2 Joyful Mysteries ( Day 5)

 “ THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONGST US”

     We crossed from Israel to Palestine to visit Bethlehem's church of Nativity, Shepherds field and celebrated mass at Santa Catarina of Sienna church in the Church of Nativity . We were well prepped before crossing the border, and surprisingly it went very smoothly. Our first stop was the Shepherds Field. This is the field where the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, to notify them of the birth of Jesus, We celebrated mass at the church of Saint Catherine of Siena, which is part of the church of the Nativity. All throughout mass, the songs we sang were all Christmas hymns. After the celebration of mass, we walked down to the cave, where Jesus was born, and paid homage at the location of his manger . A few steps from there to the right was where his crib was situated.

Born in a form of a slave He was. The king of Kings as a descendant of David. 
 

The birth of Jesus is in the 2nd joyful mystery of the Rosary. The church's motiff was mostly Greek Orthodox decorated with lamps and icons. The columns inside the church
 

Inside the church of the Nativity 

Gabriel kissing the manger site 

ta plaque outside the church of Santa Caterina

one of the stained glass windows inside the church

Courtyard of St Catherine of Sienna 

Sculpture fountain in The Shephereds' Field

Modern Day site of shepherd’s field 

Mural of the shepherds inside the chapel

Inside the chapel of Shepherd’s Field

Church of the Nativity taken from the Nativity Square 

      After a hand made spaghetti lunch at the Franciscan monastery called Casa Nova, we headed back towards Jerusalem.  The Casa Nova is a charming Franciscan Pilgrim House situated in Bethlehem. Located adjacent to Casanova Palace it is the pilgrim house in closest proximation to the world renowned holy site, Church of Nativity. The monastery was built over the grotto where Jesus Christ was born over 2000 years ago.

The pasta was one of the best I've had outside of Italy. Even our Italian tour guides approved 100%

 When we came back to Israel, we visited the Judah hill country and hiked up the hill to the Church of Visitation in Ein Karem. I tried to"run up the hill in haste" like mary did. The VISITATION of Mary with her cousin Elizabeth  is the second joyful mystery. This is where Mary visited  her cousin Elizabeth, to let her know that she is pregnant. It’s in Luke’s Gospel where Mary's glorification of the Lord, after chosen to be  the Mother of God, and with full humility, accepted God’s will. Mary's Canticle called The Magnificat is on the wall outside the church written in multiple languages. This is one of my favorite prayers in the Bible. It reminds me that God has a  will for all of us. And to be able to accept our fate with Grace and Humility while keeping in mind GOD's  mercy and compassion is sometimes the most challenging aspect of my  life. 

I pray every day for our Blessed Mother’s intercession  through the Rosary and other Novenas . Mary is indeed our true mother . 

Here's Mary's Canticle:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

My Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour

For He has looked with favour on His lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

The Almighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His Name.

He has mercy on those who fear Him

In every generation.

He has shown the strength of His arm,

He has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

And has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of His servant Israel

For He has remembered His promise of mercy,

The promise He made to our fathers,

To Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning.

is now, and will be forever.

Amen.

The small hill we hiked to the Church of Visitation 

The Church of the Visitation

Portuguese Magnificat

Spanish  Magnificat

English 

Tagalog Magnificat

Mary and Elizabeth with the background of Magnificat in multiple languages 

Inside the upper church of the Visitation.

Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Amen