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| Basilica of the Annunciation Nazareth, Israel |
“Here the Word became
flesh.” This phrase, carved on the front of the grotto altar of the Basilica of the
Annunciation in Nazareth, might sound familiar. Perhaps you’ve read it in the
Gospel of John (1:14), or recited it when praying the Angelus. Yet this
inscription isn’t exactly what you’ve read or recited. The word “hic”, or “here”,
has been added; and what a difference one word can make!
It was here at Nazareth, in this place now
sheltered by the Basilica of the Annunciation, that the angel Gabriel announced
to the Virgin Mary that she would be the mother of God. It was here that our God became incarnate, and it
is here that we begin our pilgrimage,
the same place Jesus began His.
After Mass and time
for personal prayer, our guide explained several characteristics of this sacred
place, including one often seen throughout the Holy Land—that of new buildings
raised on the ruins of the old. Several
churches have stood where Mary received this divine greeting, though conflict
and construction have altered all of them.
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| Grotto Altar in Basilica |
Besides building the
churches themselves, construction and excavation have unearthed invaluable
finds for science and the Faith, the most important being early Christian
graffiti. Phrases such as “Hail Mary” and “Holy woman M---“ (the full name is
missing) have been found scratched into pillars and rock, left behind by
believers. Such writing has been dated to the first few generations of
Christianity, and indicate this place as one of veneration and prayer since the
very beginning of our Faith. Being
present here truly connects us to our ancestors in the Faith.
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| Main Entrance to Basilica |
Megiddo, a short
distance from Nazareth, provided our next stop. Excavations there reveal
twenty-five layers of construction and nearly 4,000 years of continuous human
habitation. This city reached its zenith under Kings Solomon and Ahab, being a
center for trade and military stronghold.
Unexpectedly, our
last archaeological site for the day was beneath our very own lodgings, under
the Convent of the Sisters of Nazareth. This dig, discovered in the 1880’s, is called
the Tomb of the Just Man. It included another home from the first century AD also
claimed to be the home of the Holy Family. (Having multiple claims of such
sites isn’t uncommon in the Holy Land.) Yet the remarkable was found underneath
this home—a tomb. This would have been very unusual for Jews of the time, as
the dead were buried outside the city. This man buried here must have been
revered in some way, and the tradition has it that it was St. Joseph himself.
Our pilgrimage begins
with the Annunciation, with the family life of Jesus found beneath our churches
and under our feet, and with the earliest believers in the family of Faith we
call the Church. The Apostle John says it best in the opening of his first
letter: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we
proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Yes, truly we can say with the
inscription on the altar, “Here the Word became flesh.”