ADVENT

Today I went to the dormition church twice. It was so absolutely wonderful there. The benedictine monks prepared a beautiful holy mass in the morning. They always sing in gregorian style and seem very interiorized and focused on God.

Today the abbot said "prepare yourself for the coming of Christ. Awake. Don't sleep. Jesus comes like a thief in the night. So be awake. Be aware. Be conscious. Realize that Jesus resides in you and in the person that is next to you. And when there are times that you do not feel Gods presence, don't try to cover this feeling of emptyness not even with being overly active in a humanitarian way. Confront your emptyness and go inside. Look for God. He is present. Even if we do not feel it...."

I feel grateful that I had a chance to listen to these words and songs. They help me to stay focused on God... And I am happy to bring more and more people to the dormition church, which is one of my favorite ones in Jerusalem. The crypt of Mother Mary in the lower church is really magnificent and the less people and visitors are there the easier it is to connect with Mary and Jesus and God there. It has a wonderful atmosphere and I wish you all will have a chance to see it, once.

There are also two pictures on my website www.faces-of-israel.blogspot.com of the "red mother mary and the tomb of mary".