Mass at Church of Bethphage
Following Mass, we then made our way to the upper room where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and priesthood and from there we continued to the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. It was here that Peter denied Jesus three times and Jesus stood in front of Caiaphas the high priest before being sent to Pontus Pilate.
It was a long, yet wonderful morning, so around noon we gathered for lunch before our drive to the top of Mount of Olives. The summit offers a magnificent view of the Old City and reminded us of Jesus’ last hours in prayer and anguish before He went on to face his passion and death. After this, we visited the Chapel of the Ascension, the Shrine of Pater Noster, and the Chapel of Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept).
We also had the opportunity to follow Jesus’ Palm Sunday Route along Hosanna Road to the Garden of Gethsemane and reflect on His final night before ending the day with a visit to the Israel Museum. This museum houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, important to our understanding and appreciation of the Bible.
Before dinner and an overnight at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem, we visited and explored an enlightening model of the city of Jerusalem, showing what it would have been like in the days of Jesus.
Suggested Scripture: Luke 10:25-37, John 11:38-53, Matt. 2:1-11, Luke 22:7-23, Mark 14:7-15:17, Matt. 26:26-29, Matt. 26:28-21