Enter Jerusalem's Old City through the Lions Gate, aka St. Stephen's Gate, and soon on your right you will find the place of the White Fathers.
The door of St. Anne's is open. Welcome.
If the beautiful old basilica is empty, test its great acoustics with a song.
Outside are the famous pools of Bethesda.
(Click once and then once again to get the photos full size.)
For some Christians this weekend is the Sunday of the Paralytic, about the story in John 5:1-9 of the healing at the pool of Bethesda.
But Sr.Dr. Vassa Larin has helpful, welcome advice for us all, based on this story of healing, e.g. our past, no matter how difficult, can be beneficial, "So, let‘s not wallow in the bed of our past, but take it up and walk, to the greater glory of God."
Enjoy Sr. Vassa's video:
(Linking this post to inSPIREd Sunday meme.)
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A beautiful place to wander. It's like you can feel the history there.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletei love the archways & that door is massive ... wow, what a true beauty!! ( :
ReplyDeleteThese photos are just wonderful, Dina.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI love your photos and the history behind them. My favorite photo is the beautiful Lions Gate
ReplyDeleteAlice
The video was a humorous look, at times, a the scripture and java. Like the applause at the end. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place that is - so much history!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see they cleaned it up: when I saw it in the 1990's it was a pile of trash!
ReplyDeleteVP, I think you are remembering the other pool, near the Jaffa Gate, Hazekiah's Pool. That one was indeed full of trash until just a few years ago. Check it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://jerusalemhillsdailyphoto.blogspot.co.il/2010/11/pool-of-towers.html
Birdman, so glad you enjoyed Sr. Vassa's video. She does have great humor, and great knowledge and insights too. Try some of her other Coffee with Sr. Vassa episodes at
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH-FBwgf93rU-g8BH3xiuUQ/featured
and you can follow her on Facebook:
Vassa Larin and/or Coffee with Sister Vassa.
Wonderful! Thanks for these great photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these. I'm hearing the acoustics in the basilica
ReplyDeleteNice sharing a meme with you! ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
So interesting to see in real life the sites that are mentioned in the gospels. I especially like that story. Have you seen this painting?
ReplyDeletehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Bateman_-_The_Pool_of_Bethesda_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Wonderful place, great atmosphere there.
ReplyDeleteThanks, as always, for the tour and the information. Loved Sr. Vassa's presentation. Funny, I was just thinking about St. Anne's church the other day because I remember the time I spent inside it with a tour group many years ago and the lovely echos and acoustic effects. I even looked it up online to find out which Anne it is named for. And just read the passage about the paralytic at the pool this morning. It was good to see the old site once again - looks exactly like what I remember from all those years ago.
ReplyDeleteCrystal, thanks for the painting. It's funny how artists and NT readers imagine the pools of Bethesda to be so shallow when the archaeology now shows how very deep they are. Something like 13 meters.
ReplyDeleteSara, shalom. Yes, the church is named for St.Anne, Anne/Anna/Chana, the mother of Mary.
Did your group go down to visit the crypt? I can post more about it if you want.
Thank you Dina for showing this !
ReplyDeleteDina, you are right!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting place, Dina. Sister Vassa is very informative and has a cute way to present her information.
ReplyDeleteInteresting posting.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a beautiful door.
I liked the way you photographed it.