardinal gave us the four stages of life, 1.
the period of learning, 2. the time of teaching, 3. the time to retire into the
woods, to be in solitude and 4. the time of the beggar, dependence on others.
His early training as a Jesuit was in
the Bible, in textual criticism and the ancient manuscripts - learning.
There followed twenty years in teaching.
The next twenty years he was Bishop of
Milan and gave his highest priority to Praying with the Bible – especially in
the amazingly successful project involving young people in thousands.
Now in the third period, (retiring to
the woods), he has chosen Jerusalem as his place of silence and prayer. A
number of his addresses were collected in a book, “Vers Jerusalem”, trs.
“Towards Jerusalem”.
His fourth period (mendicant or beggar)
will be to deepen that direct relation with the Word and with the person of
Jesus.
Summarising his reasons or motives he
described them as “Anthropological” in the sense that Jerusalem is the
centre of the World. This is where all the problems of the world are most
focused. It is mainly the problem of Humanity – how to live together while
being so different, without division, with an acceptance that is not mere
tolerance.
- ISRAEL is quite unique. Its like has
never happened in the history of the world, - language, culture, religion,
sovereignty etc. It is the place to be aware of how near God is to us, to sense
the sacredness of the place, to feel it as a stimulus.
- The presence of many religions is a
context of humanity, with so many historical and Salvific reasons. .
SPIRITUAL MOTIVES – this is the best
place for prayer, for peace, for the unity of people. Intercession; to give
many hours to intercession. Etymologically, ‘intercession’ means to “Walk in
the middle of many”, without diverting from the way. As in Hebrews, Jesus is
ALWAYS making intercession for us.
As formerly in Milano, he thinks of his
role as ‘sentinel’ of prayer keeping all his people in mind, - the Watchman of
prayer on the walls of Sion, citing Isaiah, “Watchman what of the night?”
It is the place and the role of
participation of suffering.
He said, You may ask my response to the
question. “Why my choice of this place?” Here it is possible to look to all the
world. It is a place of study, a reminder of Scripture.
These are three priorities: First
priority, Prayer and Silence, to live in God’s presence, avoiding committees,
interviews etc. It is more important to be in this place
Second priority, the study of the Bible,
of the text, working still on critical editions.
Third priority, giving help with special
Retreats, (about to give a Biblical Retreat to the Bishops of Hungary), and
guiding Lectio. Fourth point, to learn modern Hebrew.
A final question: what difference is
there in reading the Bible in Jerusalem?
- Reading the Bible should be the same
wherever you are, but here, in Jerusalem,
there is a deeper sense of the Bible, the Holy Places, the atmosphere.
- There is greater hope here in the
Bible, remembering the promises to Jerusalem. The Crucifixion contains all the
crimes of humanity and obliges us to hope. Hope is of things not seen. Read the
Bible with great hope looking to the final, eschatological reading of
Scripture.
The Cardinal’s personal account of his
experience with young people in the vast diocese of Milan is very moving. His
primary aim began simply to put young people before the TEXTS of the Bible..
Twenty four years ago some young people asked him, “teach us to pray the
Bible”. 200 came to the first encounter, then instead of the number tapering
away it increased by hundreds then to thousands, 4,500 and more. This was proof
that the Bible can speak.
The following address given to the
Italian Bishops speaks of “a School of the Word” indicating the manner in which
the Cardinal initiated and successfully set up hundreds of these forums for
people young and old. He points out to the Bishops that the stereo type of
Homily is not what is needed, (it has its proper place). Direct encounter with
the word leads to the insight of that moment when the Text speaks to me.
He evidently held dear the SAMUEL groups
which followed from his work. These groups were so named in a project of
vocation discernment. The idea originated at a pilgrimage at Montserrat. Young
people would spend a full week learning how the Bible can penetrate there life.
They committed themselves for one year to discern their vocation. Its
effectiveness was realized in the number of people being able to discern their
own special calling in life, (in contrast to so much indecision in society).
The above notes can hardly express all
that Cardinal Martini conveyed to us in a short talk. The following document
gives a fuller record.
The man himself embodies the spirit of a
life dedicated to the Word and to the person of Jesus. This good Pastor
encapsulates that very simple message to young people and to the Church a
direct meeting with the text of Scripture and the inner relationship with the
Lord Jesus.
. . . . but see his own words in the
attached address. (“He
Explained the Scriptures to Us”, Italian Hierarchy May 1997). Chronicle 9b
(appendix)
Chronicle 10
from Holy Land
Abbot Raymond, Nunraw. – includes copies to friends
Dear Raymond,
Greetings from an Internet Café at New
Gate, Old City, Jerusalem.
[Not having my usual freedom for Email,
please excuse this miscellany of notes COPIED to other friends too - just to
indicate my thanks for other messages which I have not been able to acknowledge
at the moment].
At the end of my Course in Via Dolorosa,
I think this Final Conclusion and Acknowledgement to the Sisters of Sion for
their Biblical Formation Programme should come first. Beautiful summaries and
tributes were contributed by the students. Rather than customary compliments,
my acknowledgement is really a message for those who could very well take advantage of such a heaven sent
blessing. It is also so important that this special apostolate continue:-
ECCE HOMO BIBLICAL EXPERIENCE
“Come and see”, was Jesus reply to the
disciples who asked Him where he stayed.
I came, in ways unforeseen, to the
Centre of Biblical Formation, Ecce Homo.
“Come and see” is an invitation of ever
greater daily urgency in Jerusalem. So many are turned away by other voices
than that of the Spirit prompting those who come to make their way to the Land
of the Bible. The few still come - undaunted by impressions of danger, but
there could be so many more.
The challenge of the negative media of
Israel should never deter. Much more to the point is the challenge of actually
experiencing the physicality of the Holy Land, hearing the words uttered in the
places where Jesus spoke, seeing the life He lived.
With or without the fears and threats in
international travel, this haven of hospitality provided by the Sisters of Sion
in Via Dolorosa, in their Centre of Biblical
Formation is of immense value. So many would love and gain from the
experience.
My appreciation and gratitude to them
can best be expressed by encouraging and urging others not to miss this
wonderful of opportunity of formation and development. In the context of the
Scriptures and of the land of Jesus, this is a privileged place for the closest
encounter with the Word of God and with the person of Jesus.
“Come”, yes, “Come and see”, are the
words which call me, and continue to resound through other competing voices. No
other invitation, certainly not the impressions of groundless apprehension
given to the general public, would have brought me to the discovery of Ecce
Homo - a true centre of close encounter with Jesus in his own Land.
Signed: Donald
McGlynn, Ecce Homo, Jan 2004
I am now based at Latroun - with a
couple of jaunts each week for courses at Jerusalem, one at Ecce Homo,
(Pontifical Biblical Institute Professor), and one at Ecole Biblique with
Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP,
Sunday, 15th Feb., was the Annual Mass
of Saint Maron in Jerusalem. Abbot Paul suggested I attend and represent
Latroun to the Maronite Exarch Patriarch, Paul Sayah (excellent English). The
important link here is that the Cistercian Foundation in Lebanon is following
the Maronite Rite in its Liturgy. If all goes well this Foundation should be
made into a Simple Priory at the next General Chapter.
It so happened that there was snow in
Jerusalem that night. We parked the car in the Latin Patriarchate and then had
to walk through Jaffa Gate area in slushy-snow lanes under cascades of falling
thawing rain. (The Sisters from India, Claire and Auxilia, and the Filipines,
Emma and Elisa, now departed, were so keen to see the snow which did not come
in time for them. Elsewhere there was enough, snow on the banks, for Israel
children, in the usual Orthodox Jewish clothing to be throwing snow balls with
the best of them. Large black hats are ‘de rigueur’ for the men – so ‘de
rigueur’ in fact that they use a plastic covering for the hat to protect it
from rain or snow. Snow did not fall on the lower ground towards Latroun and
Tel Aviv).
We will also be having a St. Maron Mass
in our Oriental style crypt (Iconostasis and Lamps) on Saturday for the benefit
of the Maronite Catholics from Haifa. (Christians are now less than 2% of
Israel. We value the few we have).
Other Guests, at Latroun just now,
include Fr. Howard of Guadalupe (80+) and two Juniors from Sept Fons. One of
the Juniors, Br. John de la Croix, is giving Lessons in the Chant. He seems to
be a gifted musician. The other Brother is one of the young monks from the
Foundation in Czechoslovakia, (Foundation N. 99), Br. Procope. They will be
taken on a trip to Bethlehem tomorrow. With mixed nationalities, I wonder how
they will manage the check points for access. Bethlehem was under curfew for
days after a recent suicide bombing. The three of them, Fr. Howard and the two
Juniors, are setting out for Sept Fons next week.
There are always Guests here making for
a Holy Land retreat inspite of everything. I am looking forward to Peter
McFadyen coming for his Lent time visit.
Last week I gave a couple of talks on
the usual kind of subject, ‘about your monastery of Nunraw’ etc. But last
evening I spoke on the topic specifically of the Biblical Formation Course at
Ecce Homo. This I did with the
assistance of an interpreter. But what can you do with FOUR MONTH’S of
priceless gleanings from Scripture Teaching, Rabbinical Studies, Expeditions
and the ‘social life’ of the remarkable group of students? No way could I get
that two pints into a half pint pot. Having found a well equipped book binding
room at the top of the monastery I was able to make a collection of the heaps
of course notes, handouts, etc, glued them together and trimmed the edges. It makes a handsome tome of two
inches thickness and gives a wonderful illusion of having it all on record for
future reference.
The effort of trying to make a talk out
of so much interesting stuff only goes
to show how much could, or may still be chronicled from the wonderful seminars
and expeditions. In order to complete the Programme, these Expeditions seemed
to come fast and furious at the end under threat of snow, security blocks, and
the conclusion of the Semester.
But to be more particular, the Mount of
Olives has become a centre-of-gravity-place for me. It contains a whole
concentration of the beautiful elements of Jesus life. From my window in Via
Dolorosa, the highest point on the skyline is the bell tower of the Ascension.
Below it, on our side, are all the associated sites of Gethsemane. Beyond it,
on the far away side, looking to the Judean desert, are Bethphage and Bethany.
It is an extremely small area and all of it was within Jesus’ walking distance,
and therefore within an almost tangible sense of His presence.
Nowhere was this more real to me than on
the only remaining piece of wasteland, ‘no-man’s’ land, on the Mount of Olives
that I could see. It lies between
Gethsemane and Atur. At the six o’clock Mass in Gethsemane one morning I met
three Sisters of the Little Family of the Resurrection, contemplative Sisters
all in white, the Superior Italian and the other young ones from India. In
order to reach their convent, the road lead up the way, not quite vertically
although it felt like it. Then the Sisters followed a very rough footpath
through a wild open side of the hill until eventually coming to the rickety
gate hanging on its hinges at their convent. I was to say Mass for them later,
getting there in the dark of the morning. Later in the day, in the same wild
spot I found a Bedouin family had camped with their sheep and goats. Then out
of that group of shepherds and their flock came a little Polish nun, Sr.
Christina (Polish), with two little children from the nearby orphanage. I guessed
she had been smuggling some food to the Bedouins. I could hardly believe all of
this happening totally to my amazement - the appearance of ‘no bodys’ in a ‘no
place’, unknown people (like myself) in an unknown place. It conveyed the real
Mt. of Olives to me more vividly than the nicely tended olive trees of the
Basilica or the beautifully kept gardens of Saint Mary Magdalene’s Church and
the other well known shrines. These great
Gospel Sites all have wonderful and moving histories, but I shall
cherish my own unwritten (not the full picture), secret, history of meeting
Jesus in his little, hidden, unknown friends (children, Bedouins, little
Sisters) on the same bare and rough and poor hillside. All I can say is, thank
you, Jesus, for keeping this little space of place and time for me in this
quiet and expressive way, in your own Garden of Memory.
It is difficult to either list so much
of interest or to merely generalise, so I have tried instead to give this one
concrete and personal focal point from
my experience of the Land of the Bible.
I continue tomorrow on a lower key with
one of the two weekly classes.
Meanwhile, on this occasion at New Gate,
I will take advantage of checking Email and thanking you for your news.
In Christ’s love,
Donald
PS. Raymond, my Rosary-Bead making is
progressing at a steady rate. If you remember, Fr. Benedict, back home, never
got round to passing on the art to his successors, although he was very good at
it. It was a great standby for him in sleepless nights.
Benedict had the necessary tools for
making the Rosaries and had some stock of beads, crosses and link medals, - and
lots of wire.
NOW THE BIG QUESTION IS, DO YOU KNOW IF
THAT EQUIPMENT IS STILL IN THE MONASTERY SOMEWHERE, AND WHERE IT IS TO BE
FOUND?
If you cannot find anything or
information about suppliers, Harry Dittrich has books on Handicraft suppliers
of all sorts and he may be able to help.
The beads from Bethlehem olive tree wood
make wonderful Rosaries – I have just made some samples. One can also use the
actual pips from the Bethlehem Olives or others, e.g. Latroun olives.
My apprentice-tutor is a delightful
senior brother, Frère Benoit, 84, from Lebanon.
Chronicle 11
Saturday, 13
March 2004
Yesterday, was a glorious
day and needs must that I bestir myself to welcome the new group coming from
the Biblical Formation Centre. I enjoyed the walk to Emmaus which is only 800
metres along the road. The bus from Jerusalem arrived on cue at 9 o’clock. The
program was very full:
Ecce Homo Group Latroun Friday 12
March 2004.
Sr. Rosalie, Director of Ecce Homo
Biblical Formation Centre – requested visit to Latroun Abbey. Estimated number
15.
Outline of day’s Excursion from
Lions Gate
8.30 a.m. Depart Lions Gate.
9.00 a.m. approx. arrive Emmaus.
(Br. Anton, Beatitudes Community, Emmaus, gave guided commentary on previous
occasion. Visit Beatitudes Chapel).
11.00 a.m. approx. Latroun Abbey –
Mass in Crypt. Celebrant Fr. Donald.
11.40 Midday Office in the Church
12.00 Midday – Lunch in
guesthouse.
etc. etc. Visit Boutique –wine
shop. Audio-visual of monastery. Climb to the Crusade Castle for the energetic.
2.30 / 3.00 pm quick visit to Neve
Shalom, Oasis of Peace, Interfaith Community
Depart for Jerusalem.
I was pleased to see Sr. Rosalie, now
almost fully recovered from the broken leg she sustained on the climb to Mount
Sinai in November.
Most of the Beatitudes Community in
Emmaus had gone to Nazareth for the day so Br. Claude took the guided tour of
the Emmaus site, museum and Chapel - and he did well in English. The group
wanted to know more about the Beatitudes also. They were founded by a
Protestant Minister and his wife who became Catholic and another couple in 1973
out of charismatic renewal. It is a very flourishing ‘Order’ with full formal
and final recognition by Rome in 2003. The members include priests, Brothers,
Sisters, families with children and single lay people. They are very
innovative. Prayer for the Jewish people and for Ecumenism is expressed in
their spirituality and practice, incorporating, e.g., features from Sabbath
observance and also Byzantine liturgy. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is a
regular practice in their beautiful Chapel. Formation of newer members includes
a year in Israel for the experience of the Holy Land, learning Hebrew and for some
staying a few months in some kibbutz. The Beatitudes Community came here in
1993.
