Shalom

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I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
And now our feet are standing
within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city,
walled round about.
There the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
As it was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
There are the thrones of justice,
the thrones of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
“May those who love you prosper!”
May peace be within your ramparts,
prosperity within your towers.”
For the sake of our kin and friends we say,
“Peace be with you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord, our God,
I pray for your good (Psalm 122).



I begin with the words of the psalmist, who is celebrating the ascent into the city of Jerusalem. The words convey the sense of peace and joy that can be found in this ever ancient, ever new city. As I have mentioned in some of my other posts, Jerusalem is a complex and often tension-filled city. However, there is also great beauty and occasionally peace. I was blessed to experience intense feelings of peace, of shalom, of the real presence of God a couple times today. The first was after receiving the Eucharist at Mass; I was overcome with the goodness of God. The second came much more unexpectedly as I stood atop the ramparts looking toward the Temple Mount with Dormition Abbey just behind me. These moments of grace, unearned blessings from God above, continue to draw me closer to Our Heavenly Father and more willing to offer my own fiat to whatever His will may be for my life.

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Photos

Abraham's Chidren
Dome of the Rock, Western Wall, Church Steeples in the Background

View of the Suq from above
The suq, or marketplace, is a series of hundreds of tiny shops located along of a maze of winding alleyways through the Old City.

The Suq
Can you hear the myriad of voices?

Suq
Can you smell the meats, the spices, the candies?