Holy Sepulchre

The anointing stone where Jesus was prepared for burial.

The facade of Holy Sepulchre.  2 minute walk from our hotel.  A few us us would go right when it opened in the morning and no one else was there.  It was great to be alone in there to pray.

Walking into the actual tomb of Jesus, there is this piece of the stone that covered the tomb.

Calvary.  You can see the bedrock to the right under glass.  They quarried a lot of it out when they built the shrine around it.  The altar next to the rock is a place you can crawl underneath.  There is a hole where you can put your hand and arm in and touch the stone where Jesus' cross stood, and pray.  When I prayed for all your intentions, I took them here, to the foot of Jesus' cross, many times.  So know that Jesus has all those intentions now and have peace about them.

When Jesus died there was an earthquake.  Here you can see where the earthquake spilt the rock on Calvary.  This is an area next to the altar you crawl under.

Going in to Jesus' tomb.  I don't think I have any pictures of the actual tomb room.  But the slab where Jesus lay, and was risen again from, is inside.  You can go in and pray for a minute or two and touch the slab. I was very lucky in that one morning I happened to be there and the catholic mass was starting, said in Italian.  The consecration is done on the small altar over the slab and the rest of us stay in the adjacent area just outside.  It is a tiny area.  It was very special for me to receive the body and blood of Christ inside His tomb.

Also we Catholics have to share this church with other religions, like the Greeks and Armenians.  It is really hard to get into the tomb area because everyone wants to get in there.  I was grateful I was able to wake up so early and go a lot.

The dome above the tomb.

The tomb itself.  They built the shrine around it and then built the larger church around that.

A side chapel area dedicated to Mary Magdalene.