Chocolate Cake on an Ordination Anniversary

Today was/is the feast of St. Cornelius the Centurion and is the anniversary of the ordination of Fr. Moki, one of my fellow students from the Diocese of Hawaii. He was debating at dinner whether or not to indulge in a piece of chocolate cake. We all thought it was only appropriate that he consume same on this auspicious occasion.  He did concelebrate this morning’s Mass with the dean of the cathedral. He said he never thought he would celebrate an anniversary in Jerusalem. What a blessing for him on this day!

I’m working my way somewhat backwards. Yesterday I had no internet access and was simply too tired to write. Today is much better. I slept well but we had a long day.

This is from Sunday afternoon: In New York at JFK I had the lounge all to myself for the most part. There were various things upon which to nibble--soup, smoked salmon, chicken salad, yummy rolls, various chopped things, a coffee machine that would make just about anything. Two others finally joined me. El Al provides escorts who take you to the lounge and retrieve you therefrom. Rather than being first to board we are the last. Cabin is very spacious and crew solicitous. One attendant suggested I might want to go a window seat since there would be less bothersome traffic. No problem. There are five of us in a cabin for twelve. An officer came by to wish us a pleasant flight. 

Wine or other beverages were offered once seated. There are so many things with which to play one hardly has time to relax. Pillows and blankets to unwrap, pajamas to extricate from the package. Do you want your mattress laid down now? Menus for food and wine. Chocolate and nuts. Excellent breads and two kinds of hummus. Olives and nuts with cocktails. Delicious carrot soup. Braised short ribs with date honey and pomegranate, dry side but the glaze was tasty. Montefiore Syrah is fine. The airline has a big push on Israeli wines. Espresso not so hot. Now I’m going for the chocolate mousse, tasty!

We are experiencing some turbulence as we fly over Newfoundland. Hopefully it will pass. Think I'll watch a movie. I did sleep for a few hours. There were several rough spots but nothing so severe that we dropped suddenly in altitude. 

Breakfast was served with numerous courses. 

Yesterday the plane landed shortly after 11 AM. A representative from the airline was waiting for me as I left the plane, took me through passport control and customs and escorted me to my car. He schlepped my luggage for me as well. 

Saint George's Cathedral

I found the journey from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to be fascinating. I had visions of my mind of a desert with the hill of Jerusalem rising from the flat lands. The countryside reminded me very much of California. It was too hilly to be Florida. The fields were all green and the trees and flowers were lovely. The driver reminded me that it is not like this all year.  It is the rainy season, which we experienced in person today, hence the green fields.

Last night we attended an opening Mass at the cathedral celebrated by our chaplain with the homily by the course leader. The readings had to do with pilgrimage as did the homily. I found the connection between my thoughts and his to be interesting.

Following dinner we had a brief orientation session and then went off to bed.

Our first visit this afternoon was to the Mount of Olives so we could better understand the topography of the city. Our leader, Rodney Aist is truly in love with Jerusalem and has completed his Ph.D in studies related to this place. He lectured this morning, firstly on the process of being a pilgrim and then on the topography of the city so we could be prepared for what we saw today. 

It was windy and cold on the Mount but the view is fantastic and it really does help in one’s orientation to what we will see and do here. The place looks surprisingly small compared the wealth of history in which it plays a part.

The Ladder

The bus took us down to the Old City where we began our walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It opens off a souk today but at one time a major thoroughfare ran in front of the church. What the church is today is not that of Constantine but is basically a Crusader’s Church. It is governed by several Christian groups: Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian, with lesser roles played by the Ethiopians, the Copts and the Syrian Orthodox. Each group wants to preserve its space so it is the site of nearly constant “turf wars.” To further complicate matters a Muslim family is the hereditary key-holder. There is a ritual that is carried out every morning at 4 which involves the unlocking of the door. An example of the convoluted management of the place is the ladder beneath the window on the right. It has been there forever and no group has the authority to remove it.

Veneration of Calvary

The Pillar of Scourging

There are so many people in the church with services constantly going on and lines of people waiting to venerate the Hill of Calvary, the anointing stone, the pillar where Christ was scourged, along with the tomb and the chapel commemorating the Finding of the Cross. The atmosphere is less than reverent, one might say. I’ll go back by myself at some point and try to hit one of less busy times. I was told they do have them.