Magnificat...

anima mea Dominum... or so goes the Lain "Magnificat." In English, "My soul magnifies the Lord," often translated "my soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord" or "glorifies the Lord." This, according to Luke 1:46-55, is what Mary exclaimed after arriving at Elizabeth's house and Elizabeth exclaimed, "Most blessed are you among women... the infant in my womb leaped for joy..." The event, the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth is commemorated by the Church in the Holy Land by the Church of the Visitation. We had the privilege of having Mass at their outdoor chapel today. They have an indoor structure with a main chapel upstairs and a small chapel beneath that. Another group was having Mass in the upper chapel, but we had a few moments in the lower.

Opposite the small chapel is a wall. On this wall is the Magnificat in many, many languages.

All in all, a nice out-of-the-way place to pray.

After this, we returned to "the compound," got a quick breakfast and packed a lunch, and we were again on the move. This time to Nicopolis. This site holds some interesting history. An original chapel, a later structure,
and now a modern structure, which is home to the Catholic Community of the Beatitudes (for all you Canon Law buffs out there, they are an Association of the Faithful.)
The ruins have been excavated to show some pretty interesting albeit very old mosaics. Many have been preserved in the on-site museum. Of particular note is the following inscription. None of us with some facility in biblical Greek could make anything of this... Then I found some information in the on-site museum. Turns out this is a list of names that helped the Church be realized. That's right: a doner list inscribed in the wall. Modern fundraising techniques have a long and venerable tradition. So, head to your local parish and find out what they need - maybe you too can have your family name scribed in the archway of a new edifice and generations of people will see your name... and generations later wonder if perhaps that word means tulip or tomb or mother or kingdom...

Speaking of tombs, this site did not disappoint.

And in case you want to die to sin be born into new life in Christ before your bodily death, we have a convenient immersion pool available for your usage...

Afterward, a visit to a local Trappist Abby: Latroun (Tower).
Here, we took a brief walk upon the grounds, visited the chapel for a few minutes, and talked US politics with the monk who was kind enough to keep the doors open a few extra minutes for us. We, of course, made our subsequent and obligatory visit to the chotch shop. Yet, this was a worthy dispensing of time, for they had some very fine products, including some fig jam, which is a favorite of some in the group. Many of us gladly made purchases and were pleased we could support their abbey.

We rounded out the day with a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial/Museum.

This place brought back a lot of memories of Schindler's List , for those of you that saw it. It was an impressive, huge, detailed, and excellent presentation. (Granted, I'm not sure that I agree with their presentation of the Church's position and involvement or lack thereof, but that is a matter for historians to debate and is out of scope for here and now.) Frankly, it reminded me of exactly how sick society can be and the reality of sin, original sin, and what power fear really has, if we let it go. In a word: powerful. A quote I'll remember: "I would not like to be a Jew in Germany." - Hermann Göring, Hitler's second in command who called for the "final solution to the Jewish question." Wow.

But, lest we end on that depressing note, here's a picture of a flower...