Mass at the Manger

It is 6:10 a.m. in Bethlehem. yesterday I had learned that there was a Mass in the Grotto at 4:55 this morning, and I could concelebrate. I asked whether our people could join as well -- yes, if not too many. Eleven of the pilgrims were ready to go at 4:30. We walked to the Church of the Nativity, confirmed that we were welcome. The eleven others were able to enjoy 10 minutes with just a handful of Italian pilgrims in the cave itself before Mass began. Mass was in Italian, using the readings for the day, December 30th. We had just a few minutes afterward before they had to set up the for the next service, a Greek Orthodox eucharistic liturgy.
It was a powerful experience for everyone to share the space held in quiet, with a few visitors, by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the place where they were family for the first hours, in the space where Jesus breathed his first air, in this place where the Word made flesh was born, where the bread and wine became the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

A day in Bethlehem

About these pictures: A man in traditional headress walks down a street in Bethlehem. A look at the hills around Bethlehem. The moon sets over Bethlehem early in the morning. The children saints as depicted in the chapel at Bethlehem University.

The day started well with an early morning visit to the Church of the Nativity. Eleven early risers headed out on foot at 5:30 a.m. to see the central church of Bethlehem. We were not able to visit the grotto (cave) where Jesus was born due to some services that were going on there. We explored the rest of the church however, and also walked up the street to the Milk Grotto, learning that would not be open until 8:00. So, we had to settle for an invigorating early morning walk and seeing the Church of the Nativity pre-dawn, at a time when the line from "O Little Town of Bethlehem" about the dark streets and 'how still we see thee lie' was true.
After a large breakfast we boarded the bus, went to the church by a much longer route (the walking route is far too narrow for a bus, and most of it is off-limits to any traffic) and found the grotto was still not available. We had Mass scheduled for 9:00 in an adjoining cave, the chapel of St. Jerome. St. Jerome lived there for many years (I think he died in 422 A.D.) and it was there that he translated the bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, known as the Vulgate edition, which used in the Catholic church until about 50 years ago.
We were on a tight schedule that got too tight. We had hoped to visit the Shepherds Fields later int the morning, but we also have an 11:00 a.m meeting at Bethlehem University. There we visited the chapel, which has a theme of Jesus as a child. The walls contain partraits of dozens of child saints -- many of the martyrs, such as the Holy Innocents, but many other child martrys from many countries. We saw a video about the University and its programs, but it also contained some material about the difficulty it and its students have as a result of some security measures invoked by Israel -- primarily for Israel's security. Two students and a teacher also spoke and answered many questions about this controversial subject.
Lunch was at a restaurant that caters to tourist. It looks like a large caravan tent inside. The main dish was chicken, a mixture of lamb and beef, and french fries with a mixtures of some vegetables.
After eating we shopped at a cooperative store for souvenirs near the Israeli security wall which virtually surrounds Bethlehem. This is near Rachel's tomb, which is now on the Israeli side of the wall. Quite a few things were bought there, and many purchases have also been made from street vendors -- probably even more aggressive than I've seen since 2004.
Another attempt to visit the birth cave failed, so we walked down the street to see the Milk Grotto. This is a non-biblical site, followed a 6th century legend that Mary and Joseph stopped there or hid there on their flight to Egypt. Mary breastfed Jesus, and a drop of milk fell to the floor of the cave, making all the rock white. It has been a site of many miracles. In recent years a devotion has developed from there for couples experiencing infertility. The Franciscan there claims over 1,800 children have been born to previously infertile couples in the past ten years who have used this devotion, as well as seven cancer cures.
After one final check on the church of the nativity, we boarded the bus for the short ride back to the hotel.
What was the issue at the Church of the Nativity? It seems to be the result of a disagreement between the Greek Orthodox and the Armenians over control and cleaning of certain areas of the church. I will try to research what it is all about. The Church of the Nativity is controled by three groups -- the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenian -- perhaps that is the Armenian Orthodox Church. Right now there is tension between the latter two groups.
It was a windier day, but frequently clear and warm. By 5:00 the wind was very strong, causing trouble for some street food vendors, blowing their stainless steel covers about. It will be a good night to stay in. Card games might break out.
Plans for tomorrow are being changed. Some of us will start very early. I was invited to attend (concelebrate perhaps?) a Mass in the grotto at 4:55 a.m. I was told I could bring some people with me, so some of us will check it out. If it works, it will give them a chance to visit the cave for some time in a prayerful atmosphere. After breakfast we leave this hotel -- all bags need to be packed earlier -- and go to Shepherd's Fields, which is a rural space where the visit of the angels to the shepherds is commemorated. Then we travel to the Mediterranean coast, visit Ceasarea (see Acts 10 and a few other places) and Joppa, which is just south of Tel Aviv. Joppa has been a town for some 5000 years. It is mentioned in Job 1; 2 Chronicles notes that the cedars of Lebanon used for building the temple were unloaded at that port, and again in Acts 10 we see several stories of Peter in Joppa. After that, we continue to the Sea of Galilee, where we have Mass on the Mount of Beatitudes. We will spend the succeeding two nights in Tiberius.

