Sunrise at Ben Gurion

We are sitting at our gate, watching the sun come up, wishing we could start the pilgrimage all over again. There are many things to report…

At the empty tomb

Before most of you dear readers went to bed on Sunday evening–after the glorious victory–we were already in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.

We celebrated Holy Mass in the tomb of Christ itself, receiving the Lord’s Body and Blood in the very place where He rose from the dead.

…I neglected to mention earlier that some of us enjoyed camel rides by the Dead Sea…

…We visited the Mount of Olives:

At the top of it, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. On the slope of it, He taught His disciples the Our Father. He descended it on a donkey on Palm Sunday–we walked down the ancient pathway that He used.

At the bottom we prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In the Garden of Gethsemane

…We made the Way of the Cross right where the Lord Jesus made it…

…We visited the Pools of Bethesda. The Blessed Mother was born nearby, in the home of Joachim and Anne, near the Sheep Gate of the ancient wall of Jerusalem, near the Temple.

St. Anne, pray for us

…Schema, people: I have much more to tell. But it will have to await the gracious period of denouement after a holy pilgrimage.

We will board our flight home shortly. See you back in the homeland.

Saying goodbye to Jerusalem Regency hotel

Immaculate Conception Novena

One of the best ways to start Advent is to honor our Lady’s Immaculate Conception.

On December 8, Mary was conceived immaculate in the womb of her mother, St. Ann. Our Lady’s birthday is nine months later, September 8.

The Blessed Virgin was preserved from sin because of the merits of her divine Son.

Our Lady’s perfect friendship with God made it possible for her to consent to the Archangel Gabriel when the time came for the eternal Son to become man.

The Annunciation took place on March 25, when Mary was thirteen or fourteen years old. The Lord Jesus was born nine months later, December 25.

So, by the plan of God, these two incredibly holy days–the day when our Lady was conceived in St. Ann’s womb and the day when the Lord Jesus was born–are in the same month, December.

Here is a link to the Immaculate Conception Novena prayers.

Our Quasi-Omnipotent Lady

 

 

 

          “Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops?”   Song of Songs 6:10

Today we rejoice in the birth of the Mother of God.  She was conceived immaculate in her mother Ann’s womb, and nine months later, she was born.

When she came of age to bear a child, the Archangel come to propose God’s plan to her, and she gave her consent.  With her Son, she walked down the path of humility and suffering.  After our salvation was won, God exalted her, like her Son, to the highest heaven.

Obviously, the Blessed Virgin Mary is not God; she is not divine.  God made her.  He did not, on the other hand, make Himself.  He made the humanity which He took to Himself, but God the Son always was and always will be.  Christ is a divine Person, not a creature.  We cannot worship the Blessed Mother the way we worship God.  Only God is God.  Our goal is to give glory to God, just like the Blessed Virgin does.  No one worships God better than our Lady worships Him; she worships God in Christ perfectly.

From God’s point-of-view, our Lady is splendidly beautiful, but of course she is infinitely less than He is Himself.  He keeps her in existence at every instant.  If He did not, she would disappear without a trace.

From our point-of-view, though, the Blessed Virgin might as well be God.  Our Lady is in charge of all the angels; they serve and adore her.  All the graces God gives to us come through her.  She is our life, our sweetness, and our hope.  She is the everlasting Garden of Eden.

Let’s not fret and fuss about falling into “Mariolatry.”  Damn the torpedoes, when it comes to Protestants trying to criticize us on this.  We cannot venerate and love our Lady too much.  Why get technical about the difference between worshipping God and throwing ourselves at our Lady’s feet?  The experts who make sure that the prayers we use are orthodox can worry about things like that.

          Here’s a weak analogy:  An expert land surveyor might be able to tell the difference in height between Mt. Everest and K-2, just by looking.  I am sure, though, that if I laid eyes on Mt. Everest and then Mt. McKinley, I couldn’t tell the difference in height.  In both cases, I would say, “Wow, that is an awesome mountain.”  When I think of God, I say to myself, “Awesome.”  When I think of our Lady, I say to myself, “Awesome.”

          From where I am standing, the Blessed Virgin Mary is infinitely powerful.  She is immeasurably more powerful, holier, more excellent and glorious than me.  I rely on her for my life’s breath.  If by “infinite” I mean simply that I cannot measure what I am talking about, I have to confess that our Lady is infinitely wonderful.  I beg her to take care of me.