In the tomb

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This, my friends, is THE picture for today, the day Christians call Holy Saturday.
The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday when Jesus lay in a dark tomb, hidden away, here in my country, in Jerusalem.
Although not a Christian I can't help but wonder what the feeling of Christians is on this heavy day. 

I entered this silent, dim, empty 18th century church in rural Austria alone.
How stunned I was to suddenly discover a life-sized dead "body" lying below the altar.
Such a life-like statue! 

It was almost too life-like.

And look here -- how often do you see a pieta with Mary holding his hand?

A Way of the Cross ends on top of Mount Calvary, with three crosses as the final station.

The old Baroque church is called in German Kalvarienbergkirche.
Next to it was built (in 1984) the Franziskusgemeinschaft, the communal farming community where I volunteered last October-November.
It was a wonderful experience, all of it.
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)

On Good Friday, tall ladders to the cross

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It is now late afternoon in Israel.
This is the day my Christian friends call Good Friday, and this is the hour when they solemnly reflect on the taking down from the cross.
Very soon it will be Shabbat evening. 

It was in Friedberg, a small town in the rolling green hills of Styria, Austria, that I first saw  statuary such as this!

Please click a few times to enlarge the photos and get the beautiful details.

The church was first mentioned in writing in 1377.
In 1706 it was expanded and magnificent frescoes were added.

The Baroque pilgrimage church and its surroundings can be seen here.
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I try to imagine how you Christian readers out there experience the Triduum, the three saddest days, as you await the joy of Easter Sunday.   Blessings to you.
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(Linking to inSPIREd Sunday.)

The falling asleep of Mary

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Everything ready for today's Feast of the Dormition of Mary at the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.
Happy Feast to Catholics and others who celebrate today.
(Orthodox Dormition on the Old Calendar comes on August 28.)
Please see more about the Dormition (aka Assumption) in my earlier post and also here.
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And to us Jews, Shabbat shalom.
Something for everybody today.  :)
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Update:  Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin just wrote a moving Reflection about Mary.
A few paragraphs, called "A Mystifying Beauty," -- worth your while.
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Christmas greetings

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Mazal tov to Miriam-Mary and happy birth-day to her son.

Merry Christmas to all the Christian friends!
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A thought for Mary on Good Friday

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Simeon said to Mary ". . . and a sword will pierce your own soul also.”   (Lk 2:34-35)
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Update Feb. 24, 2016: About the restoration of mosaics in the Calvary chapel:
http://www.terrasanctablog.org/2016/02/24/new-colors-for-the-chapel-of-the-crucifixion-at-the-holy-sepulcher/ 
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Justice and peace kiss

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Robert Geiss invites all to try their hand at illustrating the Psalms.
Every Sunday at PsalmChallenge, centered in Athens. 

The illuminations in the Stuttgart Psalter, made in 920-930 in Northern France,  are a feast for the eyes; they are, however, a Christian  interpretation.

For instance, the wonderful verse in today's Psalm 85,  "Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other," is illustrated by what is generally thought to be the Visitation (the visit of Mary to Elisabeth that I posted about yesterday).
The verse is so compact in Hebrew:
 חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת נִפְגָּשׁוּ צֶדֶק וְשָׁלוֹם נָשָׁקוּ:  Chesed and emet  meet; tsedek and shalom  kiss.

PSALM 85
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Lord, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
²You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Selah
³You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.
⁴Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us.
⁵Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

⁶Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.
⁸Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

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⁹Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
¹⁰Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
¹¹Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
¹²The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
¹³Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
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Translation: NRSV.
* PHOTO:  From the Stuttgarter Psalter.  
See also in a more enlargeable format at the DFG-Viewer of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
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As always, Rabbi Benjamin Segal's commentary on the psalm is helpful.
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Mary on a donkey en route to Ein Kerem

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Enlarge the photo (click once and then again)  and you will see Mary on the road from Nazareth to Ein Kerem, accompanied by walking and flying angels.
Said to be built over the home of John the Baptist's parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, the Church of the Visitation stands high up on the hillside of Ein Kerem.

In Luke 1:39-55  the pregnant Mary visited her pregnant cousin Elizabeth and this "visitation" lasted for three months.
When Mary arrived, the unborn John  recognized the unborn Jesus and "leaped with joy" in Elizabeth's womb.
Elizabeth exclaimed, "Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" and Mary sang a hymn of thanksgiving known as the Magnificat:

Behind the statues of Mary and Elizabeth are over 42 plaques of the Magnificat in different languages.

