By Silvia Holgado
March 4th, 2022
Photo by Eddie & Carolina Stigson, Unsplash
Every pilgrim who comes to the Holy Land can have a spiritual experience of the concrete experiences-we would almost say physical- that Jesus Christ lived here. One of the most interesting is precisely that “ascent to Jerusalem.”
The visit to the site of His Baptism, even with the possibility of immersing oneself in the river, recalls and rekindles the faith of baptism itself. It´s convenient to remember that Our Lord chose to place himself in the line of sinners, in the lowest place on earth, the Jordan valley.
Our Lord chose to place himself in the line of sinners, in the lowest place on earth, the Jordan valley.
From there, the pilgrim ascends through a desert landscape, continually climbing and following the route of the ancient passers-by from the time of Jesus for the provision of water, next to Nahal Og, until reaching Jerusalem. Who has not felt like this sometimes, continually climbing through a desert landscape?
Halfway there, he will find the memory of one of the most beautiful parables of the Gospel, the Site of the Good Samaritan. Precisely a man traveled this road in reverse, from Jerusalem to Jericho. The site, located in an ancient inn from the Herodian era, still preserves a large cistern, remains of buildings from that time, and remains of a Byzantine church with beautiful mosaics. But above all, the pilgrim will be able to remember here that on the path of life (which many times can be so desert-like and beaten), there is a Good Samaritan who has healed our wounds, Jesus Christ.
on the path of life (which many times can be so desert-like and beaten), there is a Good Samaritan who has healed our wounds, Jesus Christ.
Following the ascent, he reaches the Holy City through the Bethpage area. He begins the memory of the holy days, days in which Jerusalem lives a sacred mystery, as the place of the most solemn events in salvation history.