As part of a pilgrimage operated by Bethlehem Handicrafts, around 30 pilgrims from Our Lady of the Plains, a Catholic church in Byers, Colorado visited almost every holy site in the Holy Land.
In addition of having a guide with them all the time and a photographer, George Bannoura, co-owner of Bethlehem Handicrafts, and his family joined them throughout the whole trip.
When they went to the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu where Jesus spent His last night before the Crucifixion, they got an emotional surprise they weren't expecting.
Read Now: 10 Bible Verses About Acceptance
When they were downstairs examining the serenity and holiness of the place, something happened that had them all in awe.
Julianne Bannoura, daughter of George, had prepared a bible passage from Psalms. Suddenly, she came through the group, and started reading these soul-stirring bible verses that had few pilgrims in tears.
Neale and Littledale find the 88th psalm from the Book of Psalms "stands alone in all the Psalter for the unrelieved gloom, the hopeless sorrow of its tone. Even the very saddest of the others, and the Lamentations themselves, admit some variations of key, some strains of hopefulness; here only all is darkness to the close.
Psalm 88:
O Lord, my God, by day I cry out,
at night I clamor in your presence.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my call for help,
For my soul is surfeited with troubles
and my life draws near to the nether world.
I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;
I am a man without strength.
My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom you remember no longer
and who are cut off from your care.
You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into the dark abyss.
Upon me your wealth lies heavy,
and with all your billows you overwhelm me.
You have taken my friends away from me;
you have made me an abomination to them;
I am imprisoned, and I cannot escape.
My eyes have grown dim through affliction;
daily I call upon you; O Lord;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
Do they declare your kindness in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are you wonders made known in the darkness,
or you justice in the land of oblivion?
But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you,
Why, O Lord, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
I am afflicted and in agony from my youth;
I am dazed with the burden of your dread,
Your furies have swept over me;
your terrors have cut me off.
They encompass me like water all the day,
on all side they close in upon me.
Companion and neighbor you have taken from me;
my only friend is darkness.
Join one of our 2018/2019/2020 upcoming pilgrimages and to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, visit the Holy Land, and get the chance to visit our workshop, to watch how our olive wood products are made!
Bethlehem Handicrafts: The Holy Land experience you’ll never forget.
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