Br. Claude’s commentary on Emmaus was
great for me because I could fill in the gaps from my earlier visits. One
interesting detail from the Six Days War, 1967 (?). is that the place was saved
from the bombs on the strength of the UNO flag flying over the buildings to
indicate that at that time the place was under the United Nations peace keeping
inter Israel-Jordanian (dis)agreement. Latroun Abbey and Emmaus share the same
stretch of road which marked the battle line of the conflict. If Latroun Abbey
was also saved from bombardment it was for other reasons. See later.
St. Myriam on the Trail.
We did not meet the archaeologist couple
on this day but they are still working. The exciting day will be during this
month when a professional water-diviner is to search for AND FIND the lost
spring which was obviously part of the Baptistery from the Byzantine basilica,
the foundations of which were concealed in rubble in the time of St. Myriam.
You may recall the connection with the
visionary Saint Myriam, ‘The Little Arab’, (mirror image of ‘The Little
Flower’). I had been unable to find the English version of her life story. Br. Claude had a copy in stock
and, know what, I had no dollars so he gave it to me out of the goodness of his
heart.
Saint Myriam also speaks of the
existence, (or commemoration) of the table where Jesus and Cleophas and his
friend dined together at Emmaus. The devoted archaeologists are looking also to
the day of that great discovery of the table, ‘mensa Christi’. They probably
have the Mryiam writings and can check the full text. (St Myriam did not write.
Other Sisters wrote down her locutions and other words). The quotation from
this brief ‘life’ reports that,
“Transported and moved, she turned to her sisters, who were out of breath, and
said to them in a loud voice, ‘This is truly the place where our Lord ate with
His disciples’,” i.e. Emmaus.
Myriam was not the only pilgrim who
passed this way. Her predecessors include Josephus in the first century, and
later Jerome and Eusebius in the 300s. Ironically, times and cultures
intermingle and overlap. In front of me in the Refectory of Latroun Abbey is a
black marble plaque engraved in white outline. It is a triptych of the Emmaus
scene with Cleophas’ name on the halo, the sacrifice of Isaac on the left and
Calvary on the right. This work of art was produced by a Russian Jew and
presented to the monks ate Latroun.
Visit Latroun
Arrival at the monastery of Latroun was
a novel experience for the group. Nine nationalities this time, Koreans in the
majority of three, two from Singapore, two from Ireland, one from China, one
from Canada, one from Austria, one from Brazil, one from Spain, (none from
US!).
I had the Mass in the crypt, and since
Gethsemane has been much in my thoughts I took tha theme of the Agony in the
Garden. A marvellous article by Fr. Jerry Murphy-O’Connor has been a great find
but you can guess how futile it is to try to compress something like that in a
Homily. Anyway see my puny effort, and for good measure I am attaching a copy
of the article from the glossy, state of the art, periodical “Bible Review”.
The attractive format gives one the illusion that it is easy reading but it is
well worth the effort..
At the end of the Mass it was beautiful,
I thought, to take the group from the crypt to the upper Church in time for
part of the Midday Office. The Sister from China had been to Lantao, Hong Kong,
but I don’t think any of the others had been to a Trappist Monastery before so
this was a new experience.
Trappist or no, the monks show
themselves at their best in their hospitality. The lunch was on-the-house.
Coffee in the lounge became a wonderful encounter and sharing. Fr. Basil (80),
Guestmaster, kept renewing our glasses with the choicest liquor, Soleil de
Latroun (Sunshine of Latroun). He is a real endearing guestmaster. He went
school with the Jesuits in Beirut and entered Latroun in 1946. His answers to
questions about the troubles (wars) were fascinating and served to fill some
gaps for me, and no doubt also for Peter McFadyen who helps in the Guesthouse -
and he (Peter) made the best Turkish coffee. Fr. Basil spoke with great warmth
about an elderly, but very fresh, Jew who is Accountant to the Community. This
individual was a Commander in the Israel Army when the monastery came under
fire in the Six Day War. Most Israelis would not know what a monastery is and
simply took the buildings as hiding Palestinian/Jordanian forces. The monks
took refuge in the crypt and the underground that leads to the wine production
plant. When this Israel Commander friend heard of the shells and bombs he
created mayhem with the local forces to have the firing stopped. He used to
bring supplies to the monks every day with his own transport. He still comes on
a daily basis. According to Basil, this Jewish friend and great helper is a
monk at heart.
One keeps encountering these wonderful
examples of people who transcend the chauvinistic attitudes so widely assumed
by others.
British Mandate Barracks
Facing us ‘across the street’, as it
were, is the old British Mandate Barracks. Basil recalls from that period, how
some of the British Officers became great friends too. That old fortress has
since been transformed into the “Armored Corps Museum”. Note the American
spelling although everything else is in Hebrew. Dominating the parade ground is
a huge Shearman Tank on a high pedestal. Surrounding it is great collection of
tanks and military accoutrements like mobile hydraulically controlled bridges,
bulldozers of US, UK, French Russian vintage, possibly all obsolete.
Although I was given a very warm welcome
at the Museum, courtesy of Latroun no doubt, I never encountered anything so
chauvinistic and obsessive. There was a Video which showed nothing but mighty
tanks racing over the desert and well decorated soldiers speaking in Hebrew of
their exploits.
When I inquired about the library and
archives of the British Mandate period I got blank looks. I was even asked what
date was that and had to quote 1948 for end the of British Mandate. The
attendant could only point to shelves of books, most in Hebrew, to the glory of
the Israeli State, and did not seem to know anything more.
The complex also boasts and education
department – no doubt for the indoctrination of the young soldiers and school
parties who come for graduation ceremonies and great displays. All for the
glory of the State of Israel.
That is just the other side of the coin.
People, like our Accountant friend,
obviously sees things from a wider perspective.
Israeli – Building Construction. Modin
dormitory city.
Excuse this diversion. It will not
prevent me from visiting Mini Israel which is a miniature
model of the State of Israel. It is a theme park of 100s of model buildings,
1,000s of scaled figurines etc. Since it is also more or less within the
property of Latroun, there are the best of relations with the monks. Latroun
Junction is in fact a remarkable collection of interesting locations that never
ceases to amaze. These are well spread out so there is no sense of crowding.
One dreads what an Israeli development might create. The Mini Israel includes a
unit that demonstrates a do-it-yourself kit for constructing a kibbutz. About
five miles away is the dormitory town of Modin which is an extravaganza of
reinforced concrete structures which is completely new. [Modin, in Judea, the ancestral home of the
family also called Hasmoneans or Maccabees (1 Macc 2:17, 70). I will need to
find if there are Biblical remains in this modern concrete jungle.] Commuters
jam the motor ways East and West, to Jerusalem and to Tel Aviv during rush
hour.
Dominating the hill of Modin is a
cluster of high rise buildings in a circle which are bridged together by more
apartments on top. Considering that there were major earth tremors in the Dead
Sea area of the continental rift valley last month one wonders about the
longevity of these buildings. The Domincan Director of Ecole Biblique, comes to
speak to the Latroun community. I was with him on the drive through Modin one
day and we could not help remarking on the apparent transitory-ness of it all.
I could not help feeling that this concrete ant hill will be a dilapidated slum
in a hundred years time. The population trend is that of the ending of mass
Jewish immigrations with a decreasing birth rate on the one hand, and
increasing population and birth rate among Muslims on the other. Sadly it will
be too late to remedy the present exodus of Christians from the State of
Israel.
After the lunch at Latroun, and meeting
with the Prior and Guestmaster the group were to see the Latroun VIDEO (English
available), strategically showing in the Boutique = Wine Shop. One of the
visitors was celebrating her birthday so the occasion was marked with an
appropriate select of Latroun wine..
Neve Shalom – Oasis of Peace
To round off the day, Peter and I joined
the coach for a visit to Neve Shalom, (Arabic, Wahat al-Salem), OASIS OF PEACE.
The Prior and Guestmaster had to hurry to Choir for the Office of None. (The
monastic version of “the show must go on”). The Arab driver, Abulia, was with
us for lunch. It was the Muslim holy day, Friday. I don’t know if that was the
reason he did not take wine. He has a family of four teenagers at school and
university. He has been driving tourists for 20 years. He has visited Paris and
Rome and Naples and knows a lot of the priests. Abulia had Neve Shalom many
years ago and it was he who went to the Reception centre to find the
information and then led us to the House of Silence, Beit Dumia, of the
community. This piece of land, named Neve Shalom, was donated by the monastery
for the creation of this interfaith village. The idea was conceived by a
Dominican Brother, Bruno Hussar, of establishing an ordinary village community
of Jewish, Christian and Muslim people working and living together. There are
about 50 Primary School children but the roll call is 300. Children are brought
from a wider area, including even some from Jerusalem. The education programme
has been developed specifically for learning in a shared Jewish Muslim context.
In the village an old white long haired dog (Yorkshire sheepdog?) attached
itself to us and accompanied us all during our visit so that I was able to
comment, “Even the animals here are friendly”. The village is on a hillock
opposite the monastery. There is a hotel, a reception office, a school, a
sports centre, an auditorium, a bingo hall, (I don’t know what they call it but
it serves for fund raising), a swimming pool and a Prayer Centre, ‘House
of Silence’, Education, health services
are shared by the three faiths but what was to happen for worship. The solution
was the erection of a unique dome shaped building which has no furnishing
except some prayer stools and prayer mats. There are no religious marking to
distinguish Synagogue, Church or Mosque. A pathway leads through trees and
shrubs with signs of “Place of Silence” posted discreetly. It was so very
prayerful that everyone spontaneously adopted their own choice of prayer
posture as we looked through the large window with a view of the glorious lands
cape looking across the olive trees and vineyards to the Templar Crusader
Castle, the monastery and the plain of Ayalon (Philistine country), - breath
taking and soul uplifting! (Later, Br. Bernard, assistant librarian, produced
copies of the Neve Shalom Newsletter which provides fuller information, e.g.,
“The inspiration for the place is biblical passage, ‘For You silence is praise’
Ps. 65”. The foundation was made in
1970 on 50 acres of land leased by Latroun monastery. Fr. Hussar died in 1997
and is buried in the cemetery of Neve Shalom. His autobiography, “When the
Cloud Lifted” is available at the village reception in several languages.
(English; Veritas, ISBN 1 85390 048 6). Articles of the Newsletter include
titles such as “From Belfast to Jerusalem” and indicate a very active
international interest and participation in reconciliation of peoples. One
volunteer at Reception told me that she is returning to Switzerland to work for
fund raising for the Oasis of Peace Project, Neve Shalom.
After departing from Neve Shalom the
visiting Group began their return to Jerusalem. I can tell you the day was an
extremely happy occasion for the guests, and indeed for us all, - and most
rewarding.
More Surprises – Spring of St. Sabas
I shall have to return to see “The
Pluralistic Spiritual Centre” at Neve Shalom under construction, but my own
discoveries continue at this very spot on learning of the association of St.
Sabas with this place. In the course of lectures and expeditions we were
introduced to the wonders of the Judean Desert Monasteries, e.g. St. George’s
on the Wadi Qilt, St Gerasimo, east of Jericho, Mar Sabas etc. What was my
surprise to discover that Saint Sabas left his very successful laura at Mar Sabas,
south of Bethlehem, because of rebellious monks settled at Nikopolis, the Byzantine name of
Emmaus/Latroun, first as a hermit then as abba of the laura/monastery at this
very place of Neve Shalom. Fr. Rene (Prior} is going to take me down to the
spring which supplied the monks with water. I have still to find if anything
remains of the buildings. But how amazing! Even the Latroun booklet, printed in
1960s has no mention of this particular monastic settlement. It is also
interesting that Murphy-O’Connor’s encyclopaedic “Holy Land”, (Oxford), shows a
great partiality to the monastic sites which, owing to researches by young
Israeli archaeologists, identifies at least 73 such ‘Judean Desert
Monasteries’. This site, within the immediate environs of Latroun, is not
actually in the Desert since the bulk of the hermitages, monasteries and lauras
are within the confines of the extreme Judean Desert. St. Sabas (439-532)
founded eight monasteries in the Judean Desert and two outside the desert. (If
I had looked in our library at Nunraw I would have found most of this monastic
lore in our precious, dust free, shelves!)
{Judean Monasteries: References
from Murphy-O’Connor, HOLY LAND, Oxford, pp246
Chitty, D.J., The Desert a City,(Oxford,
Blackwell, 1966). Page 111.
Price, R.M. (Trans), Lives of the Monks
of Palestine by Cyril of Scythopolis, 525-58). (Cistercian Publications,
Kalamazoo, 1991), see pp 130-131)
Hirschfeld, Y., The Judean Desert
Monasteries in the Byzantine Period (New Haven: Yale 1992, see pp.246-247).
The three great monastic Judean founders
were; Chariton c.AD 330, Euthymius (376-473) and Sabas (439-532) }.
Bible Land Pilgrims
Meanwhile, my Biblical Studies are
really getting to me so that I have not had much time to add more on the
expeditions. The personal experience is fine bu,t ever since the first pilgrims
to the Holy Land, there is a whole literature of written accounts by famous
writers, including the Church historian and Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea. He lived down the road from Latroun, as it
were, and wrote his Onomasticon (an alphabetic list of biblical places
with descriptions of their history and geography -Tour Operators are still
doing the same) at some point between 324 and 336. I was going to refer to the
famous Egeria as leading the band of women pilgrims but immediately St. Helena
comes to mind. It was Sr. Keiko, FMM, who pointed out to me that St. Helena
hailed from York and that is where Constantine’s had his title of Emperor
declared. (I need to check this
interesting item for ‘trivial pursuits’ of random knowledge).
When St. Jerome first arrived, 386 AD., he rhapsodised about his
early arrival in Jerusalem and settled in Bethlehem and later explained how
small the place is from Jerusalem to Jaffa on the coast and later advised people
on the priority on inner conversion. “I am ashamed”, he says in one of his
numerous incisive letters, “to tell the size of the Promised Land; it seems to
me almost to the pagans opportunity to blaspheme. From Joppa to our little town
of Bethlehem the distance is only 46 miles (about 60km); then going forward one
meets terrible desert” . (the Judean Desert). There is no end to the multi
faceted Bible Land in all its different epochs.
Br. Bernard has just passed on to me
another example of this long line of ‘foot loose and fancy free’ happy
pilgrims; Chateaubriand’s Itinerary from Paris to Jerusalem.
Chateaubriand made his famous journey
in 1806, and in fact it was a harrowing journey in those early nineteenth days.
(“After weighing it in the balance for a long time, I decided to describe
the main stations of Jerusalem, because of the following considerations. 1st No
one reads the ancient pilgrimages to Jerusalem any more . . .; 2nd The Church
of the Holy Sepulchre does not exist any more; it was burned to the ground in
ashes since my return from Judea; I am, so to speak, the last voyager to have
seen it, and for that reason I am even its last historian.”, 1872 Edition,
p. 261. It is fascinating to compare this book with today’s guide books).
