I Have a Camera!

I finally received my new camera. I opened the box and tried to put it together as quickly as possible because I was leaving for Bethlehem ten minutes later. I soon found out that I had forgot to put in a memory card, so I could only save six pictures. Here they are. And, now that I have a new camera, expect many more pics until this one breaks.

1) This is the archway above the entrance to the Milk Grotto, the site of a traditional miracle during the infancy of Christ. Supposedly, when the Holy Family was fleeing from Herod into Egypt, as Christ was suckling at the breast of the Virgin Mary, a drop of her milk fell, hit the ground and immediately the walls of the surrounding grotto became white. They collect the white powder that accumulates on the walls of the grotto and sell it in small packets to couples struggling to bear children. They use this powder in some ritual novena and often, within weeks, the wife conceives a child. The walls of a little office attached to the grotto were covered with testimonial letters of formerly unfertile couples and pictures of their newborn child. There was also a binder with more testimonials. The actual church extends into the grotto and becomes attached to a convent.

2) This is a miniature representation of Our Lady of Lourdes, within the small courtyard between the grotto and the testimonial office.

3)This is the altar in the main chapel of the Milk Grotto. There was a statue of Mary afixed on the wall behind the altar and a painting of Mary nursing Christ to the right. Behind, to the left, the path winds to an adoration chapel in the convent. The chapel is walled off by glass panels and only the nuns can enter into it. Everyone else can kneel in front of the glass and place their prayer intentions into a small box nearby.

4) This is the tower of the Church of the Nativity, built upon the location where Christ was born in the manger. You must enter through the 'door of humility,' which is about four feet tall. Here there is a large open area that leads up to an Armenian altar. I don't know what to call it and I'm really not sure how the Armenian Mass works, because, though there are many stands for things in their churches, I have yet to find something that's tabely enough to break the bread on it. In the open space preceding the altar, there is an area of the floor that drops down about five feet to reveal the preserved mosaics that were on the floor of the early Byzantine Church of the Nativity.

5) This is the main altar area of the Church of the Nativity. The style of lights is clearly Orthodox. I'm sorry that the pic is so dim. You can see Christmas ornaments, red bulbs, attached to the bottom of the chandeliers. In Bethlehem, it's always Christmas. To the right, where all the people are gathered, is the group entryway into the grotto at the location where Christ was born. We were in a group of five, so they let us come in the left side - much faster. Under an altar in this grotto, there is a star with fourteen points, at the side where Christ came into the world. Tourists prostrate themselves, kiss the star, then look up and smile so that their friends can get a picture of them with the star so that they can go home and show it to all of their friends. I decided to take the more spiritual approach and kiss the star while contemplating the mystery of the Incarnation, to respect the spot as the spot where God was made man, rather than the spot I would be next to in a picture. A few feet from this altar is small stone box built into the wall of the grotto, the manger in which Christ was born. Attached to the main church area is a Franciscan extension of the church with a beautiful traditional altar and pews. There are stairs that lead into the grottoes that commemorate the innocent children slaughtered by Herod after the birth of Christ.

6) This is a church at the Shepherd's field, where the angels appeared to the shepherds and directed them to the nativity. There is a beautiful fountain nearby and a church inside of a shepherd's cave. In this building, there are three paintings, one of the shepherds trembling at the appearance of the angels, one of the shepherds at the nativity, and another of the shepherds rejoicing for having been able to be acquainted with God Incarnate.

I'm about five days behind. I'll try to catch up, but at least now you have something to look at.