Dan Allen ’07, ’11 M.Div.
Spirituality Program Director, Notre Dame Alumni Association

This morning gave new meaning to the phrase, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Our day began very early with a 4 a.m. departure. Normally, I would not be very amenable to this, but we had good reasons. We began in the Old City of Jerusalem and prayed along the Via Dolorosa, remembering the final scenes in Jesus’ life as we made our way up and down the stone streets, through narrow passageways and high stone walls. Carrying a cross along with us, different people took turns every few stations as we bore the symbol of Christ’s sacrifice and our salvation. Because it was so early, the streets of the Old City were not at all crowded, and it gave us a chance to experience our prayer with one another in an intimate way.

We then arrived at the Holy Sepulchre. In many ways, this was the culmination of our pilgrimage since this church houses both Calvary and Jesus’ tomb of resurrection. Climbing the stairs to Calvary, a hushed silence fell upon our group. We indeed were standing on holy ground. Even early in the morning, many people were gathered there, and it took a fair amount of time for each of us to make our way to the designated place of prayer.

It reminded me, as we gazed upon the art of Jesus’ crucifixion on the wall, of those who waited at the foot of the cross as Jesus suffered through his final hours. The soldiers, religious leaders, and a faithful remnant of Jesus’ followers were there. To which group would I have belonged? Would I have been too afraid to be there at all?

Approaching the altar over the rock of Calvary, each person must kneel to access a small hole in the floor. Upon reaching down, pilgrims are able to touch the rocky surface underneath that is said to have supported the cross. The many hands and prayers of pilgrims stretch across the centuries, and we had our opportunity today to join in that band of believers. Jesus died for each one of us, and our gratitude for this gift was even more profound as we visited the hill of sacrifice.

Also in the church near the entrance lies a flat stone slab called the Stone of Anointing. The tradition is that this is the stone where the Lord was anointed for burial. The mural behind depicts the scene in detail. Tender hands anoint Christ’s limp, broken body as tears of sorrow mingle with blood poured out for our sins. We knelt to touch our hands to the place, the cold stone a reflection of the emptiness Jesus’ followers must have felt as they laid him dead in a tomb.

Solemnly, we finally traveled to the site of that tomb and experienced a moment none of us will ever forget. There, where the flame of everlasting life first flickered into the world, we were able to celebrate the morning Mass with our group. Our voices raised to heaven as many tears fell to the floor in thanksgiving for the chance to pray together in this most sacred place. And even though we were still in Lent, we followed the customary practice at many Holy Land sites and read the readings associated with that place. Thus, we had an extra early Easter Mass. We felt that joy in our hearts typically unique to the Paschal Feast, and it was even more pronounced given where we were.

After Mass, we were first in line to go inside the structure called the edicule

 which houses some of the remaining stones of the original tomb. Each of us knelt once more in the innermost room to touch, kiss, or reverence another slab of stone over the place where Jesus was laid and then rose from the dead. In my experience, it felt like entering another kind of Holy of Holies, a true wellspring of our salvation.

In Luke’s account of the resurrection, the angels say to the women at the tomb, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?” He is not here, but he has been raised.” As we prepare to return home from the Holy Land, our prayer is that our lives will be rededicated to seeking the living one, our Lord Jesus Christ, in all people and circumstances in which he comes to us. May our eyes be opened to recognize him wherever he appears!