The times have changed. It seems that
the more every sacred site is destroyed and rebuilt the more the memory is
enshrined. Perhaps before long a whole virtual reality reproduction of the Holy
Land will be produced as another tool of consolidating the places of commemoration.
Christ’s words, “Do this in MEMORY of me” have ever more manifold levels of
reality.
Revue Biblique
The community of Latroun is very
obliging. Fr. Augustine, ordained last summer, librarian, did his studies at
Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. (Doctoral Thesis; Les Metamorphosis de L’Esprit
– Mt: 10:12 . . by Paul Tavardon, ocso, 2002, ISBN 2 85021 142 7).
Latroun follows the same library system and Augustine tells me that he has a CD
Rom disk copy of the Ecole’s catalogue. For research purposes this can be used
at home for references and perhaps save the trouble of going to Jerusalem. The
prestigious Revue Biblique is the favourite baby of the Dominicans in
Jerusalem. Strangely, the Latroun library does not subscribe to it – since
1996. It is just too expensive, they say. Anyway it is dull looking academic
periodical. There is no excuse these days for not using modern presentation in printing. Still less
excuse for being deliberately ‘academic’ in the stuffy sense. Still it goes
without saying that the Revue Biblique is indispensable for the experts. A
Biblical periodical with a similar name, Bible Review, can in fact produce very good articles but in the most
attractive format. It is published in America. It is economical and would make
a valuable addition to our Nunraw library. I see there is a similar beautifully
produced, colour, state of the art, Bible magazine published in France, Le
Monde de La Bible (Histoire, Art, Archelogie). It appears on the Chapter
Room display table.
On Thursday evening, prior to their
visit to Latroun, some of the Group from Ecce Homo attended a special lecture
given by Cardinal Martini at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. I would
have liked to be there but I had my scouts and someone is getting me a copy of
the lecture or a tape. As you can see there is never any lack of interesting
events in the very small Catholic community in Israel.
Sunday, 3rd of Lent.
The Choir for Concelebration today was
very full. Nine or ten Assumptionists from the community of St. Peter in Gallcantu
came for their day’s Recollection at Latroun. We had a fine Homily by Fr.
Augustine. He shows the fruitful results of his two years study at the Ecole
Biblique. As the youngest priest, he has a great delivery.
Junior Seminar in Holy Land. This evening I
had a brilliant inspiration. Dom Bernardo is good on having ‘vision’ for the
future. I was browsing through the Minutes of the Regional Meeting, passed on
to me from Fr. Pierre. There was news of the new secretary of Formation and of
the Juniors’ Course. Best wishes to Fr. Augustine, Mellifont, for his new
charge. It is difficult to find good courses for Formation. I hope Fr. Laurence
is keeping better. Maybe he also would benefit from the Holy Land Sojourn. For
of us in the twilight zone, 65 seems the normal borderline for seniors
attempting the demanding excursions.
But in fact everyone is extremely well cared for.
The Sisters of Sion are starting a
new initiative. The Biblical Formation program is excellent but for most busy teachers, catechists, and
others searching for a suitable course, the four (or eight) month session is
too long. But for a ONE MONTH seminar, School Head teachers might
provide ‘in-training’ breaks for teachers, parish assistants etc., or it might
be convenient during vacation time for most people who want more than the
typical tourist package.. This project is going forward and will be designed
with the usual highly qualified lectures and aimed to integrate the teaching
with the guided Biblical places. For more Information: see the Sisters of Sion
Email biblprog@netvision.net.il,
and Website, www.sion.org
It strikes me that this would be an
ideal format for a Juniors’ Formation Seminar to take place in Jerusalem. It is
a brilliant idea, I thought, and I was not deflated to learn that Abbot Paul
has been advocating this kind of thing for the ‘French’ Regions. Latroun would
welcome the idea of Juniors coming to have a Seminar here. In a totally altruistic way, of course, I
would be happy to act as ‘tour’ Guide for such a one month Seminar! I also need
to keep up the impetus of my beginnings in Hebrew and in Biblical study. I
feel, like Jeremiah, that “I am only a child” in this very fertile field of
Biblical Formation. Although a Juniors’ Seminar might take place in the
monastery at Latroun itself, there is, in fact, great expertise of this kind
from a number of similar Biblical Programs in Jerusalem which would be more
professional, - Dormition Abbey (OSB, German), Ecole Biblque (French), Tantur
(English), Ecce Homo (2 stream, English and French), St. Anne’s (White Fathers,
French/English?), Flagellation (Franciscan Bib. Institute, Italian),
Collegeville (US brings its own to some Jerusalem base). All of these
Institutions are only too delighted to welcome any groups because of the empty
accommodation still resulting from the Intefada. Among the countries still
sending lots of visitors is Nigeria. There seems to hordes of Nigerians on the
Via Dolorosa and elsewhere in the Holy Places. Ironically this follows from a
Government decision to finance Muslim pilgrims to MECCA. So, what is sauce for
the goose . . . The Nigerian Government has to provide the same privilege to
Christian Pilgrims. We meet lots of Anglicans also. There might be an
opportunity here for our Cistercian Brethren in Nigeria.
Phew! How did I get myself into a brain
storm on these matters?
Vocations.
Alex returned on Sunday. He had
completed his Postulancy and went away to make his decision. The community
tailor has, in fact, already, made the Novice’s habit. Alex is from Jaffa and
is therefore the only Israeli citizen. His native tongue is Arabic but he says
his Hebrew is better. He gives classes for Hebrew to some of the brethren.
Br. Jose-Marie, from Peru, received the
community votes and will be making his Simple Profession in April.
One aspirant has been here for some
time. He is Fr. Emil, in the 30s I think, who was a missionary in Sierra Leone.
Another aspirant, Benigne, is of a
Bedouin family from Jordan. At present he is in Sept-Fons.
Yesterday the Prior asked me to reply to
a Vocations inquiry in an English Email from Croatia. The inquirer wanted to
know of any monasteries in the Holy Land. In the reply I had to point out that
the community is French speaking. There are the two Benedictine monasteries of
Jerusalem, Dormition (OSB, German), Abu-Gosh (Olivetan, French).
Abbot Christopher, while he was here was
immensely impressed by the community of the Dormition, Mt. Sion. Under the present Abbot, the number of Juniors and
Novices gives great life to the place. Abu-Gosh is doing well also in the dual
community of monks and nuns. Recently, their Abbot was high-jacked to become
the first Hebrew Bishop since the time of Eusebius(?).
We need an English speaking Cistercian
foundation in the Holy Land, male or female.
Even for the Dominicans and Ecole
Biblique, Murhy-O’Connot says the use of French is a nonsense. Everybody from
the taxi drivers to the President can speak English.
So much for today’s musings. By the way,
the various Chronicles (1-10) are on the www.nunraw.org website (thanks to Liam’s work).
Liam would be grateful for additions for the HOME NEWS PAGE from Nunraw. I
notice that the Regional Meeting, also, is always pressing for contributions
for the Regional Newsletter. And to keep the circulation going, FEEDBACK IS
ALWAYS WELCOME.
This ‘Chronicle’ is already too long,
and there is also a couple of ATTACHMENTS, “Gethsemane – Lent Homily” and the
heavy weight article, “What Happened at Gethsemane”, which you can either
conveniently ignore or get your sleeves rolled up for a good exercise of
exegesis.
I trust you are well.
Keep me in your prayers.
Best wishes for a Holy Lent and for, (as
I notice the Calendar), St. Patrick and St. Joseph.
Donald
View from Mt of
Olives
Chronicle 12
Fifth Sunday of
Lent 2004
Dear Raymond,
It is hard to realise that we are
beginning the month of April.
I am enjoying every minute of the
Sabbatical in the Holy Land.
Concerts of Candle Light and Monastery
Wine: There is a poster in the Abbey Shop advertising a Concert of
Irish & Scottish Music on 3rd. April. It will be in the auditorium above
the ‘Boutique’ (Wine Shop). Perhaps this a delayed performance from St.
Patrick’s Day. This group, from Tel Aviv I think, is presenting its own CD on
this occasion. There is also an advert for the Passover Festival of Series of
Classical Music accompanied by the Jerusalem Festival Orchestra. Latroun is a
regular venue for these events, not that the monks have much to do with these
events of Candle Light and Monastery Wine! It gives some idea of the very
active cultural programme of the country.
Note on an early morning trip from
Latroun to the Holy Sepulchre:
After Mass – had a snack, lost my glasses
Between the bus drive and the long Mass
I felt some refreshment was in order. I started with good Arab home baked
croissant at the nearest food counter right on the souq, (Souq Khan as-Zeit),
behind the Holy Sepulchre, decided to have tea and ended at a table of the back
‘tea-room’ that I had not noticed in all the times I passed the door. The
bakery was upstairs and everyone was most hospitable. In the days of
Constantine this would have actually been a part of the original building of
the Basilica. Across the narrow alleyway I wandered up steps into more of this
maze leading to the 9th Station, Coptic Patriarchate, Ethiopian monastery, but
at this point I realized my spectacles were missing. Could I remember how to retrace
my steps? I reached the ‘tea-room’ again and to have surprise the shopkeepers
had my specs waiting for me.
Regular
lecture at Ecole Biblique
I could now get to Bible School (École
Biblique) for the lecture which had been my only reason for coming. And that
too was part of a very rewarding day. Fr. Jerome Murphy-O’Conner’s course takes
a lot of concentration. At this point he was contributing something original on
Galatians. Just to remind my self, two very distinctive features of the Christology of Galatians
are, 1. The earliest references to Christ’s self-sacrifice are to be found in
Galatians, and there is no reason to think that Paul borrowed from anyone. . .
. It became Paul’s key to understanding what made Jesus Christ unique as a
human being). 2. Nothing remotely similar to ‘a series of texts expressing
union of the believers with Christ and among themselves’ id to be found in the
kerygma that Paul inherited nor in the Thessalonian letters. Moreover, in
contrast to the crucifixion of Christ, there is no hint that Paul thought of
Christ in this way prior to writing Galatians. In consequence, the factors that
forced Paul to develop this insight are probably to be found in the situation
that he had to confront in Galatia. (see article, Murphy-O’Connor, The
origins of Paul’s Christology, Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
Suppl. Ser. Sheffield Acad. Press, pp. 113-139, 2003. www.continuumbooks.com).
Emmanuel Sisters at Bethlehem
Not long ago I was confronted by two
different worlds.
Fares, former student of the Diocesan
Seminary at Beit Jela, Bethlehem, was driving Br. Oliver for a dental
appointment in Jerusalem, and myself for a visit to the Library of Ecole
Biblique for a full briefing on the library set up. He had also to run a small
errand to the Emmanuel Convent at Bethlehem, (a ten minutes drive from the Old
City to Bethlehem). Olivier remained at the dentist, and after leaving the
world of academic seclusion of the Dominicans (not forgetting for Fr.
Murphy-O’Connor for St. Patrick’s Day), we took the least obstructed road to
Bethlehem - a place that is unbelievable. My Passport usually counts for more
than the driver's but when I showed that at the check point I was asked for my
Visa as well. I had to explain that I had left it at Latroun, so – OK - very
dismissively, they waved us through.
We took the road leading directly to the
convent gate. On the left was a massive wall under construction under police
guard. The police wanted to turn us back but the workers waived us on, the
police man yielded. Another 100 further yards there was a massive bulldozer
blocking the way and beyond that a trench had been dug right in front of the
Sisters' entrance. Only a narrow heap in the middle of the trench allowed,
regardless us, regardless of life or
limb, to climb across AND SO TO A WARM WELCOME BY THE SISTERS.
The community came from Algeria. They
knew the Atlas monks well but left with the general expulsion of the time.
Latroun has been a good support. They are contemplatives with an enclosure now
doubly enclosed. They use the Byzantine liturgy and have a beautiful Church and
lovely Blessed Sacrament Chapel suitably integrated with a grand Iconostasis.
Life goes on. No one is blaze but, as in
the community at Latroun, those who have made their home here never think of
divorcing them themselves from the situation, still less of the kind of travel
anxieties of those from outside. In fact at present there is “full house” at
Ecce Home, with both an English and a French Group. I was invited to come for a
Sabbath Seder Meal with the new group. We were joined by a similar group from
St. Ann’s, White Fathers. In my own case, the previous group had been taken
into the family homes of one Synagogue to experience the normal Sabbath.
Yehuda, the father is an expert book binder so we became buddies to the extent
that he came to visit me at the Abbey of Latroun. He was, of course, duly
impressed when I showed him the books, and very taken with the underground
passage, 500-600 yards to the wine making plant.
Sunday, 21 March 2004
There were two Solemn Professions
of the Benedictines at Dormition Abbey today, Fr. Elias and Brother Samuel, so
that gives me some place to start. Being something of a spare wheel here at Latroun
Abbey, the Prior asked me to go with him and the Novice, Br. Jose-Marie, as
representatives of the community. This is all in the spirit of monastic
solidarity. The Catholic Church is so
small now in the Holy Land that in fact there is a very intense community
spirit among all the Religious.
Dormition Abbey
“With confidence in the
assistance of the Lord we will vow stability, a monastic way of life and
obedience in the community of brothers of Hagia Maria, Sion Abbey, Jerusalem”. These were the
words of the Invitation to the ceremony of Solemn Profession and, as one would
expect, the making of the these final vows received every honour of observance.
At the appropriate moment, for example, a very large parchment already written
by the candidates was produced, to be signed on the altar with great solemnity,
counter signed by the Abbot in Mitre and Crosier and duly presented to each of
the Brothers as witnesses. The choreography of all this was not complete until
the final procession when two Brothers came from the back with a large, metal
bound, archives chest. This was opened on the altar. The Abbot raised the
schedules of Profession and deposited them in the chest. The chest was then
solemnly carried away at the front of the recessional exit. (-the schedule
of profession cannot be returned but must be kept in the monastery - Rule
of St. Benedict, Chapter 58) I describe this colourful part of the ceremony
only to give an idea of the ‘pomp and state’ of the whole Mass and Profession
which took two hours and forty minutes. The monk representatives from Latroun
were greatly impressed. For me the novelty was fine, but I felt that the time
and motion could have been more economically ordered. Perhaps, because I could
not understand a word of the German, my imagination was more directed to the
visual staging of things. The only English was the second Reading, read by one
of the Filipino Sisters from the Annexe Foundation at Tabga on the Sea of
Galilee.
The community is strongly re-enforced by
the presence of the members of the Studium who take part in all ceremonies.
These are Biblical Students, (Greek and Hebrew presumed before acceptance),
male and female, Catholic and Protestant. The very accomplished young organist
originally came with one of these groups and ended up joining the community.
The very fraternal gathering afterwards
led to a happy afternoon inside the Abbey. The Sacristan/MC of the community is
Br. Joseph. He made his Solemn Profession a year ago. He had once tried his
vocation with the Trappists at Mariwald, and later was a nurse for three
years. His counterpart as Sacristan at
Latroun is Br. Jose-Marie (Peru). The encounter between the two, ended up with
Br. Joseph producing a very thick ring binder of all his directions for
ceremonies. To these he added a CD Rom disk of forms used for regular daily,
weekly, monthly programs which he
generously offered to lend to Br.
