A Savior Has Been Born !
Posted on 12/25/2010 1:25:59 AM PST by Salvation
Pilgrims were assembling around the Church of the Nativity, built on the site where tradition holds Jesus was born, for prayers Saturday morning.
The Israeli military put the number of pilgrims this year at over 100,000, compared to about 50,000 last year.
--snip
Only one-third of Bethlehem's 50,000 residents are Christian, down from about 75 percent in the 1950s. The rest are Muslims.
(Excerpt) Read more at fresnobee.com ...
Where do you go when you’re trying to figure it out what it all means? I’d love to go to Bethlehem.
...”I’d love to go to Bethlehem”...
That so many more people are going there this year speaks to the heart of Man’s dilemma on this earth..Suffering is real and is very much a part of this present life, even for the most privileged, though it will not cross into eternity. The evil we may experience now, some, if not most at the hands of cruel rulers, may seem like the norm, but it is not the standard of our final divine purpose and the dance of good and evil will last as long our earthly pilgrimage does. God is in control of both and the folks going to Bethlehem know this. The babe in the manger speaks hope of eternal life with the Heavenly father in that new eternal creation where all is just and evil does not exist.
Me too! What a pilgrimage that would be!
**That so many more people are going there this year speaks to the heart of Man’s dilemma on this earth..Suffering is real and is very much a part of this present life, even for the most privileged**
Like I said above — people are searching. There is something almost haunting about Christmas — and most of the world does not even understand!
Christ, our Savior, born in Bethlehem is our ONE and ONLY hope in this world.
Merry Christmas.
The pilgrims are simply following His star. It’s light is our beacon, our hope, our salvation. Alleluia. Christ is Born!
My husband and I had the wonderful privilege of going there on a pilgrimage in September!!! We went with a very dear priest friend of ours and 23 others in our group. I am still trying to process everything we saw, did, etc. So much to absorb and digest......they kept us busy (understandably) on the tour, so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to sit and reflect at each and every place we went...which is why we are now just beginning to truly realize what we experienced while there. One place was just as moving and memorable as the next - but if I absolutely had to choose -there are two things which really moved me extremely - the Church of the Annunciation - where Mary said her “Yes” - because that’s really where it all started - and when my husband and I had the awesome privilege of carrying the cross from the 2nd to the 3rd Station - on the Way of the Cross. Also - mass at the Tomb at 6am...on and on - see - it’s so hard to choose which one place was a favorite. Anyway - if you EVER get the chance to go there on a pilgrimage - please try to do so. What a different perspective I now have while reading the scriptures!!!
**What a different perspective I now have while reading the scriptures!!!**
This is so true from my experience too. I went on a pilgrimage to Eastern Europe and was totally changed as I grew closer to God that I realized was possible.
I still reflect on many of the sites I visited.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.