I see we now have nine followers! Thank you! We will pray for you; please pray for us.

We are in Bethlehem! All the flights went well, only very short delays. We arrived at Ben Gurion airport on time, and after a little bit of confusion (we thought we were missing two people) met our tour guide Johnny and driver Gol. Darkness was coming upon us, so we missed some of the scenery on the way to Bethlehem, but got an imformative talk along the way. We were all in our rooms by 7:00 and eating by 7:15 -- a delicious soup, a series of salads of varying interests to the pilgrims' tastebuds, and then rice, chicken and mixed vegetables for the main course. Dessert was an array of fruit.
After dinner I asked a few people to join me on a short walk to confirm the way to the Nativity Church. We found it easily, and follwed Pope Paul VI street to Manger Square and to the door of the church itself. Some of us will go on an early morning walk to visit it before the bulk of the tourists arrive.
The weather is wonderful. Even at 8:30 at night it was well into the 60s. The weather should be good tomorrow as well -- although it is notoriously changeable. We are to board the bus at 8:00 tomorrow, with Mass at 9:00 in Stl Jerome cave, adjacent to the grotto/cave in which Jesus was born. Later in the morning we visit Bethlehem University and meet with some staff and students from there, and learn a bit about life in Bethlehem.
I hope to write more tomorrow.

December 22

We are less than six days until we leave. In one week we will wake up in Bethlehem, the first place in which Jesus awoke from sleep. Bethlehem is also famous as the home of King David, about 1,000 years before Jesus. The name "Bethlehem" means House of Bread. It is no longer like the song, "O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie." It is a fairly large town, and not quiet during the day. On our early morning walks we should see it quiet and still, as you see in the picture here. This was taken by me on my last trip in April of 2008, at about 5:30 in the morning, well before dawn.

At our meeting Sunday afternoon, we went over the itinerary, picked up our tickets, and figured out how we will get to the airport. The next time we will all be together we will be at the beginning stages of the actual trip. Please pray for us. We are also collecting any prayer intentions people have to take with us to the holy places we will visit.

Before we take off

We are just 11 days from take off! A group of 31 will be going to the Holy Land. We have about a dozen young people, juniors and seniors in high school as well as a few college students, some parents, a group of friends who are mostly from NW Minnesota, and some other people from Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) Catholic Church in Mound, Minnesota. Mr. Bryan Busch, the youth minister from there and I (Fr. Stan Mader) are leading the group.
This trip started as an idea to help build up the youth group. We needed something to keep people as leaders in the youth group. So often, after Confirmation they drifted away because there were so many other things to do, and there wasn't a large enough group of "older youth" that stayed connected. We have been fundraising for two years, and now is the payoff.
We will leave on Sunday, December 27th. We will stay two nights in Bethlehem, two nights in Tiberius along the Sea of Galilee, and finally two or three nights in Jerusalem. We will also visit Nazareth, Ein Karem, Caesaria, Jericho and the Dead Sea.
This is my sixth visit to the Holy Land, and the fourth group I'm leading. It is Bryan's first trip. At least one of our travelers is a repeat visitor. It is going to be great!