Jose-Marie. Out of his own lips, he admitted that he was Germanic in getting
these things ‘properly’ organised.
Happily Br. Joseph was also our main
host to visit the house and garden. His English is good.
One of the first things the present
Abbot did in the community was to fit out a private Oratory for the monks, as
distinct from the very public Church and Crypt, glorious as these truly are.
Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament is in a slender stand of twelve
leaves/branches with the Host exposed at the top. A very unusual style of
Reservation. The Abbot’s underlying policy seems to have been a gradual
deepening of the monastic aspect of the community which previously felt the
consequences being an important centre of pilgrimage.
A monastery garden/cemetery is always a
great place to learn the community history. I saw the grave of Fr. Bargil
Pixner. Fr. Pixner is known for his two-volume work, ‘With Jesus through
Galilee according to the Fifth Gospel”, in which it is the land in
its archaeological aspect which speaks as the “fifth Gospel”. ‘With Jesus in
Jerusalem –his first and last days in Judea’. It does not follow that other
archaeologists agree with his colourful accounts.
Fr. Pixner, Ausrtrian/German, started off as a Mill Hill
Missionary in the Phillipines. He eventually joined this Benedictine community.
I notice from the autobiography of Bruno Hussar that he was one of the three
who celebrated the first Mass at Neve Shalon in 1970. He spent the rest of his
life doing the archaeology of Mt. Sion, here in Jerusalem and, in his later
years, at Tabga in Galilee. Before he died in 2002 he asked to be buried in the
grave of an older generation monk-archaeologist whom he admired, Fr.
Mauritius Giesler. Following another piece of detective work on my own, I
learned from Br. Joseph that the older archaeologist, Fr. Mauritius, had
uncovered remains of a Byzantine Church on the site connected with the Rabbinic
school of Gamaliel who taught Paul and his younger colleague St. Stephen. (Act
22:3 "I am a Jew, born at Tarsus
in Cili'cia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gama'li-el, educated
according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God
as you all are this day). It makes one cringe to think of Paul’s part in
the stoning of a younger school friend, Stephen, – something that in turn
underlines just how radical and marvellous Paul s conversion had to be. That Church dedicated to St. Stephen is at
Bet Jemal near Beth Shemish, not far from Latroun. Fr. Rene is going to take me
there for an on site confirmation of these things. You can see I am getting
into the spirit of discovery in this Land of the Bible.
(Poor Stephen has got knocked about a
bit in the various accounts. The site of his being stoned is disputed. Was it
at Lion’s Gate, also called St. Stephen’s Gate, or was it at Ecole Biblique,
the Church of which was dedicated to St. Stephen centuries before the
Dominicans arrived? Now more attention is given there to the tomb of Fr. Joseph
Lagrange O.P. whose ‘cause’ for beatification has been advanced in recent
years).
The luminaries of the deceased in
Dormition Abbey cemetery are but part of the great story of this many
splendoured Church, sponsored by the Emperor Wilhelm II (1898), but reaching
back to the magnificent Byzantine Church, “the Church of Mount Zion, Mother of All the Churches”.
Thanks to Br. Joseph, and the
conversation we could get the sense of another happy and lively community.
On another day, early in the morning, I
was in the Crypt of Mary’s Dormition. The only visitors were some senior
looking Ethiopian priests or monks. A little while later I was talking with Br.
Joseph when he said , ‘come and see this unusual sight’. The group of
Ethiopians had stopped at two ancient stones built into the side of the present
Basilica and we joined them. Apparently they are old friends and make this
pilgrimage regularly. They have a special devotion to Our Lady of Zion. Br
Joseph explained these were the earliest remains from the oldest site of the
Dormition. He was quite excited to share this with me because it is not known
to many people.
Dom Denis Huerre, OSB, of
Pierre-qui-Vire
One of the visiting monks at Dormition
has been Dom Denis Huerre, OSB, of Pierre-qui-Vire, formerly Abbot President of
the Subiaco Congregation. At the age of 88 he has been here to give talks. In
fact, I am pleased to learn that he will stop overnight at Latroun for Mass and
to give a talk to the community before his departure from Tel Aviv. We had his
book, “To Our Brothers”, his biannual letters 1980-1988, read at Nunraw not
long ago.
Later at Latroun, his introductory words
were about how surprised he was at so little sign of any trouble during his
visit. To him it seemed there were more signs of trouble in Europe and
elsewhere than in the Holy Land. His talk to the community had all the engaging
charm of a Benedictine octogenarian Abbot. He took for his talk just about the
most difficult question possible for monks, “What is contemplation?” And he
made it as simple and as clear as an novice could understand. In his Homily (5th Sun. Lent) he spoke of the three
tableaux of the Readings all climaxing with the powerful word “GO” as in Jesus
speaking to the sinful woman, “Go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8;11).
A Swedish monk at Dormition Abbey is
from St. Benoit sur Loire. Of course he maintains that is where the relic of
St. Benedict’s head is kept. Today, 21st March, was the Translation of St.
Benedict but since this is a Sunday in Lent the Feast is being kept at
Dormition tomorrow. Like good Trappists we continue with the Ferias of Lent.
The Swedish monk is also studying at Ecole Biblique and I learned from him that
Murphy-O’Connor has a regular course on the topography of Jerusalem. This is
too good an opportunity to miss if I can learn more on this front. For example,
the Holy Sepulchre alone is a great mystery and there is an inexhaustible store
of modern findings uncovered in rescuing the place from collapse.
Neve Shalom, Oasis of Peace.
Yesterday I walked by the field tracks
over to Neve Shalom. There I obtained English copies of the autobiography of
the Founder of this united Jewish, Christian, Muslim village, Fr. Bruno Hussar,
OP. It is the wonderful story of Jew become Catholic and priest, then founder
of this unique interfaith village where Jews, Christians and Muslims live and
work together. The book is published by Veritas, When the Cloud Lifted, the
testimony of an Israeli priest, by Bruno Hussar, ISBN 185390 0486. (Web: www.oasisofpeace.org
Email afnswas@oasisofpeace.org
). Here are a couple of excerpts from his book, one about his attendance at UNO
and one illustrating his understanding of Torah and Sacrament.
FOUR IDENTITIES. (Chap. 1). “New York, end of June 1967. An extraordinary General
Meeting of the United Nations of the powers opposed to Israel was convoked
immediately after the Six Days War . . . I was the last to speak, and I said,
“Should I not have come from Jerusalem for this Meeting? I present myself: I am
a Catholic priest, I am Jewish, I am an Israeli citizen, I was born in Egypt
where I lived for eighteen years. I feel in myself four identities: I am truly
Christian and a priest, I am truly Jewish, I am truly Israeli and I feel that I
am, even if not truly Egyptian, at least very close to Arabs whom I know and
love.
. . . I must keep each of these identities which are all good and
God-given.
. . . This account allows me to show how difficult it is for me personally to answer the question I
put to myself, “What do I live for?”
THE ECUMENICAL ROOT. (Chap.9)
These people exist today as a people because a great many of them
faithfully and unfailingly listened to that Word, studied it and put it into
practice. (p.1 ff.)
I will tell you something that happened to me later on in
Jerusalem at the beginning of the sixties. It took place on Simhat Torah (Rejoice
in the Torah), a festival that ends the annual cycle of the reading of the
Pentateuch. This festival is celebrated not only in the synagogues (and, today,
at the Western Wall), but also in t the streets, with lively dancing round the
scrolls of the Torah.
I was on my way to pray and join in the general rejoicing in a
little synagogue of hasidim. After the usual prayers, the doors of the cupboard
where the Torah was kept were opened and the sacred scrolls were taken out.
Then began an extraordinary scene: the whole congregation started to sing and
dance in a circle, each one putting his hands on the shoulders of the person in
front. In the middle of the circle, four or five 'pious ones' clasped the
scrolls of the Torah, surmounted with crowns and bells, while they , danced to
the same rhythm. From time to time, someone broke from the circle to replace
one of the scrollbearers.
I looked at the eyes of those men, many of whom were old, and they
shone with childlike joy. Sometimes it seemed the scrollbearer was in ecstasy.
Those who passed the sacred parchment touched it, then put their fingers to
their lips and kissed them. Religious enthusiasm was at its height.
That scene and the feelings in which I was caught up were not
altogether new to me. Some years before, when I was finishing my theological
studies, I had taken part with my brother Dominicans in a procession of the
Blessed Sacrament in the park at Saulchoir .I still remember my feelings of
overwhelming joy. And in the little synagogue, I thought: didn't the priest who
then carried the Holy Sacrament feel the same kind of joy as these 'pious ones'
who danced as they held the scroll of the Torah in their arms? And weren't
the feelings of the religious who walked in procession like those experienced
by the Jews dancing in a circle? What was the cause of this similarity?
And this answer came into my mind. The hasid who carries the Torah and the
priest who carries the Holy Sacrament are both doing the same thing -I hardly
dare to put it into words, it is so tremendous -in their hands they hold the
Word of God! In one case, it is the Word of God on Mount Sinai, which was
written down as the Torah and has lived ever since in the hearts of the Jewish
people; in the other, it is tne Sacrament of the same unique Word of God which
was made man in the womb of a daughter of Israel and lives on in the heart of
the Church.
That same Word: which was before all beginning: 'In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.' That which was
also at the beginning of time: 'In the beginning God created heaven, and earth
...And God said... 'He spoke, and it was done.' This same Word was revealed to
men in the gift of the Torah and, later, in the gift of the only Son: 'Before
Abraham was, I AM!
This extraordinary closeness to the God who speaks to men is a
source of matchless joy. At the deepest level, Jew' and Christian have a common
veneration and love for the Word of God. They both know they are called to
listen to that Word, to meditate on it inwardly, to dedicate their lives to
abetter understanding of it and to its service. Both wait impatiently for the
full realisation of God's promises: MARANA THA! When the Word has been listened
to for a long time and followed, and fully revealed to Jews and Christians in
the clear Light of God, when the Messiah comes called by the Jews and 'the Son
of Man comes in glory' , then surely the barriers that now separate these sons
of God will fall and they will welcome him with one voice crying: 'Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord’. . . . .
On the strength of Fr. Bruno’s linking
of the Exposition of the Torah Scrolls with the Exposition of the Holy
Sacrament, I called in at the Messianic Bookshop at Jaffa Gate and acquired a
miniature of the large Scrolls one sees
displayed by the dancing Synagogues, so to speak, at the Western Wall.
The most illuminating text on the destiny of Israel with relation
to that of the Church is contained in Romans, Chapters 9 -11 (especially 11). With regard to Israel, Paul speaks of a
temporary setting aside, to allow the pagans to gain access to the treasures of
faith, of a regrafting of Israel on to the original tree from which it was
temporarily severed; of' a mysterious dialectic between disobedience and mercy;
of the 'wholeness' which Israel will obtain by 'jealousy' ; of the final
fulfilment that this 'wholeness' will mean for the world. This will be such a
great source of joy that Paul compares it with life springing from death!
An illuminating text but, like everything concerned with faith, surrounded with
darkness. You have to be resigned to not understanding everything, certain only
that the destiny of Israel is of a special kind. Like that of the Church, it is
in the hands of God. The two are intimately linked in his loving design.”
This key reference of Romans 9-11
actually leads me into the lush pastures of the Course I am following with Fr.
David Neuhaus, SJ. –“Old and New Testaments and the Unity of the Message of
Jesus Christ”, - but that is a rich field still to be grazed. ROOT AND BRANCH -
to borrow the image of the OLIVE TREE used by the Apostle Paul (Rm 11,16-24),
‘the unity of the branches must be matched with the unity of the root, aiming
to recover the unity of the tree in togetherness – the Church with its root,
the Jewish people’.
Fr. Bruno’s grave in the cemetery is
kept nicely, close to the Doumia, the dome shaped place of silence. Any of the
people I met there actually conveyed the spirit of peace of this ’Oasis of
Peace’, and were most helpful. The lady in the PR Office was a Volunteer from
Switzerland and will be returning to her country to carry on fund raising for
the various needs and projects of Neve Shalom.
Nearby, in the village of Neve Shalom,
were some tents provided for some visiting group. I got talking with someone
who turned out to be the leader of the group, mostly young people from various
countries. I was invited to come into the camp for tea. Trying to make sense of
their story I learned that John, the leader, late 40s I’d say, came from
Holland with a Catholic background. He travelled, became a hippie and
eventually came to encounter the Bible, as it were for the first time. His
wife, Judy, is Jewish now also Christian and they run a “Shelter Hostel”
together in Eilat on the southern tip
of Israel on the Red Sea. It seems to be some kind of Evangelical Charismatic organisation. The groups are taken to
various Biblical camping sites for a month a time for prayer and Bible
learning.
More on MINI ISRAEL
Even the example of this one meeting
point, with so many associations gives one the impression that Jesus is very
active in all sorts of encounters in the Land of the Bible. What a mix of
cultures and peoples. Just a couple of miles away is MINI ISRAEL – theme park.
Apparently there are 45 similar miniature cities the world. This one is actually the miniature of a whole
country, Israel – itself about the size of Scotland I think. It contains
hundreds of precision models of buildings to the scale of 1:25. Most of the famous sites, Biblical and Modern,
without religious discrimination, are represented. I did not know why there was
a gap in place of the Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre, a very conspicuous
omission. I asked about it at Latroun but no one made me any the wiser.
Was this some sinister ploy against the Christians? I resisted the temptation
to think the worst. Then one day Fr. Pierre was driving me to Jerusalem and he
explained the situation. It was not through any fault of the Israelis that the
model of Holy Sepulchre did not have its appropriate place. Just the contrary.
It was through the inability of the various Churches, the Greeks, the Romans
and the Armenians, the big three in particular, to come to any agreement on the
subject. This is the case with just about everything to do with the most sacred
shrine of Christians, the Holy Sepulchre. In fact there is a very attractive
side to the care and attraction of the Israelis at the Mini Israel. Fr. Pierre
told me that the chief artist who makes the models refers to Latroun as “our monastery”.
He works in one of the Kibbutzim. The first model he designed was of the abbey,
and all the others spread out from it. One can look at this precision
reproduction of the Abbey and then look across the fence, as it were, and see
the real thing on the side of the hill – all quite amazing.
The real Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
The story of the real Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem is something else. The place is a maze. I went into the special
places and observed the customary traditions. But I decided to get down to it
in earnest. So after one of my Biblical classes I returned to the Holy
Sepulchre and armed with a drawing with brief comments I went trough the
various Chapels and Shrines one by one, numbered from 1 to 33 – and even that
leaves out peripheral Churches like the Coptic Patriarchate and others. I also
acquired something like the ‘official’ account of the “Status Quo”. Without
this detailed history of the relations, agreements, arrangements, regarding the
claims which the various Churches have agreed upon each and every part of the
Basilica, one might as well relax in the great atmosphere and not try to make
sense of it all. Some might feel this is terrible. It is a mess. The edifice
within the large dome and containing the actual place of Jesus’ resurrection is
falling apart. Next door there is the magnificent Lutheran Church, sponsored by
Emperor Wilhelm II, which is a ‘proper’ Church, spotlessly clean and expressing
the best of Anglo Teutonic church style. At some point the Franciscans of the Custodia
had a similar idea for a clean sweep of the present Basilica in order to
replace it with some kind of monolithic structure. Happily, in this at least,
they were voted out by the “Status Quo”, the consortium of all the Churches
which have their own foothold there from time immemorial. From the time when
Pilgrims first began coming to Jerusalem all the various Rites of the Church,
in fact, observed their own languages, Rites and customs in total harmony until
1633, i.e. long after the Schism of Catholic and Greek in 1054.
