![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.livingstonespilgrimage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/DSC_0262-e1509051949504-201x300.jpg\")
Sister Mary Marguerite<\/p><\/div>\n
She made the connection between two very important churches that were built, first in Byzantine times and again later during the Crusader years, directly over this first century home. She let us draw the conclusion that we might well be looking into the very home where Jesus was raised\u2014the word she used was “nourished”\u2014by Mary and Joseph.<\/p>\n
Below the level where Crusader Church steps were found, Sister showed us an opening in the stone which led to a cavity that exuded odors that seemed like those that may be the result of perfumes used in the preparation of a body for burial \u2013 showing that this might have been the burial place of family members from the adjacent home. (A location made possible by the solid rock wall between the home and the downhill tomb.)<\/p>\n
Descending deeper we saw rooms that may have been used for preparation and others for burial of bodies.\u00a0 She showed us a round stone, one of the 9 to 12 known round stones that once sealed tombs in Israel\/Palestine. \u00a0She demonstrated how one could try to roll the stone away from an opening.\u00a0 She told us that she is 87 and I could be her baby brother at 83.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.livingstonespilgrimage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/fullsizeoutput_ac44-201x300.jpeg\")
Jerry Gray and Sister Mary Marguerite<\/p><\/div>\n
The International Center of Mary is maintained a religious community, the Chemin Neuf, from France.\u00a0 Sister Mary Beatrice was our tour guide; she also showed us early homes hewn from rock.\u00a0 She showed us one of the International Center for Mary\u2019s educational videos explaining how the Quran reveres Mary \u2013 the only woman in the Quran whose first name is given. After the video, Sister Beatrice took us to the beautiful Sky Chapel with paintings of Jesus, the Holy Family, and Disciples. She explained the icons that emphasize how in Jesus, God made the ordinary holy.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.livingstonespilgrimage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/fullsizeoutput_abba-300x201.jpeg\")
Jerry and Sister Beatrice<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
26 October 2017, by Jerry Gray After seeing the Basilica of the Annunciation this afternoon, we went deep underground to the level of homes at the time that Jesus lived on earth.\u00a0 Our guide at the Sisters of Nazareth Monastery … Continue reading