The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering) it is held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to crucifixion. It is currently marked by fifteen stations of the Cross. It is very common to see a procession re-enacting the scene (most with far less whipping and kicking than was show by Mel Gibson) we saw several, many with simple or even elaborate props... we also discovered we could have bought a crown of thorns and rented a cross if we had liked.... The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is quite a crowded but wonderful place shared between several Christian churches and secular entities in complicated arrangements essentially unchanged for centuries, all happening in front of throngs of picture snapping tourists...
My parents used to lovingly refer to me as their " little rolly polly cross to bear". I always thought it meaant that if a bear tryed to attack us, that I should get cross with it and save them.
ReplyDeleteWow your parents were preparing you as bear bait even as a child...
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