Holy Week is the most solemn, and meaningful, time of the
year for Catholics. For centuries, Catholics have reenacted the events of Holy
Week in homage to Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice for us.
A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting the sites of Holy
Week, is an incredible way to connect deeply in prayer to Jesus. Below, you
will see a brief breakdown of how modern-day Pilgrims (like early Christians
before them) who are “literally” following in Jesus’s footsteps, remembering
Holy Week, and Christ’s Passion in the very places where it took place:
Palm Sunday
On Palm Sunday, Jesus made His
triumphant entrance into Jerusalem while
riding a donkey. He was welcomed by crowds who worshiped Him and laid down
palms before Him, before making His way to Bethany where
he raised Lazarus from the dead.
Tour 111
visits Jerusalem and Bethany on Day 7.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, from the Mt. of Olives, Jesus
looked out over Jerusalem and spoke to his Disciples of the imminent
destruction that would befall the city. Dominus
Flevit is a Church that now sits
on the Mt. of Olives, commemorating the spot where Jesus wept for the city of
Jerusalem. On Tuesday night, Judas conspires to betray Jesus.
Tour 111
visits Mt. of Olives and Dominus Flevit on Day 8.
Holy Thursday
On Holy Thursday, Jesus and his
Disciples celebrate the Last Supper in the Upper
Room on Mt. Zion. At night, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane
and prays in agony, alone, before his arrest. The Garden sits at the
foot of the Mount of Olives, and still contains trees whose roots date back to
the time of Jesus. Now, the Church of All
Nations stands over the Rock of Agony.
He was then taken to the house of
the High Priest, Caiaphas, where He was examined and eventually imprisoned.
This is now the site of the
Church of St. Peter
in Gallicantu as it commemorates
Peter’s denial of Christ (three times) and Jesus’ forgiveness.
Tour 111
visits the Upper Room on Mt. Zion, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All
Nations (Rock of Agony), and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (House of
Caiaphas) on Day 8.
Good Friday
On Good Friday, Jesus was condemned
to death by Pontius Pilate at the Antonia
Fortress. Pilgrims who visit the Holy Land walk the true Via Dolorosa, or, The Way of The Cross. The
starting point is the same as where Jesus’s Road
to Calvary began. The Stations of
the Cross has you traveling through the markets of the Old City. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the sacred
destination that is Calvary, Jesus’s
Crucifixion site, and His Tomb.
Tour 111
walks the Via Dolorosa on Day 9 ending in Mass at the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre.
Easter Sunday
On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from
the dead in the miracle of His Resurrection, and visited two of his Disciples
at what Luke describes as Emmaus.
What is now the Church of the Resurrection, in Abou
Gosh , it is believed to be the
site of Jesus’s Resurrection.
Tour 211
visits Emmaus on Day 10.
Labels: Holy Land, Holy Week, Jesus, Pilgrimage