
After the Mass some of us walked to what is called now Mt Zion. In the Old Testament Mt Zion was another name for the Temple Mount where the Jewish temple once stood. However when the Temple was destroyed by Romans in 70 AD the Christians started congregating where Jesus had his Last Supper and where the Apostles received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. In this way they wanted to highlight that God was present now with is New People the Church. When we got there we went to sped some tie praying in the Upper Room of the Last Supper. Unfortunately it is not allowed to say Mass there at present but still I was at awe reflecting that in this room Jesus gave his Church the Eucharist and the Priesthood. As a priest myself I was overwhelmed standing where these two events which constitute who I am took place.
After this moving time we went for a walk to visit a Christian cemetery where Oscar Shindler is buried. I guess most of us are familiar with his efforts to save many Jews during the World War II. The story was presented in the movie called “Shindler’s list.” The rocks on his grave are the Jewish expression of gratitude for what he did. In our tradition we place flowers and candles on the grave of our loved ones, Jews place rocks. A rock is a symbol of eternity and firmness and these are the qualities of the memory of the living. From the practical point of view in this dry and extremely hot environment no one can expect flowers to last longer than for a couple of hours.