On Wednesday, March 16, the Franciscans' Lenten pilgrimages to the holy places began in Jerusalem. The tradition of celebrating Mass in the places where the moments of Jesus' Passion took place dates back to the first centuries of the Christian era. Thus, every year, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land during the weeks of Lent animate these liturgies in anticipation of Easter. The small Church of Dominus Flevit, with a tear-shaped chapel, located halfway along the western slope of the Mount of Olives, recalls the Gospel episode in which Jesus wept for the future of Jerusalem. During Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, the crowds threw their cloaks on the road in front of him shouting, "Blessed is he who comes, the king, in the name of the Lord." Looking down on the city, Jesus wept over it prophesying its destruction. The solemn Mass was presided over by Brother Donaciano Paredes; measter of the Theology students of St. Savior Seminary, and was …More