Something will have to be done about the
structure enclosing the actual tomb but otherwise there is every reason to
cherish all the diversity, ambiguities and strange customs. Inside the main entrance is the stone bench
of the Muslim keepers of the keys. Two families have this right from the time
of the Turks. On the day I made my check of all the chapels this bench for the
Muslim Porters was occupied by two Israelis police. One was a woman, in
uniform, who seemed to be deep in prayer. Nothing can be called strange in this
topsy turvey world.
When I had finished my round inside I
came out to the Parvis (paradise), the courtyard facing the main
entrance and decided to have my midday sandwich. Well why not? The Lord likes
to feed the hungry. Sitting there, I observed that at No.9 on the Basilica
drawing, Mass was beginning.
12.30 Mass and Exposition.
There are external steps leading up to
this glass fronted Chapel. It abuts on to the side of Calvary. It is called
“Our Lady of Sorrows”. This is where there is regular Exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament. A Franciscan said the Mass, facing the altar, no room to face any
other way. He used the Latin Missal, the Altar Cards and ended with the Last
Gospel and the trimmings concluding with the Prayer to St. Michael in German.
Fr. Luke is his name. He is from Sheffield. He joined the Franciscans in
Jerusalem. I mentioned my peculiar experience of the missing model of the Holy
Sepulchre at Mini Israel and he threw up his hands in despair of the “Status
Quo”. “It took them 70 years before they could agree to the essential repairs
of the Basilica so what can you expect for the model?” (The Holy Sepulchre was
first built by the Emperor Constantine 325 AD. It was destroyed many times and
periodically renovated, most recently in 1996) I asked if maybe he could put in
a word in the appropriate places to get something moving on the model. It would
be the greatest challenge for the model maker and his greatest masterpiece if
it went ahead.
The Franciscans
have a great printing plant. They produce the Magazine “Holy Land” in at least
four languages, English, French, Italian, Spanish. The magazine is a mine of
knowledge and information. I was able to obtain the back Issues of several
years, and the Editor, Fr. Jago, added our name for future issues. It is a pity
that it is not better known. Fr. Luke lamented the lack of better promotion of
the magazine by his Franciscan brothers in UK. I have to confess all this chat
was in the confined space of the Chapel was not very observant of silence. The
attending lady, preparing the candles, must have been getting impatient for
Exposition to get under way.
Quiet Morning - and Alert
It was a quiet morning but one keeps
catching glimpse of life as it is in the wider Israel. Apparently no Arab under
45 was being allowed through.
In fact it was extremely quiet. I was
heading for the bus and home via New Gate. There was hardly anyone at this entrance to the Old City, except for
what looked like a full platoon of young soldiers. They were at ease, sitting
against the wall of the Old City. I gave them a smile and the smiled back –
just a little exchange of humanity against the background of underlying apprehensions and the appearance of general
alert since the assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin. There are no daily papers
at the monastery, only the weekly Le Monde and L’Osservatore. Fr. Pierre, Bursar, usually puts up a
Bulletin of latest news on the Community Notice Board. This is very useful for
focusing on the essential news, for ‘getting the message’, without ploughing
through the press.
On the bus home, fairly crowded, a young
man sat down. He looked at me and said, “You must be Moses come down from Sinai
to bring peace. I assured him, yes, I had come from Sinai (last November), and
each of us has to bring peace. He was pleasantly talkative. He is an
non-practicing Jew and works as a flower designed near Jaffa. His parents are
from Tunisia. He was born in Israel. Mildly thoughtful about praying to God in
his heart, he was quite convinced that killing people only brings more killing,
only love begets love. I think he was only expressing the attitude of the
average Israeli citizen.
Battle of Latroun 1948
One’s immediate impressions in this
extraordinary country can be fresh, vivid and fascinating but, with a little
time, one learns not to be too quick with hasty conclusions. For example, I
shall have to revise my views of the staff at the Museum of the Latroun Armored
Corps (British Barracks). The particular soldiers and secretary I asked about
the British history seemed to know little except the immediate glories of the
Israeli Army exploits. Perhaps one has to ask the right questions. Scratching
the surface of the history of modern Israel, there is, in fact, as much documentation
on recent history as there is on the Hebrew Bible. Sr. Rosalie lent me a book,
“O, Jerusalem”, a 600 page blockbuster, by Collins, Lapierre, 1982, (ISBN 0586
05452-9). In a very popular style it contains a couple of chapters on the ‘Battle
of Latroun’ of 1948, pp. 474-488, There was a ‘Battle of Latroun’ in each of the three Israel Wars but the
first one at Latroun was the bloodiest. It was a disaster for the Israeli
troops, most of whom were just new arrivals from the immigration ships. They
had a few hours of training, hardly equipped and bussed to a point from which
they had to approach the Templar Castle above the monastery which was heavily
fortified by the Jordanians who held the junction, and had blockaded Jerusalem
where the people were desperate for supplies. The task for the soldiers was
hopeless from the start but they were compelled on the dictat of Ben Gurion,
against all advice, on the grounds that the route must be opened. Many of those
soldiers were killed in the wheat fields just beside the monastery. Names of
officers from both sides, names of every village and every hillock provide the
information which forms the tragic underlay of that scene which today looks the
picture of peace and thriving interest, that includes the Abbey, the Beatitudes
Community at Emmaus, the Lutheran Community in the ‘Stables’ of the Templar
Castle, Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace), Mini Israel, etc. I suppose I shall now
have to catch up with the books on the other two Wars. One day I noticed 3 or 4
coaches parked on the quiet lane at the back entrance leading to the old
Templar Castle. At that time I thought it strange but now, knowing just how
many epochs of interest surround it, I am not surprised that tourist get into
this hidden place.
Filming at Latroun.
You may remember my contribution to the
film making proposal for the coming Holy Week for which I was conscripted at
Latroun – an English company needing anyone able to speak English for the
Emmaus connection. An advance copy of the Video came on Thursday. It is
entitled, don’t hold your breath, “Opera Babes in Jerusalem”. It will be
broadcast in one of the TV Channels in Holy Week or Easter Week. Some people
may find it less ambitious than Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” but
more creative than “Woman’s Hour”. For popular viewing it uses two attractive
young professional opera singers and their accompanying chat and singing to
string together the main points of a
Holy Week presentation. There is also a focus on the role of the women
participating in the Passion. The producer had not yet heard of Mel Gibson’s
script which, I understand, sees everything from Mary’s viewpoint. In the film,
the opera girls are most moved by their visit to Calvary in the Holy Sepulchre.
They are also impressed by the elderly nun at the Russian Church of Mary
Magdalene on the Mount of Olives. She describes Mary Magdalene’s experience of
the Resurrection movingly. This is the Church distinguished by the
magnificent golden globes, (Russian
onion shaped). At their foundation the Sisters carried a great Cross on foot
from Jaffa harbour to the Mount of Olives. Here, also they keep the tomb of St.
Elizabeth, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She became a fervent Orthodox
convert. As a member of the Emperor of Russia’s family she was martyred by the
communists. The Orthodox Sister in the shop, who provided me with book on the
life of St. Elizabeth, came from Ireland, and next to her was a loquacious
American Sister.
Back to the film; not to be missed in
television production, is the beautiful legend of the ‘Easter Egg’. The story
is portrayed in a large painting of Mary Magdalene before the Emperor holding
an egg in her hand. The Emperor said he would no more believe in the
Resurrection than if the egg in her hand were to turn red, which of course it
did on the instant.
As for the Emmaus connection, Latroun
was the target, and some film artistic licence was taken in conflating the two,
the Abbey and the nearby Emmaus Byzantine archaeological remains. I did my part
– the usual few seconds as happens in documentaries. Then I had a shock, at the
end. It shows the ’abbot’ raising a ‘toast’ of the best Latroun wine with the
two bonnie lassies, and smiles all round. This might make a good-movie clip for
future archives.
I had better stop there!
Palm Sunday is looming very near. The
Palm Sunday Procession from Bethphage to the Pool of Bethesda (St. Ann’s)
begins at 2.30 p.m. which is convenient for the drive from Latroun. The crowds
will be trebled this Passion Week because the Calendars of the three Churches,
Roman, Orthodox and Armenian, all coincide this years, a rare occurrence.
I would expect a massive and colourful
turn out and hope to be there –depending on the measures of the Security
Services.
Meanwhile I wish you every blessing
during this holy time.
Donald McGlynn
Chronicle 13
Passion
Week 2004
To Abbot Raymond, Nunraw.
In my end is my beginning. (Four
Quartets)
What we
call the beginning is often the end.
And to make
an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from. (Little Gidding)
Ephraim, ‘last retreat’ last Fri-Sat of
Lent; Jn 12,32 Transjordan where Baptist had begun, earlier Jn 11,45-57 Jesus
town of Ephraim
Jn 11, 54 Ephraim (2)
(2) The town near the wilderness to which Jesus retired after the
raising of Lazarus (Joh_11:54). This probably corresponds to Ephrem of
Eusebius, Onomasticon (s.v. “Afra”) 5 Roman miles East of Bethel. This
may be the place named along with Bethel by Josephus (BJ, IV, ix, 9). It
probably answers to eá¹-Ṭaiyebeh, a large village about 4 miles
North of Beitīn. The antiquity of the site is attested by the cisterns
and rock tombs. It stands on a high hill with a wide outlook including the
plains of Jericho and the Dead Sea. See EPHRON.
Ephraim-TAYBEH TWO BOOKS: The Christian
Heritage in the Holy Land, ISBN 1 900269 06 6, 1995, Ed. Anthony O’Mahony, see
J. Murphy-O’Conner, “Pre-Constantine Christian Jerusalem” pp. 13-21
Patterns of the Past, Prospects for the
Future, ISBN 1 901764 10 9, 1999, Ed. Hummel etc, see J Murphy O’Connaer,
“Bringing to Light the Original Holy Sepulchre Church pp. 69-84.
It is no wonder that Ecole Biblique is
NOT the full name for the Dominican centre in Jerusalem. The full title is
deservedly used, École Biblique et Archéologique Francaise de Jérusalem. (Web:
http://ebaf.op.org ).
Note in the former book, a picture of the
Holy Sepulchre Palm Sunday Procession c.1899, fig 8. Our Palm Sunday
procession, more appropriately was from Bethphage to (the Temple) Bethesda.
I have to hurry if I am to get through any account of Palm Sunday
Chronicle before the Easter celebrations are upon us. There is so much to
observe, and a rather resistant sponge of the mind can only absorb so much – no
wonder we speak of ‘absorbing’ interest. –
“Old men ought to be explorers
Here or there does not matter
We must be still and still moving
Into another intensity
For a further union, a deeper communion
Through the dark cold and the empty desolation,
The wave cry, the wind cry, the vast waters
Of the petrel and the porpoise. In my end is my beginning”.
(TS Eliot)
Dear Raymond,
After the Palm Sunday Mass at Latroun,
Abbot Paul was proud do show me the mammoth Paschal Candle in the Sacristy in
readiness for the Pascal Vigil. It is twelve feet long and six inches long and
six inches thick. The decoration is an Icon style painting of the Risen Lord
rising above the Tomb, and the figure a young Angel receiving the three women
at the Tomb all in rich colours. The hand painting has been done by one of the
Sisters of the Beatitudes, Emmaus. The candle was made in the kitchen with
nothing more sophisticated than a long piece of plastic pipe.
For the Celebration of Palm Sunday the
community gathered among the Olive Trees at the foot of the large stairway to
the front door of the Church. I have been in the exegetical frame of mind for
some time so I immediately wondered at the pile of Olive Branches from
which each one took a “Palm Branch”, There were actually a Palm Trees nearby. I
pointed out this oddity to the monk next to me, Br. Olivier, and he seemed to
agree that it was strange. The translations, as I checked later, include ‘leafy
branches’, ‘greenery’, ‘boughs’, ‘fronds’ etc, but I was to get an exegesis on
the hoof, as it were, for this problem in the BETHPHAGE TO BETHSEDA Procession
on the Mt. of Olives in the afternoon. I liked the idea of the Olive Branches
but wanted to know more about it. The English PALM Sunday seems to be on its
own, and is trying to replace it with PASSION Sunday. The French has the Sunday
of the Branches and the Passion, and even better, “The Messianic Entry of the
Lord to the Temple”. The Grail Psalter, Ps 117:27. refers to a procession with
BRANCHES.
It is interesting to see how varied the
practices of different communities can be. I was going to say how varied in
country and culture but, in fact from that point of view, it is only the
language, French, which make the difference for me.
The script for the Procession kept to
the pure, unadorned, text, no verbal frills, no Homily.
But there the routine ended and we had a
more scenic acting of the drama.
A distinctive element of the Latroun
Palm Sunday celebration is the choice
of the second option of the Cistercian Ritual(1982). The main feature of this
is the ‘Statio’ of the Adoration of the Cross. A great place to begin is
the front of the Church.
The Processional Branches were
Blessed on the ground level where a central space among the trees made a good
assembly point. With our ‘branches’ waving and voices in full throttle we began
our ascent of the long set of 25 stairs.
We approached the large upstanding Cross
already placed in front of the main door. Tellingly, the title of our booklet
was, “The Messianic Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem”.
For the “Adoration of the Cross”, the
Abbot held the Cross, much taller than himself, and the Cantors sang, “Hail,
our King, Son of David, Redeemer of the World”, as the community knelt on the
steps.
The Cross was then carried by the Abbot
followed by the monks, and placed in front of the altar.
The monks placed their Branches at the
foot of the Cross where they would remain all day. The Cross would remain at
the centre of the action for the whole Holy Week. Throughout, the joy, the glory,
even the victory of the Cross seems to be a dominant theme – nothing is veiled.
Only later would the figure, on Good Friday, disappear from the same Cross
which then remained unadorned until at after the Easter Vigil it would be
draped with white linen cloth on the plain wood.
The Passion Sunday Mass then followed
the usual pattern with the Abbot and two monks taking the ‘parts’ of the
Passion. All very simple and prayerful.
BETHPHAGE, MOUNT OF OLIVES, POOL OF
BETHESDA. The Palm Sunday Procession, that of Bethphage to Bethesda, was
conveniently timed for 2.30 in the afternoon.
Bethpage is not a major place on the
Gospel or Pilgrim map. Backtracking a bit, one might begin with Jesus’ “Last
Retreat”, withdrawing with the disciples to Epraim-Taybeh, (John 11:54 Jesus therefore no longer went about openly
among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a
town called E'phraim; and there he stayed with the disciples).
