Church Of The Nativity

I bought a few candles, lit them as prayers, and stood in line to go down into the grotto. As I stood there I thought of all the candle smoke soaked into the walls and ceiling and of all the prayers lifted up on that place. As I was getting into the spirituality of it all, an argument broke out between two groups ahead of me in line about which group was next to go down into the grotto.

Oh, well! People are people!

Of the numerous churches/holy sites that I visited this was my favorite.

The church itself (despite overly elaborate decorations inside) is the most quaint, personal place. We visited while there was brilliant light shining through the upper windows. This was a very moving time for me…