Today was a very simple day, yet also filled with it's own adventures. So we were going to have Mass at the Cenacle church or the room where Jesus had the Last Supper. I went with 3 other people leaving at 9 am, taking one of the local buses into the Old City for a Mass at 10 am. The first problem was that the bus didn't arrive too quickly and go there at 9:20. Then we were dropped off at the southern part of the city and had to walk about 1/2 a mile to get to the Church. Walking 1/2 a mile around here is hard because the roads wind left and right and often through construction so you don't really know which direction to go in. Sylvia (an older lady from Nevada) and I were trying to follow these two priests, but we lost them and so had to keep asking people who didn't know very much English. Eventually, we go to the Church, and walked up to see the rest of our group already ready for Mass. I was hot and sweaty and frustrated that I couldn't find my way around.
Then we all split up and I walked to meet a group of friends on the north part of the old city, which is about a 30 minute walk. I took my time to look at the shops and also to take some time to pray at the 4th station on the Via Dolorosa St. From there, we went to a Museum for about 1 hour, where there was mostly pottery and tools from earlier civilizations. You begin to realize that in Israel, archeology is so important because people have been living here for 10,000 or so years. Therefore, museums are a great place to get an idea of hold old this country is.
Then I was going to have an hour of Adoration at the 4th Station again. At that station is an Armenian Orthodox Church that has Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every day from 8-5pm. The Monstrance that they have is absolutely wonderful, I don't know if you can look it up on line. Of course, I wanted to stay awake while doing that, so I ordered a delicious Arabic Coffee while there, as you can see in the picture. $2.50 for all you see there, and let me tell you, the coffee was the equivalent of a double shot of espresso. They gave me these delicious little cinnamon cookies, and even a glass of water!! Around here, that's a deal!! I was struck by the hospitality of the owner, who said in an Arabic accent, "sit down, and relax!" Then I went to pray, where I could just give thanks to God for this whole trip, and also pray for all of you, my friends & family back home.
Again, thank you for following my blog! God bless you!
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