Since the Procession is what Palm Sunday
is all about, I was grateful to the Prior for arranging for some of the
community to go to Bethphage. We actually got
to the top of the Mount of Olives when we had to abandon ship, as it
were. The traffic had already got jammed with coaches, mini buses and taxis
which were not being helped much by the Security Police or soldiers. It was
just as easy to walk from this point, down the northern slope to Bethphage. I
caught up with my old friends of the Little Sisters of the Resurrection who
actually live on the Mt. of Olives. They too were on their way to the spot
where Jesus began his “Messianic Entry into Jerusalem”. From then on it was a
case of meeting old friends and making new ones. It was possible to visit the
Church of Bethphage, in orderly single file, where the focus is on a mounting
block which is as big as the average sized donkey. It is best to consider it as
the enlarged representation of a more homely action of Jesus gently riding the
donkey. The armour clad Crusaders could have used a block this size to mount
their battle chargers. Jesus only asked for the colt of an ass. I tend to think
that the critics are a bit to sweeping in their disposing of this situation.
There is no reason to think that the stone could have well have been a low step
embedded in the earth and later exposed fully in view of its significance.
There is no doubt about the antiquity of the stone and of the paintings upon it
going back to and veneration it received
For example I am trying to make sense of
the great Sunday Procession of Branches in relation to the Lazarium. The
shrines or Churches of Bethany and Bethphage came later and have their history
of destruction by local inhabitants called at different times Saracens, then
Turks (since 1533-4), an finally Moors (1586) and Maugrabins (1621), but only
the bed rock that takes you to the LAZARIUM, the tomb of Lazarus gets you down
to the earthy reality of where Lazarus was raised by Jesus, the event of which
was celebrated by the faithful of the Jerusalem Church before the Byzantine
Churches of Bethany and of Bethphage and indeed before the coming of Christians
of gentile stock, and which is central in the theology of John. The fact is
that between TEXT and TOPOGRAPHY there is a vast corpus of doctoral theses and archaeological tomes on tap from the academic
Institutions of Jerusalem, Franciscan Biblical Institute, Ecole Biblique,
Pontifical Biblical Commission, and countless new generation Israeli
archaelologists. To speak of browsing and surfing the surface of all this
material is a great understatement. It does strike me, though, that much of the
large scale digging, archaeology, of the Franciscans in the Holy Land is in the
recovery of the Christina holy sites of the Byzantine and Crusader periods. But
it would not be fair to undervalue their archaeological achievements. The
variety of fields of Biblical research by these dedicated Institutions flows
into an impressive understanding of the Unity of the Bible. One can admire
their industry and perhaps some of it will rub off on less erudite but enthusiastic
amateurs.
Today, on Passion Sunday 2004, the most
popular Pilgrim event is the great Procession. But in the priorities of the
early Pilgrims the LAZARIUM had key place. On an earlier occasion, (that of the
Ordination of one of the Franciscans at St. Saviours), I asked Patriarch Michel
if there was some special celebration for the Lazarium in the current Pilgrim
calendar. He mentioned the Lazarists, (of St. Vincent de Paul), and the fact
that the Church in the Holy Land has a Feast of Saint Lazarus but nothing else.
By contrast, the account of Egeria describes a very different situation of
Solemn Vigil and splendid procession.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel
Sabbat, was already sitting with the other Bishops under a simple canopy at the
back steps of the Friary to the rear of Bethphage Church. There was one very
narrow point of access but people kept coming and going and in the mysterious
way of a peaceful mass movement of humanity, no one felt crowded or crushed.
There was some semblance of the order in which we were supposed to process,
Sodalities, Parishes, lay people, Religious, Priests. We were standing near a
large contingent of Franciscans near the Bishops. Alex, the Postulant, comes
from Jaffa and there seemed to be a very large group from his Parish there. He
and Br. Olivier tried to keep our group together but in the end I flowed with
the stream. I was happy to find myself as a kind of ‘out-rider’. There was
plenty of space and a long road over and down the Mount of Olives so I could
make my own way forward from one group of singing, branch-waving people to
another. At no time did I see either end of the Procession. It just snaked on
endlessly up from Bethphage to the crest just between the Carmelite Nuns Church
of “Pater Noster” and the Benedictine Convent opposite, and on as we viewed
Temple, passing down by Dominus Flevit, the Russian Convent of Saint Magdalen,
Gethsemane the sight of the Temple
1. Bethaage
2. Bethany
3. Lazarium Egeria
4. Importance of
Lazarium
5.
Note re Bethany – destruction of these
places is attributed to the local inhabitants called at different times
Saracens, then Turks (since 1533-4), an finally Moors (1586) and Maugrabins
(1621)
Cloister –
Latroun Abbey
Chronicle 14
Emmaus Easter Monday
2004
On the strength
of the Night Office Reading on Easter Monday, I thought this must be the
special day of Latroun, the day of Latronus, the Good Thief. (“The Cross
opens to us today the locked paradise. For today God introduces there, the
thief. So that He achieves two great wonders; He opens paradise and he brings
in the robber. He gives to him His own heritage, He leads him in to the city of
his Father. “Today, he says, you will be with me in paradise” John Chrysostom).
Br. Benoit had
fuller information on the situation for me. This is also Emmaus Day, recalling
the Resurrection meeting of the two disciples with Jesus. What is in a name?
Historically there is a whole string of ancient interpretations of the name
ending with the decision of a British Cartographer fixing on Latroun. Br.
Benoit looks back further than even his 86 years. In the Hebrew the ancient
name signified a ‘look out’, a spot from which one could keep guard over a wide
vista. The Romans had a fortress here-abouts long before the Crusaders’ Templar
Toron (Tower). And before the Jordanians and Israelis were locked together in
disputing the same location, evidently, the British made their mark. Maybe that
Cartographer who specified Latroun on his Map was a Welsh Methodist from the
Rhonda Valley. Due to his training by fundamentalist Christian parents and
Churches, on the geography of Israel. Ancient, it is said that,
“Lloyd-George’s political advisers were unable to concentrate his mind on the
modern map of Palestine during negotiations prior to the Treaty of Versailles,
Lloyd-George admitted that he was far more familiar with the cities and regions
of Biblical Israel than with the geography of his native Wales or of England
itself” (from an essay on the British and Christian Zionism).
So bridging the gap
between the Biblical origins and modern history is the Christian tradition in
which Latroun is well established. Br. Benoit went on to explain that the Good
Thief was named Dismas and lived nearby. His wife was Egyptian and she and the
family received the faith as a result of the death of Dismas beside Jesus on
the Cross. And complete this setting of the scene, the Church of Latroun is
dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, the transept on one side is dedicated to St.
Dismas, the Good Thief, and the other transept is dedicated to St.
Cleophas and his friend, the disciples who joined Jesus at Emmaus, (Lk.
24:18, Jn. 19:25). Since the altars are stripped in good post Vatican II style,
it would be nice to replace them with a good icon designed for each transept.
The subjects would be very relevant even if the geography and other details may
not be all that Canonical. Who is going to quibble about such problems?
Certainly not His Beatitude Michel, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He is coming
the this afternoon on his Easter Monday round of the three places commemorating
Emmaus, i.e. Emmaus (Latroun), Emmaus Qubeibah (OFM), and Emmaus Abu Gosh
(OSB). Cleophas, according to tradition, was martyred for his faith and is also
buried here. So I am quite happy with Emmaus-Nikopolus (Latroun), knowing full
well that the other locations were only heard of at the time when the Crusaders
first brought their own latest Exegetes from Europe.
I heard the
French Gospel this morning and it mentioned a 2 hour walk from Jerusalem and that
would fit perfectly - not that I intend to test it by walking. (TOB, Ecumenical
Bible used in Liturgy “Ephata – Missal
of the Christian Life”, “towards a village called Emmaus, a two hour walk
from Jerusalem. Lk. 24:13”. Sadly this favoured version cannot be accepted
by the textual critics. )
In the evening
of Easter Monday any of the community at Latroun who wished could go along the
road to the site of the ancient Byzantine Basilica, to join the Community of
the Beatitudes and the Pilgrims for this Easter Evening Mass.
While we waited for transport, Alex and I looked for a CAROB tree
I was curious to identify. Sure enough there was one right there and plenty of
these evergreen trees here and at Emmaus. And the HUSKS of last year were still
to be seen to satisfy my curiosity about Luke
15:16, (And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks
the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them), to complete a
detail of the “Prodigal Son”.It is also recounted of Saint Sabas, when he first
came here, to Nikopolus c. 500, that he lived off the husks and leaves of the
carob tree.
Titular Bishop
of Emmaus. For the Mass, there was plenty of space in the ancient nave but
one could only call the congregation a “little flock”. One of the two assistant
Bishops, Mgr. Marcuzzo, is based in Nazareth but he is the Titular Bishop of
Emmaus. His Homily was beautifully appropriate to the place and to the
occasion. He looked out on the plain of Ayalon all around us and recalled the
Biblical instance here in which Joshua delayed the sun in order to attain the
rout of his enemies, (Jg. 1:35, Jos. 10:12). Bishop Marcuzzo had a lovely
thought on, “Rest here a while with
us”, see Lk. 24:29, drawing the parallel of the “SUN” waiting until the
Israelites reached their aim, and the “SON” of God in the soul warming account
of the encounter with the disciples.
Incidentally, St. Cleophas’s companion
is not left anonymous in the Liturgy of the Holy Land, - The name of St.
Simeon appears on the stage at this point in the prayers. When it is said
to be apocryphal I begin to see that the word is not entirely negative. Taken
in the technical sense of an Apocryphal source it can be understood among other
respected traditions.
The evening sun,
5.00 p.m., was so hot that there was a shift of seats to allow the Bishops and
Concelebrants to use the shade of the ruins. I watched the Paschal Candle, in
the full blaze of sun, gradually bend over in the heat and I felt urged to move
it. Eventually it wilted, and fell over - at the point where it was ‘well
caught, Sir’ in one hand by one of the Brothers, who had the very ornate
Patriarch’s Crosier in his other hand. - This sleepy observer picks up the most
peculiar things, - and forgets the impressive things like the music.
The Community of
the Beatitudes gave us great singing. The first two Readings were in Arabic,
the Gospel in French. At the conclusion all were invited to the Museum for a
‘party’ i.e., refreshments. The mini-bus brought us and the borrowed vestments
and altar fittings back home to Latroun, just as the abbey Vespers ended.
Timely
Conclusion. On Easter Wednesday Fr. Poffet, O.P. came for the regular
Spiritual Visit he makes to the community at Latroun. In his talk he developed
the parallelism between the Emmaus encounter and the meeting of Philip with the
Ethiopian at Gaza, (Act 8:26ff, The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip
saying, 'Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from Jerusalem down
to Gaza, the desert road.' So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had
been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem). Both narratives lend themselves to
all the elements of a Catechesis, with Jesus on the one hand and Philip on the
other ‘explaining the Scriptures’, leading to the Eucharist on the one hand and
the Sacrament of Baptism by Philip on the other. Finally, leaving aside how to
grapple with the topography of both journeys, Fr. Poffet focused on the
theology. Emmaus is wherever Christ meets the Church. In meeting the
disciple at Emmaus, and in meeting the Ethiopian through Philip, Christ opens
his heart to the faithful, to his Church, wherever His saving risen life is
most intimately known. (I hope Fr. Poffet excuses my shorthand version of his
talk).
Crusader
Castle above abbey
Prior Rene, Fr. Paul
(Kenya), Donald
Chronicle 15
Note on:
Feast of
Ascension - Ascension Mount of Olives 20th May 2004
Someone asked me to find a stone as a
souvenir and I will be only too happy to bring one from on the Mount of Olives.
The best place for me to find a ‘stone
from the Holy Land’ is on the neglected, ankle twisting, back breaking,
un-surfaced path between Gethsemane and the Benedictine Convent, the middle
road. Six months ago, on my first exploration, I gave up that particular climb.
On this Ascension Day I made the trek, 500 very steep metres, twice. And taking
this precipitous path I discovered the stone marking the original site of
Christ’s weeping over Jerusalem, not the very picturesque ‘Dominus Flevit’,
built in 1955. In front of the older church of 1891, now the Friary, is the
burial place of the heart of the Marquis of Bute, John Crichton Stuart of the
Royal Line and therefore serving by proxy the wish of Robert the Bruce whose
heart never reached Jerusalem. (The next few days will be my last chance to
follow that example). The discovery of these details is fascinating but I miss
something like the twenty years Murphy-O’Connor spent on his topographical
seminars on Palestine. See his “Holy Land”, or another classic, ‘Guide to the
Holy Land 1984’ by Eugene Hoade OFM, writing on the Holy Places since 1942
To celebrate Ascension, and my farewell
in a few days time, I attended Vespers at the shrine on the summit of the Mount
of Olives, and the dawn Mass next morning.
The Chapel/Mosque/Ombomon (neither Cross
or Crescent showing) is owned by the Muslims but on the Annual Feast of the
Ascension the Armenian, Coptic, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Syrian
Churches are each allowed to hold their Liturgies. The Muslims also recognise
Jesus’ Ascension but not His Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Vespers extended into a procession,
three times round the small octagonal building, and, to everyone’s amazement,
we had a shower of rain. The rainy season ended weeks ago.
To attend the Mass, we had to start off
at 4.30 am from Via Dolorosa. Not surprisingly, two of the Ecce Homo group felt
faint in the confined space and had to go outside. They could then joke that
they almost completed the Ascension.
After the early Mass on Ascension
Thursday I went next door, as it were, for breakfast with the Benedictine nuns.
Actually I wanted to meet the Prioress to check details of an account of the
community of Notre Dame of Calvary. Mother Christine promised to send me some
photographs as well. She was very happy with the draft text but then she is
French speaking and was therefore most tolerant of my efforts. See COPY of
draft document below.
It is always great to get off to an
early start in the morning. So in the course of Ascension Day, and in view of
farewells in Jerusalem, I managed to visit the monks at Dormition, the
Pontifical Biblical Istitute Chapel, the Church of Scotland of St. Andrew, the
Skirball Museum (Tel Gezer findings from 3000 BCE. In the Museum, a ceiling to
floor colour photo shows the 20 great Stelae, with Latroun Abbey in view in the
centre distance), and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who topped a very
full morning with a most welcoming community lunch with the Sisters.
My wanderings of the day also included a
chance meeting with George the Armenian outside St. James Cathedral in the
Armenian Quarter. We had never met. I mentioned that James is my Baptismal name
and for some unconnected reason he recommended that I read “The Holy Mountain”
by William Dalrymple. Apparently they got acquainted in the course of the
writing of that wonderful book so I am commissioned with mutual greetings of
William and George.
I was glad to get to Ecce Homo late
afternoon for a belated siesta. In the evening there was a scheduled session of
“Parashat”, a Rabbinic version of shared Lectionary Readings.
I stayed the night because the final
lecture on the Unity of Old and New Testament was to be in the morning.
