SAT, June 23rd

Sat, June 23rd

Hello friends and family! This is our final day in Israel! We slept in a little after our long day yesterday. We then made our way to Bethlehem and the site of the Nativity of our Lord. We were able to have mass in a small chapel. After mass we stood in a long line go down into the grotto of our Lord. Once down in the grotto we were able to kneel down and kiss the site of our Savior’s birth. I’m not sure if you have ever paid attention to the lyrics of  O Holy Night. Last year, I was reading the words and one line really got to me... “‘Til  He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” I have meditated on these words often but I truly felt their worth when I knelt down to kiss the site of our Lord’s birth, and I knew, probably still not fully but I know my soul’s worth. 

We left Bethlehem and headed to Bethany, a city right outside of Jerusalem. There is a huge concrete wall that separates the two. We entered to church dedicated to the site where the shepherd's and the Magi saw the star. This is also symbolic that Christ came for everyone. The shepherds were had the humblest job of the time, and the three kings, most likely persian were of royalty, yet they both came together for the birth of our King. There is such rich symbolism in our faith. Everything in the bible and all the customs has such deep meaning and truth to our faith and we only have to seek it out.

We drove back to Jerusalem one last time for our farewell dinner. It was bittersweet. Somehow Fr. Gabriel found out it was my birthday, so we had some kind of strawberry cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to me in Arabic. It was beautiful.