The Jersey City news., 1890-01-20
THE HOLY Land SHRINES
Mgr. Seton's Interesting
Journey Into the His
toriC East.
THE STABLE AT BETHLEHEM
The Dead Sea, the River of Jordan
and the City of Jericho.

st. Peters Roman Catholic Church wa
crowded last night by an audience gath
cred to hear Mgr. Seton lecture on hi
travels in the Holy Land. Promptly q
eight o'clock, escorted by score o
acolyte, alter boys and four priests. tht
reverand gentleman came from the YES
try and ascended the steps to the portable
platform, from which he delivered hi
lecture.
"Shrines of the Holy Land' was The
subject, and DR.. Seton talked nearly one
hour and a half on it in very interesting
manner.
'sMy dear friends" said he, ''in re-
sponse to request of our very reverend
father will tell you about some things
that saw in the Holy Land, and why Sc
many are ambitious to make a pilg rimage
there. 1t is because of the sacTedness OF
the ground and the shrines erected there.
Nearly always the pilgrim returns from
there to his home filed with regret that
his investigation had not been more COM
plete.
PILGRIM SHELLS.
sit is the Holy Land. 1t is made sacred
by having been trodden by the feet OF
Christ and bathed with His tears. This
Holy Land is now torn and distracted by
dissensionS.
The pilgrim visiting it usually lands at
the seaport town of Japtha which is
forty miles from Jerusalem. In good
weather there is no more exquisite site
in the world. 1t is delightful to walk along
the seashore, watching the fishes jump
from the water, ana to gather the beauti-
full shells that are continually washed
on the beach by the waves. These shells
are called pilgrim shells, and they were
given for decorations by courts to men OF
valor and wisdom. When in the early
days pilgrims visited the Holy Land
they brought home with them some
shells which they wore in remembrance
of their journey-of devotion. Travelling
from Japtha to Jerusalem is easy and is
done by carriage. Soon suppose a rail-
road will be built and thereby destroy
much of the poetry and romance of the
journey. 1t will be then practical and
not poetical journey. The traveller will
miss the blossoms and flowers that
mountain and through valleys to Jeru-
salem, 3490 feet above tide level
Sly MILES A FOOT TO THE sEPULCHRE.
''In making this journey it has long
been the custom to desert the wagon
when six miles from Jerusalem, and
walk to the Holy Sepulchre. The city
is not now in the hands of Catholics; the
l.
forced to pay for the privilege of visit
ing the Holy Shrines. This is the result
of the nine crusades made after Constan-
tine became Christian"
DR.. Seton here briefly gave a sketch
of the twelfth and thirteenth GEN.
7tnries and then he resumed
his theme by saying:-"The church
of the Holy Sepulchre dates back to 1,125,
and the beautifully carved stones of
which it is constructed were carved by
French, English and German Catholics.
A shrine is erected over the stones which
closed the tomb where Christ lay and
which was rolled away when he willed it.
The franciscan monks paid $4,000 pieces
of gold 1877 years ago to prevent the Turks
from molesting the Holy Sepulchre, and
they have since jealously guarded the
stone, and have erected the Chapel of
Angels on the spot where 1t was rolled
away.
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.
'sThe Mount of Olives has convent ON
it built by the French Carmelite nuns. 1t
is near Mohamedan mosque. | said
mass at the convent. Leaving there our
party passed on to the River of Jordan
and Jericho. WhenI gazed on the Dead
Sea was much impressed by the sight.
Not ripple appeared on its surface, not
living thing was in the water. not a
sound came from the sea and all seemed
dead. None but those Yho have seen this
sea can realize it's awfAl quiet.
THE RIVER JORDAN.
when at the river Jordan said mass
1t is beautiful river, and along it's
hanks is a continuous bower of roses and
flowers, showing what irrigation would
do for the country. / also drank of the
water of the Fountain of the Prophet
Elisha which he sweetened. and which
today is the sweetest and purest water I
ever tasted. The journey from Jerusa-
lem to Bethlehem is between eight and
twelve miles. In this city was pleased
to see that, excepting 300 Greeks and
about twenty Turks, the population was
Catholic The city has many beautiful
shrines, and where the stable stood where
Jesus was born there are seven shrines.
THE STABLE AT BETHLEHEM
1.-THE first one was built in 1717 by
French consul In exactly the place
where the manger stood an altar has
been erected, and it is scarcely necessary
for me to say that every pilgrim worships
there ct least once"
Dr. Seton described the shrine at the
Grotto of the Shepherd where the angels
announced to the shepherds the good |
tidings of the birth of Jesus, and then |
said that Nazareth was also a Catholic |
city. 1t was beautiful city and had |
been blessed by the Saviour, for it was |
filed with flowers and not q reptile or |
anything existed to cause trouble or an
noyance. There, where the Arch Angel |
Gabriel stood, had been erected chapel. |
Where Jesus distributed the loaves and |
fishes chapel had been built by a prin- |
cess, where the Monsignor said mass. He |
also said he drank from the same spring |
from which the water that Christ changed |
to wine was taken.
DR.. Seton said Mount Carmel was for
300 years in possession of the Turks, but |
that in 1916 the kings of France and |
Spain succeeded in having chapel built |
there.
The lecture was given in the aid of the |
orphans of st. Peters parish, under the
auspices of St. Vincent de Paul's So