Vespers of the Ascension at the summit
of the Mount of Olives gave me a sense of how the monastic life itself pivots
around the Holy Places. On this aspect of things, it was interesting to hear
Prioress Christine say how impressed she had once been by a paper given by a
Bursar of Stanbrook precisely on the theme of St. Benedict’s sense of the
sacredness in the monastic milieu. As one theologian has demonstrated, the
growing importance of the Holy Land in Christian thought during the first
centuries A.D. was associated with the emergence of a SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY, one
that saw the presence of God in his creation, particularly in the land and places
made holy by the prophets and, most importantly, by the Incarnation.” Words of
Fr. Augustine’s Homily at Latroun brought this though to the specific feast of
the Ascension in the Holy Place of Mount of Olives, “To grasp the moment of
both the Ascension and the Parousia is to contemplate the mystical ladder
seen long ago by the Patriarch Jacob, the mystical ladder which has
inspired so many commentators including St. Benedict in Chapter 7 of his Rule.
I got diverted by interest in the Place where Jesus Wept, Dominus
Flevit, but in fact this is the only way of ascent to the Place of the
Ascension. There could not be a more dramatic expression of the sorrow of Jesus
over the destruction of Jerusalem and the joy and glory of His Ascension. There
is a great raising of mind and heart in the vision of St. Stephen, “But he,
full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God. Act 7:55
Travelling regularly by bus from Latroun to Jerusalem, I met the ordinary
Israeli citizen and like the ordinary Palestinian these people do not want conflict.
I called again at the Church of Scotland
of St. Andrew. The Minister was not at home, but the lady looking after the
craft shop voiced an encouraging view. She comes from Bethlehem. She said that
the ordinary people want to live and work together. It is the political powers
who are intransigent in not wanting change.
After many encounters, I shall remember
going through the Check Point in the Central Bus Station. The young Security
Service policeman wanted to check my Passport. He inspected my ID photo, looked
at me, and then he said, “Have a nice day. GOD BLESS YOU!”. - I will take that
greeting with me as a special blessing from this land.
Chronicle 16
Ascension 2004
[E-mail from: Abbot Christopher Dillon OSB
<christopher@glenstal.org> wrote:
re. Benedictine Convent of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem
Dear Donald,
This last is your best, among all that have
been full of interest. Thank you very much for sending them to me. I find your
account of the Benedictines, at the top of the Mount of Olives, most evocative.
I visited them, on a few occasions, but I never got around to making the degree
of contact with them which you have obviously been able to make.
I hope the return journey will be bearable and
your return to Nunraw a blessing for you and the community.
In the Lord
Christopher
-----Original Message-----
From: Donald McGlynn [mailto:domdonald@yahoo.co.uk]
Sent: 22 May 2004 18:19
To: Raymond Jaconelli
Subject: Re: Note on Ascension Mount of Olives:]
Frere Benoit,
Br Jose-Marie, Latroun
Note on Ascension Mount of Olives
E-Mail MESSAGE TO ABBOT RAYMOND
Dear Abbot Raymond,
Someone asked me to find a stone as a
souvenir and I will be only too happy to bring one from on the Mount of Olives.
The best place for me to find a ‘stone
from the Holy Land’ is on the neglected, ankle twisting, back breaking, un-surfaced
path between Gethsemane and the Benedictine Convent. Six months ago, on my
first exploration, I gave up that particular climb. On this Ascension Day I
made the trek, 500 very steep metres, twice. And taking this precipitous path I
discovered the stone marking the original original site of Christ’s weeping
over Jerusalem, not the very picturesque ‘Dominus Flevit’, built in 1955. (In
front of this latter is the burial place of the heart of the Marquis of Bute,
John Crichton Stuart of the Royal Line and therefore serving by proxy the wish
of Robert the Bruce whose heart never reached Jerusalem. The next few days will
be my last chance to follow that example). The discovery of these details is
fascinating but I something like the twenty years Murphy-O’Connor spent on his
topographical seminars on Palestine.
To celebrate Ascension, and my farewell
in a few days time, I attended Vespers at the shrine on the summit of the Mount
of Olives, and the dawn Mass next morning.
The Chapel/Mosque/Ombomon (neither Cross
or Crescent showing) is owned by the Muslims but on the Annual Feast of the
Ascension the Armenian, Coptic, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Syrian
Churches are each allowed to hold their Liturgies. The Muslims also recognise
Jesus’ Ascension but not His Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Vespers extended into a procession,
three times round the small octagonal building, and, to everyone’s amazement,
we had a shower of rain. The rainy season ended weeks ago.
After the early Mass on Ascension
Thursday I went next door, as it were, for breakfast with the Benedictine nuns.
Actually I wanted to meet the Prioress to check details of an account of the
community of Notre Dame of Calvary. Mother Christine promised to send me some
photographs as well. She was very happy with the draft text but then she is
French speaking and was therefore most tolerant of my efforts. See COPY of
draft document below.
It is always great to get off to an
early start in the morning. So in the course of Ascension Day, and in view of
farewells in Jerusalem, I managed to visit the monks at Dormition, the Church
of Scotland of St. Andrew, and the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary who topped a
very full morning with a most welcoming community lunch with the Sisters.
My wanderings of the day also included a
chance meeting with George the Armenian outside St. James Cathedral in the
Armenian Quarter. We had never met. I mentioned that James is my Baptismal name
and for some unconnected reason he recommended that I read “The Holy Mountain”
by William Dalrymple. Apparently they got acquainted in the course of the
writing of that wonderful book so I am commissioned with mutual greetings of
William and George.
I was glad to get to Ecce Homo late
afternoon for a belated siesta. In the evening there was a scheduled session of
“Parashat”, a Rabbinic version of shared Lectionary Readings.
I stayed the night because the final
lecture on the Unity of Old and New Testament was to be in the morning.
Vespers of the Ascension at the summit
of the Mount of Olives gave me a sense of how the monastic life itself pivots
around the Holy Places. On this aspect of things, it was interesting to hear
Prioress Christine say how impressed she had once been by a paper given by a
Bursar of Stanbrook precisely on the theme of St. Benedict’s sense of the
sacredness in the monastic milieu. As one theologian has demonstrated, the
growing importance of the Holy Land in Christian thought during the first
centuries A.D. was associated with the emergence of a SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY, one
that saw the presence of God in his creation, particularly in the land and
places made holy by the prophets and, most importantly, by the Incarnation.”
Words of Fr. Augustine’s Homily at Latroun brought this though to the specific
feast of the Ascension in the Holy Place of Mount of Olives, “To grasp the
moment of both the Ascension and the Parousia is to contemplate the mystical
ladder seen long ago by the Patriarch Jacob, the mystical ladder
which has inspired so many commentators including St. Benedict in Chapter 7 of his Rule.
Among other things, there now remains
the important checking of my flight confirmation for the end of the week.
I trust you are well.
With all good wishes in Christ’s love.
Donald
Ecce Home Group
Visit at Latroun
Sr. Clare,
Donald, Sr. Helen
ADDENDUM: Draft copy of response to
following question.
‘State’ of
monastic presence in the Holy Land at the present time.
No.2. -
Benedictine Convent of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem.
The celebration of the CENTENARY of the
Benedictine Nuns of the Mount of Olives in 1996 marks both an absence and a
presence - the long absence during
centuries of Muslim occupation of Jerusalem, the monastic presence beginning in
1896.
Today’s community on the Mount of Olives
therefore has a long heritage of long delayed memories of the Holy Places and
of the frustrated aspirations towards a monastic presence in the land of Jesus.
The spirit of that urge to venerate the
Holy Places is embodied in the story of the foundation in Jerusalem or, to give
the full title, “The Monastery of the Benedictines of Notre Dame of Calvary of
the Mount of Olives. The Congregation of Benedictine of Notre Dame of Calvary
was established at Poitiers in 1617. Almost three centuries (1617-1896) were to
elapse between the aspiration of the founders and the realisation of their
hope.
The foundation got under way when the
first seven Sisters arrived, 12th December 1896. These Sisters came from four
communities of the Congregation
At the commencement of the Holy War of
the Ottoman Empire and of the 1st World War, 1914, the 17 Nuns of the Mt. of
Olives suffered banishment and the interruption of their faithful “watch” on
their beloved mountain. A photograph of one of the Sisters looking out from the
enclosure to the view of the Mercy Gate of the Jerusalem Wall, onto the Temple
Mount, Calvary and the Old City has the appropriate text of Isaiah 62:6:”On
your walls, Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never fall silent, day
or night. No peace for you, as you keep Yahweh's attention!”
In 1919 the nuns, now reduced to 11,
returned from their four year exile to reoccupy their convent. Today the
community is made up of 16 members. The bare statistics of modest numbers
conceal over one hundred years of intensive and unique experience of the
community and the history of lives enriched by the spirituality doubly blessed
by the grace of being rooted in this Holy Place and in the tradition of this
Benedictine monastery. If every monastery radiates a presence which is never stereotyped
but always a special (com)union of the monastic community with its environment
of people, then Notre Dame of Calvary is no exception. The Muslim community are
their friends and support in the neighbourhood where there are no Palestinian
Christians.
Regardless of the clouds of a much
disturbed land, the state of the monastic presence at the present in Jerusalem,
represented by this community, is a shining star, made brighter by its enclosed life, by its littleness in a
small community, by its poverty, and by its own industry in Icon production.
Two World Wars have threatened its very
existence. During the “Six Day War” of 1967 their home was literally shaken to
the foundations as the nuns and other refugees took shelter in underground
caves in a bombardment that lasted three days.
The image of this Benedictine community
standing firm on the Mount of Olives is an emotional stirring to the heart and
is an enduring inspiration of witness to the mind.
Emotion and inspiration apart,
Benedictines are nothing if not pragmatic. In order to survive in the material
situation the Sisters used to provide services by caring for orphans, gradually
extending to other schooling and eventually, in the social and educational
context they had to forego this activity. Navigating through the challenges of
a hundred years, not to mention the Council of Vat II, Liturgical change and
Religious Renewal, the Sisters have found that their lives have reached a
balance and a depth that brings them peace and satisfaction.
One practical solution to making a
livelihood has been the successful Icon painting workshop. To begin with, three
of the nuns were trained by an iconographer, Brother Henri, Little Brothers of
Jesus, who came first as guest. Since then this has become the community work
adjusted to the talents of each. A nice Benedictine touch to this practice is
that prayer in common also can take place together at the particular Hour of
the Divine Office. With collaboration from Conception Abbey, US, this
enterprise of Icon ‘writing’ extends through the Internet to five continents.
(Email phwebmaster@printeryhouse.org).
Flowing seamlessly from this creative
work, a new initiative has developed for the benefit to the community and for
the convents of the wider Benedictine community. Information on the various
services of monastic hospitality is available but this new initiative seems
particularly apt for the times and the place. The Information Folder describes
a challenging project; “Welcome to Nuns Worldwide. Aware of the
riches of the monastic life in such a place and wishing to respond to the
appeal of the Lord, the monastery is open to welcome French speaking nuns
following the Rule of Saint Benedict. It offers to them the possibility to
share the life of the community (Liturgy, meals and services) while benefiting
from one year of Biblical Formation. One year at the sources of the Word with
the possibility of initiation into the Art of Icons.” Regrettably, between
two intefadas and the misleading mass media image of Jerusalem this possibility
has still to be implemented.
But the outward looking spirit, in fact,
speaks very accurately of the community’s own outlook for the future. The
‘state’ of their monastic presence at the present time is the occasion of
deepening the Biblical roots of the Rule of St. Benedict, of rediscovering
Jewish prayer and feasts, the riches of monasticism and of the eastern
liturgies . . . .
Countless people still knock at the
inconspicuous little door of “Couvent Benedictine” in the narrow street of Raba
al-Adawiya, friends, guests, pilgrims, students. The international dimension of
this small convent near the summit of the Mount of Olives now brings new
support to the community and a welcome to the people of God from all nations.
For monastic hospitality contact:
Monastery of the Benedictines, Mount of Olives, POB 19338 Jerusalem, Israel.
Tel 97226264954. Fax 97226283768.
Donald McGlynn
Nunraw Abbey, Haddington, Scotland, EH41 4LW
Presently at Latroun Monastery, BP 753, 72100 RAMLEH, Israel
Email: domdonald@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.nunraw.org/
Group from Ecce Homo Centre on visit to
Emmaus/Latroun
APPENDIX
Editor –
Benedictine Yearbook 2005
“The ‘State’ of Monastic Presence in the
Holy Land in the Present Time”. 3333 Words
The monastic vocation keeps overflowing the normal boundaries. The
Orthodox clergy in Israel are predominantly monastic but, by the same token,
they are oriented to be Bishops or Ecclesiastics of some kind. Greek Orthodox
monasteries may have only one or two monks acting as care-takers, as at Holy
Cross Monastery, Jerusalem, and at Quarantul, the Mount of Temptation, Jericho,
St. George’s at Wadi Kelt. The independent Mar Saba Monastery, east of
Bethlehem, is about the most active Orthodox monastery with a membership of
some twenty monks, but often drawn into service in the Holy Places in
Jerusalem.
On the Ecumenical front there are also Lutheran or other
communities aiming to live a monastic observance, Taize style, e.g. the Fraternity
residing beside Latroun Abbey..
Monastic communities are a minority in this land, just as the
Catholic Church itself is a tiny minority relative to the population. In fact
monasteries are very few and these are French or German speaking. There is no
Anglophone monastic presence in the land where Jesus enjoyed places of retreat
as at Bethany and at his last retreat at Taybey/Ephraim.
The
representatives of the monastic vocation in Israel consist for the most part of
the handful of communities:
1.
Latroun
Cistercian (Trappist), OCSO, 1890, 28 monks. French speaking
2.
Benedictines
Mount of Olives, 1896, 16 nuns. French speaking.
3.
Mount Zion,
Jerusalem, Benedictine, OSB, 1906, originally Beuron Congregation, presently
under the Abbot Primate, Rome, 18 monks. German speaking.
4.
Tabgha,
Sanctuary of the Multiplication of the Loaves, Simple Priory dependant on Mount
Zion Abbey. German speaking.
5.
Tabgha,
Benedictine Sisters of the Eucharistic King, 1995, 6 nuns. English speaking.
6.
Abou-Gosh,
Olivetan OSB, 1976. 10 monks, 1977, 12 nuns. French speaking.
7.
Beit Jamal
(Beit Shemish). Nuns of Bethlehem and the Assumption, (Carthusian style
solitude), 1985, 40 nuns. French speaking.
8.
Beit Jamal,
Monks of Bethlehem, the Assumption and St. Bruno, (Carthusian style solitude),
1990s. 5 monks. French speaking.
9.
Emmanuele Sisters, Bethlehem, Melkite Rite.
10. Deir Hanna, (Galilee-Nazareth), Lavra
Netofa, autonomus Melkite monastery, 1963, 5(?) monks. Founded by Fr. Jacob
Willebrands.
1. Latroun Cistercian (Trappist), OCSO, 1890. The ‘state’ of monastic presence in this
context is an all important but elusive element to pin down. There is a valid
contribution by each community in the more characteristic role of the monastic
community in its own particular environment. Dormition Abbey in the city
(albeit the Holy City), for example, is light years different from Latroun
Abbey in the sticks, if you can call the Latroun Junction of Motorways ‘in the
sticks’. (15/20 mins by bus to Jerusalem).