The modern (1955) church was designed by the prolific and gifted Italian architect Antonio Barluzzi.
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At Mary's tomb--lots of praying going on

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Today, on the calendar of the Armenian Orthodox, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is celebrated.
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We came here, to visit the Church of the Tomb of Mary in Gethsemane a few days ago; and then,
judging by the entrance, the old Crusader church looked deserted.

But once inside, we were surprised by the smell of incense and the sound of chanting and singing, all over the place!
We waited as the Armenians began the liturgy near the side chapels and then followed them down the 47 stairs to the underground part of the church.

The Armenians continued prayers in front of the sepulcher of Mary.
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On the other side of the tomb another liturgy was in progress, but I could not pass through to see who; probably the Syrian Orthodox or the Greek Orthodox, maybe Ethiopians.
The Copts were praying at their own altar, and I can show you those photos in the days to come.
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My visiting American Protestant friends did not know what to make of all this, but I enjoyed it very much.
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UPDATE: I have added information in the Comments in answer to readers' questions.
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(A post for Our World Tuesday.)

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The smells and bells of The Church

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For today's Feast of the Assumption I took my visiting American friends to the Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion.
We were greeted by the joyful pealing of great bells.

After the festive Mass (in German, English, and Latin) in the magnificent church (over a hundred years old),

we all went down to the crypt and there were some more prayers, with the new Father Abbot (from Ireland) and his Benedictines facing

the reclining figure of Mary in her dormition.

The monks gave everyone a little bundle of greenery, symbolizing the beauty and joy of God's creation.
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For more photos and impressions about this place and this feastday, please see my labels below (Mary, Dormition Abbey.)
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Bonne fête!
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"Mother Mary" nursing her baby

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You know this old Jewish joke?

"How do we know Jesus was Jewish?
1. He lived at home until he was 30
2. He went into his father's business
3. His mother thought he was God."

Every Jewish Mother thinks her son is like unto God, but Mary took it seriously.

I was so surprised to go down to the old crypt of St. Gerasimus Monastery a few days ago and to see this image on the wall!

Since then I have learned that the Milk-giver icon first appeared in the 6th century and the Greek Orthodox call it Mlekopitatelnitsa, the Milk-giving Virgin Mary.
Although rare, it also entered Western religious art, but maybe 800 years later, where it is known as Maria Lactans.

Mary wears the crown of the Queen of Heaven.

Although this monastery near Jericho is not on the route, a certain Christian tradition has it that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus overnighted here on their flight into Egypt and that in the crypt Jesus learned to take his first steps.
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One of my favorite old paintings is this amazing scene by Caravaggio called "Rest on the Flight Into Egypt."
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BTW, the carved wooden chest with the slot on top invites visitors to donate money or valuables to the monastery.
I am sure many of the Eastern Orthodox pilgrims are so moved that they contribute generously.
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To those of you mothers in countries where today is Mother's Day (not in Israel), I wish you all the blessings of this Sunday.
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Do souls grow bigger in heaven?

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Behold Mary, fallen asleep, in the crypt of the Dormition Abbey.
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Today, at the Dormition and at many other churches in Jerusalem and around the world, Christians celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.
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You are welcome to see the ceremony in progress as I photographed it in 2007.
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In another earlier post, I was amazed by a strange old icon of Jesus holding a tiny little Mary. You might enjoy the unraveling of the mystery.
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UPDATE: Blogger Malyss just taught me how they celebrate the day in Nice, with boats full of flowers carrying the statue of Mary!
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The falling-asleep of Mary

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To the Marys, Marias, and Miriams -- a blessed name day to you.
To Christians who are celebrating the Assumption of Mary, a happy feastday to you.

From the day's liturgy at the Dormition Abbey, in Latin and German, with the lovely traditional Gregorian chant notation. Enlarge the photo and see if you can sing along. :)
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August 15 fell on a Sabbath and since Israel's buses rest on the Sabbath, I could not get into Jerusalem today to observe the celebration of the Assumption of Mary.
You are, however, welcome to see the pictures from my year-ago posts here and here.
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A still-small soul

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Yesterday's post was about the celebration of the dormition of Mary. The outside of the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion looks like this.
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A widely accepted Christian tradition has it that Mary fell into slumber on Jerusalem's Mount Zion.

When Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Holy Land in 1898 the Turkish sultan presented him with this piece of land. The German Benedictines then built this church, finished in 1910.

The massive towers give it a look of a medieval fortress. And indeed, whenever I see it I start humming Martin Luther's famous hymn "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott," "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."
Israelis come to concerts in the church for its fantastic acoustics and wonderful organ, one of the largest in the Middle East.

This centuries-old icon for the feast is called "The Dormition of the Theotokos" [Theotokos meaning "God-bearer" in Greek].

The image below is taken from the website of Balamand University and Monastery in Lebanon; the icon's full story can be found there.

Once, when searching for the meaning of the figures of the icon, I read something which struck me as an amazing idea:

"Who is the little baby being held by Jesus? It's a depiction of Mary's soul, small because it is only her first day in Heaven." - [Italics are mine!]

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Feast at the Dormition Abbey

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Today is a big feast-day. In some countries it is even a public holiday.
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Catholics call it the Feast of the Assumption. According to their Catechism, Mary, "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."
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Eastern Christians use another name. According to a good Greek Orthodox website, "The Feast of the Dormition of Our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15 each year. The Feast commemorates the repose (dormition and in the Greek kimisis) or "falling-asleep" of the Mother of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The Feast also commemorates the translation or assumption into heaven of the body of the Theotokos."
 The Jerusalem Patriarchate is Old Calendar, as are the Orthodox monastic communities in the Holy Land. So they  celebrate  Dormition on August 28.

This post shows how I saw it celebrated in 2007 and 2006 in the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem. I did not take pictures during the liturgy in the sanctuary. But when we went down to the crypt to continue the prayer, it was dark enough that I could discreetly shoot a few photos.

The Benedictine monks and priests and the people gathered around Mary.
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German and Latin were the main languages.
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Here above, a monk offers greens for a special blessing as part of the liturgy.

Afterwards, the faithful lingered to light candles or kneel in private prayer.

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Wikipedia says,
"The Assumption is important to many Catholics as the Virgin Mary's heavenly birthday (the day that Mary was received into Heaven). Her acceptance into the glory of Heaven is seen by them as the symbol of the promise made by Jesus to all enduring Christians that they too will be received into paradise."

So it was appropriate for a "birthday" to continue the celebration with a reception in the courtyard.

As the monk said, his cowl is not just for prayer but also a good shield from the intense noonday sun.

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Bon fete to Christians who mark this day!

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Vs for Christians

" Voice of one crying in the wilderness." Matthew 3:13. Here at our local monastery John the Baptist baptizes Jesus. The Vulgate translation got it wrong. Should be "A voice cries: In the wilderness. . .".

  "Verily, verily, I say unto you . . . " Jesus speaks many verily verilies in the New Testament.

  Vicarious atonement--the redeeming of sinners by shedding blood on the cross. The Franciscan emblem shows the pierced hand of Jesus reaching out of the cloud, joining the bloody-from-stigmata hand of Francis of Assisi, and the Holy Spirit dove descending on both.

  Virgin Mary in the crypt of the Dormition Abbey.

Theotokos

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Theotokos in Greek means "God-bearer." This is what Eastern Orthodox Christians and Greek Catholics call Mary.

"Theotokos of Vladimir" is the name of this well-known, much-loved very old icon.
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Annunciation

Today Christians celebrate the Feast of the Annuciation. When Gabriel appeared to Mary he of course had to say (like all the angels in the Bible), "Fear not."
But since this is a Jerusalem blog, I have no photos of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Also no pictures of archangels, and none of Mary alone. But I DO have something with Gabriel's name on it. Look at this!

A mysterious piece made of ivory and metal, crafted long ago by Yemenite Jews. A gift from the Kabbalistic town of Safed (Tsfat). It says "In the name of God, in the name of Shaddai, Guardian of Israel. . . " and then the names of angels Gabriel, Rafael, Asiel, Shamriel. A kamea? The Hebrew kamea means amulet or charm. In English cameo?

Gabriel said "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" Mary was afraid, confused. How could she understand what he was announcing? But then she said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." This is what I like about Mary--her simple "fiat."