Blogger doesn't seem to want to publish the last portion of my previous post, so on the chance that it's a length problem, here's how the previous post was supposed to end.
Some things, however, look about as you'd expect. St. Jerome's tomb-- and the office he made for himself as he was working on the Vulgate Bible-- are in the cave complex right under the site of the Nativity. You always picture him living in a cave, but the dark black tunnels with bears hibernating at the end of them that I envisioned are nothing like the numerous white-rock cave complexes of that region of Israel. It turns out not to be very unusual that the Holy Family had to stay in a cave --many people made their homes in caves --the caves had multiple rooms and grottoes, so you could have living quarters for humans and other rooms to stable animals.
And the Shepherds Field, where the angels announced the Good News, has a church on the site, but is still a vast field adjoining a cave complex that allows you to envision conditions at the time of Christ. You go to the Church of the Nativity to celebrate Mass and to put your hand (or your kiss) on the spot where the Lord was born. If you close your eyes and strip away all the Byzantine ornament, you can sense the miraculous little baby beside you. But in a way the Shepherd's Field is more satisfying to the senses. You want Bethlehem to be pristine, simple, uncomplicated and --especially to those with Latin-rite sensibilities-- all the ornamentation seems jarring. Gradually you become accustomed to this; I even started to be grateful to the Crusaders who preserved all the holy places from destruction and to the Byzantine custodians. But it takes a little effort to find Jesus amid all the tributes to him.
If you're interested in knowing more about Bethlehem, the way Christmas is celebrated there, and Rachel's tomb, which is now closed but in the city limits, go to the site of the Bethlehem Franciscans.
Some things, however, look about as you'd expect. St. Jerome's tomb-- and the office he made for himself as he was working on the Vulgate Bible-- are in the cave complex right under the site of the Nativity. You always picture him living in a cave, but the dark black tunnels with bears hibernating at the end of them that I envisioned are nothing like the numerous white-rock cave complexes of that region of Israel. It turns out not to be very unusual that the Holy Family had to stay in a cave --many people made their homes in caves --the caves had multiple rooms and grottoes, so you could have living quarters for humans and other rooms to stable animals.
And the Shepherds Field, where the angels announced the Good News, has a church on the site, but is still a vast field adjoining a cave complex that allows you to envision conditions at the time of Christ. You go to the Church of the Nativity to celebrate Mass and to put your hand (or your kiss) on the spot where the Lord was born. If you close your eyes and strip away all the Byzantine ornament, you can sense the miraculous little baby beside you. But in a way the Shepherd's Field is more satisfying to the senses. You want Bethlehem to be pristine, simple, uncomplicated and --especially to those with Latin-rite sensibilities-- all the ornamentation seems jarring. Gradually you become accustomed to this; I even started to be grateful to the Crusaders who preserved all the holy places from destruction and to the Byzantine custodians. But it takes a little effort to find Jesus amid all the tributes to him.If you're interested in knowing more about Bethlehem, the way Christmas is celebrated there, and Rachel's tomb, which is now closed but in the city limits, go to the site of the Bethlehem Franciscans.
