Getting into a convent is much easier than getting out
Locked in a convent on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem — no wifi, no telephone, and the call to prayer at 4.20am. A Christmas in the Holy Land that took in Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, and fabulous doughnuts. (8 min read)
So much for my upgrade.
I’m staying with nuns who like to sleep in or perhaps they are consumed by ecstasy and not hearing me knock on the door? Either way, I am I locked in a convent on the via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. I never expected to be ‘enclosed’ in this lifetime. And I never appreciated that a modern enclosure means no access to wifi or telephone!
Despite the call to prayer at 4.20am each day, this is a city that seems to sleep late. There is little activity at 7am and, in winter, it is quiet again by 7pm. The Old City, where I am staying, is free of cars. During the day there are lots of people – locals and tourists – making their way about like ants from one sacred site to the next.
Where I am staying is on the ‘way of the cross’. In fact, the convent has the third station (Jesus falls for the first time) and the fourth station (Jesus meets his mother). Of course, no one believes this is the actual way that Jesus carried the cross to Calvary, but it has been the tradition for over a millennium. One does need travel insurance to stay on the via Dolorosa because there is a high risk of being hit in the face by a pilgrim carrying a cross. Some of them even wear crowns of thorns which can be purchased at stalls on the way. And let me say, it is negligent to carry the cross in high heels, especially in the rain.
It has been raining a little the last few days and it is very cold. Few people get to experience this kind of weather in Jerusalem and I’m grateful for it. The dust can be pretty challenging at other times of the year and the rain cleans everything up very nicely. In the last couple of days, the Dome of the Rock – a Muslim shrine built over the Temple of Solomon – has gone from being smoky gold to vivid yellow as the dust has been washed away.
Because this is a longer visit than my last one, I have been taking my time with the sites and visiting some of the places I missed last time. The Old City is not very big and, like Venice, there are frequent signs that direct one to the major sites. This helps with orientation and I’ve not needed a map once.
For Christians, the main attraction is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On my first visit, I found it deeply moving. It has the last three stations of the cross (crucifixion, the stone on which the body of Jesus was washed and the tomb) and is unlike any other church. It is “shared” by the various Christian denominations and this is a good thing. In fact, there are several churches within the church. The configuration is most unusual and, like the medieval times, there are few seats.
If you follow my posts you would already know that the exterior of Jesus’ tomb is undergoing a major renovation at the moment. I presume this occurs during the night because there is no obvious construction during the day. The energy inside the tomb is palpable and sublime, despite the bad behaviour of the pilgrims and the abrupt manner of the attendants (Orthodox priests).
From mid-morning, the crowds are unrelenting at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The whole world is represented in the crowd and it is a fascinating spectacle. Behaviour ranges from obvious devotion and reverence to something akin to the masses at the football. The most earnest pilgrims are from Africa and India. Some of the stuff they do is a bit strange, for example blessing themselves with the water that the candles stand in, but it is clearly heartfelt. Unfortunately, I have overheard too many Westerners making derogatory comments and missing the opportunity to connect with the energy of this holy place. Much could be said about this.
There is a path the visitors follow in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – from Calvary to the tomb. And several times a day there are processions by the various denominations – with all the bells and smells of the ancient church – to clean up the energy in the place. The cleaning is certainly needed because there is a lot of disobsession going on. I was blessed to receive some glimmers of awareness of the multitudes of helping spirits working on the pilgrims. The job is huge and, for me, quite tiring with my eyes open.
Liberated by the French!
At last, someone else is awake and I can get out of the convent!! I detect your relief and will quickly give the highlights of my trip so far.
Yesterday, Boxing Day, was a very full day. After a few hours alone in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I visited the site of the Pools of Bethesda. This felt like any other archeological site, however, it was nice to be at a place from the Bible whose location is not in dispute.
Adjacent to the pools is the Basilica of St Anne – the birthplace of the Virgin Mary as far as the western church is concerned. Regardless of the facts, this place has been venerated for centuries and the energy was sublime. For Orthodox Christians, the location of Mary’s birth is a few doors down the street but I felt no calling to visit there. How did Mary, a Nazarene, come to be born in Jerusalem? The tradition is that her father, a holy man, was visiting the temple in Jerusalem with pregnant wife.
The highlight of Christmas Day was walking to the top of the Mount of Olives to visit the Chapel of the Ascension. The tradition is that Jesus ascended from this spot and a stone there with his footprint has been venerated for millennia. If you read my book (subtle plug for “The Companion”), you will recall that St Ignatius twice hobbled up the very steep hill to this holy site. The site was controlled by the Muslims in the sixteenth century (time of Ignatius) and this is still the case today (ie 5 INS to enter). While the site felt pristine energetically, I had no awareness of the presence of spirit here. However, it was so nice to final visit a place that was so important to Ignatius.
I spent Christmas eve in Bethlehem with a small tour group – mostly Americans. Not surprisingly, it is the biggest day of the year in this little town and there were hundreds of thousands of visitors. I felt a lot of support on this tour as the arrangements ‘unexpectedly’ and repeatedly changed for our group in our favour. We had 2.5 hours in line to visit the birthplace of Jesus in the Church of the Nativity but this ‘unexpectedly’ coincided with the visit of the Patriarch and a full-on cleansing ceremony. Our group was the last one let in to view this holy site (with thousands in line behind us being forced away or made wait). It was humbling to be in the presence of hundreds of lovely Indian people who had made the pilgrimage and, uncharacteristically, I was not upset by the crushing crowds and lack of personal space. I had all of 5 seconds on “the spot” and I cannot say I felt very much because the lines are highly controlled and there was much pressure to keep moving. My visit to Bethlehem also included the Shepherd’s Field Church and the Milk Grotto, the latter being the place of many miraculous conceptions. As far as I know, these answered prayers did not involve sex in the church.
So much more could be said but I’m now off to visit the Magdalene convent and the Church of the Pater Nosser. Later in the day I plan to visit some Jewish sites and eat fabulous donughts but the only thing that is certain is the donughts.
Namaste.
© Paul McCarthy & Iluminar.au
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