The ‘state’ of monastic presence in the Holy Land at the present
time is remarkable in that it exists at all. Even more remarkable is that it
can be recognised by an identity that is so distinctive that we can talk of
this ‘monastic presence’.
When Latroun monastery was founded in the Holy Land, it was
established in 1890, in the strict Trappist contemplative style. Against
clerical advice to settle in more favourable land, the Trappists chose Latroun
for its solitude and silence. It took decades to bring the land back to
something like the Biblical state ‘land of milk and honey’, or to its present
success in wine production. The gardens are beautiful; the birds are vibrant in
the lush trees. This idyll is somewhat dented by the advance of Israeli
industry to be heard in the unceasing movement of heavy construction trucks and
unbroken streams of commuter travel, except for the strict Sabbath on
Saturdays.
So how does a Catholic contemplative monastery fit into this
vortex of conflicting activity. There are 54 crosses marking the deaths of
monks at Latroun since 1894, another 10 died overseas. In the three Israeli wars only one monk died
as a direct casualty of the 1948 War, Br. Theophane, Acolyte, d. 6th July
1948.. The great paradox is the clear, unchanging identity of the Trappist
monks seemingly aloof, on the one hand, and the vicissitudes of two world wars
followed by almost 60 years Israeli/Palestinian conflict). It was extremely
refreshing to listen to the Homily for the Anniversary of the Dedication of the
Church of Latroun given by the Abbot, Dom Paul. This was a normal community
talk, unburdened by preoccupations about the State of Israel, and for that very
reason, an expression of the understanding the monks have of their own
‘monastic presence’.
Dom Paul said, “In ‘Christianism’, the same word designates the
place of worship and the people who are gathered there, they show us by this
that the true temple, the true Church, the dwelling of God, is the assembly of
the faithful. It is this which merits
in the first place the name of Church and that gives its name to the place
where it is brought together. This building, this church is holy because the
assembly it contains is holy. God dwells in it in the measure that our faith,
our love our communion inhabit it.
It is not given to all Christian communities to erect beautiful
edifices like this one, but everyone ought to build themselves a dwelling made
of living stones, of hearts that love and praise God. That is the final
consecration of all the work, of all the effort of man. In this sense, also, it
is us, by our faith, our love, our fraternal communion, who consecrate this
Church.” – words that
apply very well, I think, to the spiritual awareness of the monks in this
place, at this time of a Holy Land bound by national borders but transcending
all nations.
2.
Benedictine Convent of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem. 1896, 16 nuns.
The
celebration of the CENTENARY of the Benedictine Nuns of the Mount of Olives in
1996 marked both an absence and a presence
- the long absence during centuries of Muslim occupation of Jerusalem,
the monastic presence beginning in 1896.
The
Congregation of Benedictine of Notre Dame of Calvary was established at Poitiers in 1617. Almost three centuries (1617-1896) were to
elapse between the aspiration of the founders and the realisation of their
hope.
Two World
Wars have threatened its very existence. During the “Six Day War” of 1967 their
home was literally shaken to the foundations as the nuns and other refugees
took shelter in underground caves in a bombardment that lasted three days.
The image of
this Benedictine community standing firm on the Mount of Olives is an emotional
stirring to the heart and is an enduring inspiration of witness to the mind.
Navigating
through the challenges of a hundred years, not to mention the Council of Vat
II, Liturgical change and Religious Renewal, the Sisters have found that their
lives have reached a balance and a depth that brings them peace and
satisfaction.
The practical
solution to making a livelihood has been the successful Icon painting workshop.
To begin with, three of the nuns were trained by an iconographer, Brother
Henri, Little Brothers of Jesus, who came first as guest. Since then this has
become the community work adjusted to the talents of each. A nice Benedictine touch
to this practice is that prayer in common also can take place together at the
particular Hour of the Divine Office. With collaboration from Conception Abbey,
US, this enterprise extends through the Internet to five continents.
(Email phwebmaster@printeryhouse.org).
For monastic
hospitality contact: Monastery of the Benedictines, Mount of Olives, POB 19338
Jerusalem, Israel. Tel 97226264954. Fax 97226283768.
3. Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Benedictine, OSB, 1906, originally
Beuron Congregation, presently under the Abbot Primate, Rome, 18 monks. German
speaking.
The mantle of care for this Holy Place came to rest on
Benedictines of the Beuron Congregation in 1899. In recent years the community
has been linked directly to the Benedictine Federation under the Abbot Primate.
In August 1995 Abbot Benedikt Lindeman OSB, previously novice master at the
Abbey Konigsmünster in Meschede was elected Abbot of Hagia Maria Sion Abbey.
The monks prefer this title for their monastery to that of ‘Dormition Abbey.
The advent of Abbot Benedikt, at the early age of 37, has been
followed by the entrance of several young men who have joined the community
since 1997, and by a new impetus to renewal of monastic style and living in community.
The commitments of the Abbey in this unique location at the Zion
Gate of the Old City, cannot avoid being as complex as they are enriching. The
present Abbot, Dom Benedikt, re-elected for an eight year period, is an
imposing figure and provides a leadership which has enhanced the community
spirit, while he meets the unending demands on someone in such key position in
the context of Jerusalem, Israel and internationally. His ‘preference’, a great
word in St. Benedict’s Rule, can be seen in strong care for the monastic
enclosure, so easily encroached upon by the pilgrimage, tourist interest. The
Liturgy and Eucharist in the Basilica is endowed with great monastic simplicity
and dignity. And for the monk’s own quiet prayer, Abbot Benedikt introduced a
private Blessed Sacrament Chapel for the monks alone. The recent Solemn
Profession ceremony of two of the monks, Elias and Samuel, was marked by a
distinctive expression of the spirit of the Rule of St. Benedict, and an
impressive testimony to the identity if the monks.
Tabgha, Sanctuary of the Multiplication of the Loaves,
4. Simple Priory dependant on Mount Zion Abbey.
This clear orientation to the priority of monastic life finds an
very powerful extension in the foundation of the Simple Priory of Tabgha, the
Sanctuary of the Multiplication of the Loaves. At Tabgha, on the Sea of
Galilee, monks find another haven of monastic presence. With the genius of St. Benedict always at play, new
ways of integrating monastic solitude and prayer with the service of welcoming
hospitality, are shown by the monks at Tabgha by caring for the handicapped and
young people and organising spiritual exercises.
5. Convent Benedictine Sisters of the Eucharistic King, 1995,
The considerable work of this service to pilgrims, and guests from
the many Churches has received the providential collaboration of Benedictine
Sisters from the Philippines. A community of the Sisters of Jesus Christ,
Eucharistic King has come to form a convent adjoining the monastery. The
Sisters make their own irreplaceable monastic presence felt here. In terms of
Biblical Formation this collaboration has inspired the opportunity for other
Sisters to come to the Holy Land.
A similar opportunity is demonstrated by the Studium programme of
Mt. Zion. This enables some 20 German speaking young men and women, Catholic
and Protestant to have one year of Biblical and Theological studies in the Holy
Land.
The tapestry of enriching levels of monastic presence in the Holy
Land is wide and varied. To the seeming variance of interests, there is the
binding dimension of a marked Benedictine monastic character. For example, at
Mount Zion, there is scope for spiritual concerts. The cultural interest is
reinforced by the Ecumenical Interfaith Encounters. And especially dear the
heart of the Abbot, I would guess, is the programme of bringing young people
from Israeli and Palestinian backgrounds together for projects of
reconciliation and collaboration which are highlighted by the Biannual Peace
Award celebrated in the Basilica.
Perhaps bringing so many things together, from the deep life-lines
of the community to the whole net work of relations centred in Jerusalem is, in
the end, best expressed in the one Benedictine word. ‘PAX’, peace.
6. Abu-Gosh, Olivetan OSB, 1976. 10 monks, 1977, 12 nuns.
Benedictine monastery at Abu-Gosh was established in1977. It belongs to the
Olivetan Congregation and has the unusual benefit of a dual community of monks
and nuns celebrating the Eucharist and main Liturgical Offices together.
The foundation of the present community of Olivetan Benedictine
community began in 1976.
The founder, Abbot Grammont of Bec-Hellouin, gave much thought to
articulating the aims of the community; “It is not to ‘judaise’ but to
recognise the “rock from which we have been hewn, and to give to our Jewish
brothers the witness of life truly penetrated by the beautiful prayer from
which we have been given the poems, especially in the Psalms”. It is, in fact,
a wisdom
This foundation had to take root in the very disturbed
ground of the post Six Days War period. It was a busy morning when I visited
the community and for that very reason we were immediately at home. For some
reason Br. Antoine was assigned to show us the historical features of the
place. This may have been because Br. Antoine is from Congo. He has been 14
years is Israel before a time at BEC. Historically, the Church is an
architectural gem of the Crusaders standing solid because of its own
impregnable design.
The Sisters have their own regime across the enclosure. They
produce vestments as part of their work. In the workshops of the monks I later
found Br. Antoine busy in the pottery enterprise
Joining in the community at lunch with the monks was a young
Israeli soldier staying in the community for the first time.
In the midst of the 1947 conflicts Abu Gosh was in danger of
being destroyed by the Israeli army. Fortunately this was avoided and Abu Gosh
became the first Arab-Israel village.
Groups of young Israelis come for cultural meetings with the monks. Hebrew
seems to be the chosen interest of the community rather than Arabic. There is a
large very modern library with an up to date Hebrew section. For more
specialised studies the Institute Biblique is not far away at Jerusalem..
The property actually belongs to France.. The occasional formal
visit of the French Consul to his monastic constituents brings the obsessive
Israeli Service to provide a body guard. They come as far as the door but at
that point the Consul dismisses them saying he is now, “chez nous” in this
French sanctuary.
This a tiny cameo of the complexity of life is Israel. It is a
meeting point of monastic presence, the State of Israel, foreign diplomacy,
people of the three great Faiths. It encapsulates an interesting blend of
integration and of separation. With centuries of the genius of St. Benedict
holding all things in balance, the present community, of some 10 monks and 12
nuns, has learned to maintain a truly monastic contemplative life.
Relations and collaboration with the other monastic communities in
the Holy Land has brought the monks and nuns together in meetings and in
projects of mutual help. Formation programs give an added dimension to this
wider monastic presence.
7. Beit Jamal (Beit Shemish). Nuns of Bethlehem and the Assumption,
(Carthusian style solitude), 1985, 40 nuns. French speaking.
This is a new foundation in the Carthusian tradition in the
Holy Land It is established on property belonging to the Salesian (Don Bosco)
Congregation.
One cannot help feeling that it is in places like Israel
that new life is suddenly appearing.
There are over forty Sisters in this community. And today,
after their foundation in 1950, at the time of the definition of the
ASSUMPTION, their houses of male and female communities, mostly in France,
number some twenty seven. Basically they are a revival of St. Bruno and the
tradition of the laura type of community with the one distinctive feature of
devotion to Our Lady Assumed into Heaven. Internationally they are known as
Monasteries of Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem A very modestly produced booklet
gives a masterly précis of the solitary
hermitical vocation. The Sisters’ CD
Rom disk, “A Voice of Deep Silence” consists of their liturgy of Hebrew and
Arabic melodies.
They have a thriving shop of their products which is popular
with the neighbouring Jewish settlements.
The whole monastery was built be the Sisters themselves. The
architecture of the Church is the embodiment of Carthusian simplicity and a
great regard for the Jewish tradition. There is another small Chapel where Jews
can celebrate the Sabbath but the main Church has nothing but the stalls of the
Sisters, no desks, and the altar raised on in a temple like sanctuary. The apse is bare of any
embellishment. There is just one discreet
Icon placed at the top end of stalls.
The monks of the Monastery of Our Lady of Maranatha, Tel
Gamaliel, Beit Shemesh, came after the well established Sisters nearby.
The Prior, Fr. Reginald, showed how
every detail of the place, in principle, is laid out like any Charter House.
The monks cells are quite solitary, built in the Arabic hut style. One accepts
an enclosure wall but this was a 20-30 foot high Al Catraz of a wall and was
surmounted by metal supports of rolls of barbed wire. It is a top security set
up, but in fact, the terrain falls away from the hill and from the inside there
is little to impede the magnificent view all around. The opposite hilltops
are crowed with the dwellings of
hundreds of immigrant Jews from every country. And the signs of industry from
kibbutzim down below are all around. The four or five monks have a lovely very
simple Chapel. Their liturgical books seem to be in French with a Phonetic
Hebrew version above the lines. The main thing was to consider the uniqueness
of the situation
9. Emmanuele Sisters at
Bethlehem
The community came from Algeria. They knew the Atlas monks well
but suffered the threatened general expulsion of Religious from Algeria of the
time. They are monastic and contemplatives with an enclosure now doubly
enclosed by the atrocity of the Israeli walls. They use the Melkite liturgy and
have a beautiful Church and lovely Blessed Sacrament Chapel suitably integrated
with a grand Iconostasis. To
visit the Emmanuele Sisters in Bethlehem is to meet the horrors of Israeli
‘occupation’. We took the road leading directly to the convent gate. On the
left was a massive wall under construction under police guard. The police
wanted to turn us back but the workers waived us on, the police yielded.
Another 100 further yards there was a massive bulldozer blocking the way and
beyond that a trench had been dug right in front of the Sisters' entrance. Only
a narrow heap in the middle of the trench allowed us, regardless of life or
limb, to climb across and gain access, AND SO TO MEET THE WARMEST OF WELCOMES
BY THE SISTERS.
Judean Desert (Donald)
10. Deir
Hanna, (Galilee-Nazareth), Lavra Netofa, autonomus Melkite monastery, 1963,
5(?) monks. Words from
the Typicon of Father Ya'aqov Willebrands
Hegumen of Lavra Netofa give a deep sense of the special vocation to a
monastic presence in the Holy Land.
“Lavra Netofa has been established in Eretz Israel, in
the heart of Galilee. We are an integral part of the local Catholic Melkite
Church which has been in existence here for 2000 years. We share their rich
tradition, their joys, their sorrows and their aspirations. We are also the
compatriots of those Jews who. after two millennia of exile, have come back to
their old homeland. With them we share a spiritual patrimony which is so great
that we need their brotherly dialogue to grasp all of its riches. We are all
the more impelled to do so for centuries of Christian contempt preceded, and
our generation has witnessed, the atrocities of the Shoah. At least since the
time of the Crusades, a large part of the Palestinian population are Muslim.
They too are well rooted in this country , and share with us a substantial part
of God's revelation. They have many beautiful people and rich traditions and
deserve our brotherly understanding and love.
To live as a monk or nun in this country seems to require almost a
special vocation. Though the constant awareness of the Divine Glory remains our
primary aim, we also must be awakened to the complex reality we are facing
here. It requires a wide heart and a capacity to listen to all, to rejoice with
all and to suffer with all, especially as the Palestinian-Jewish conflict has
not yet been solved. It also requires the ability to converse with the local
population in their own languages.”
