DAY  10
Saturday, 16 January
We had breakfast in our rooms, and then made the short trip to Nazareth, which, until the beginning of this century, was a small village--during the time of Christ, it wasn’t even a spot on the map. Our first stop was the Church of the Annunciation—the largest church in the country. Carved into the limestone façade are the words “Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae,” and below the inscription “Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis.” The left side bears the Scriptural proclamation “Ait Dominus ad serpentem ipsa conteret capum tuum et tu insidiaberis calcaneo eius;” the right “Ecce Virgo concipiet et pariet filium et vocabitur nomen eius Emmanuel.”
The Church of the Annunciation was the first church ever built by Israelis (1969), but there have been churches on this spot since 427 A.D. The earliest church fell into ruin; it was rebuilt by the Crusaders, destroyed by the Marmelukes and rebuilt in 1750 by a Bedouin prince. The bronze entrance doors tell the story of Jesus; the left door registering tales from the Hebrew Scriptures; the right from the Christian Scriptures. Above are the symbols of the four evangelists, and looking straight through one can see the cross given as a gift by the Israeli workers. Inside it is dark, but colored light filters through the stained glass.The center is open, and we see below us the grotto containing the remnants of the house where the angel Gabriel  appeared to Mary. The upper level is “Mary’s Church,” where the walls are lined with mosaics, paintings and sculptures of Mary created in the style of and donated by various countries.
On the left, a mosaic donated by the people of Japan; on the right, a painting donated by the people of Spain. The Spanish painting features Saint Francis kneeling before Mary, wearing the shell and carrying the staff that symbolic of a pilgrim visiting the shrine of Saint James in Compostela. The banner atop the painting bears the inscription "Tu eres el honor de nuestro pueblo"--"You are the honor of our people."
The center of the dome is open, and light streams from the top to the grotto below. The altar is a painting of Jesus with Peter, surrounded by all of the Popes who have had a special devotion to Mary through the ages; above them are the words “Unam, Sanctam, Catholicam Ecclesiam.”
The painting behind the main altar shows Jesus with Peter and all of the popes who have had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. Mary is behind Jesus to the left.
The grotto in the Church of the Annunciation. Behind the gate are the ruins of Mary's home, where the angel Gabriel appeared to her to ask her to be the Mother of God.
Throughout the church, there are holes in the floor where pillars were never placed; this is done purposely, to symbolize the hole in which the cross was placed, since the end and purpose of the Incarnation is the salvific death and resurrection of Jesus.  The back wall of the church depicts the Last Supper. The entire church is dome shaped, like a crown, in honor of the Queen of Heaven. Outside is a bronze sculpture of the Annunciation with the inscription “To Jesus’ mother, from (a name I could not decipher), for conciliation, peace and harmony in South Africa”.
The bronze statue of the Annunication outside of the church, dedicated to Mary for peace in Africa.
I visited many churches during my stay in Israel, but this one left the greatest impression upon me. It was not the grandest or most awe-inspiring structure I was to see, but it was the most gentle; the entire place was filled with small, homey, loving and lovely tributes, in much the same way a home will be filled with the little gifts that children give their mother. It was familial, intimate and sweet, composite of the profoundly simple childlike trust that offers its smallest and greatest cares to one who cares for the smallest and greatest with equal affection.