“Stay here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:36-39).

We begin this day with a ride the Mt. of Olives, a prominent site in the life of Jesus.  Here Jesus taught his pupils, and where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and where Jesus says “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” (Matthew 26:36-39). We gain a panoramic view of the old City of Jerusalem from the top of the mountain and visit the place of the Ascension, Pater Noster (commemorating the “Our Father”), Dominus Flevit, (where Jesus wept over Jerusalem). At the foot of the mountain, stands the Church of All Nations in the Garden of Gethsemane. Thereafter we stop at the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount.

We enjoy lunch on our own then we visit Mt Zion, also called Sion, in Old Testament.  Several important events in the early Christian Church have taken place on Mount Zion.  We visit the Upper Room commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples, and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. We continue onto the Church of the Dormition of Our Lady The location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died — or “fell asleep.” Finally, we visit the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, (Latin for ‘cockcrow’) The church is located on the site of the house of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was taken after His arrest. It was there in the courtyard that Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, as Jesus predicted. The church is contemporary and has beautiful stained glass and murals depicting Peter’s denial, his immediate repentance, and his later reconciliation with Jesus after the Resurrection. back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B.D)