Just fancy, I have been able to walk over the same roads that Our Lord traversed on His last journey, to Calvary, after his short life upon earth.  I think I told you some years ago of a book I had read ‘In the footsteps of the master’ by HV Morton.  It was a lovely book, and after reading it I felt I would like to visit the Holy Land. I would strongly advise you to read it if ever you get the opportunity, and it will give you a better account of what there is to see here than I can.  I cannot say how thrilled I feel when I think to myself, as I traverse these narrow, steep, cobbled streets of the city, and the steep winding paths outside the walls, that I am walking in His footsteps.  The thought keeps recurring in my mind, and I feel closer to Him since I came here than ever.  Am I not very fortunate to have been afforded this wonderful opportunity?

You have probably heard about the Via Dolorosa along which Christ carried the Cross.  I will now describe it as I saw it on that sweltering hot day that I climbed it.  As you are aware, Our Lord was taken to the Roman, Pontius Pilate for judgement, at the Praetorium, Ist Station. In the times of Our Lord, the Praetorium was a large fortress that covered some few acres, now however it is no more, and the site of it is now occupied by lots of buildings, one of which is now a Police Barrack, stands on the spot where Jesus was condemned to death.  This is on the left side of the street, and is reached by going up some steps, into a courtyard above.  This is the place where the procession starts from each Friday, and finishes at the Holy Sepulchre, The Stations of the Cross.  Leaving this and proceeding up the street a few yards, we come to a Convent of the Sisters of Zion.  A knock on the door and a small, lovely little nun answers it and offers to show us round.  There is a pretty little basilica inside, built around the arch of the Ecce Homo – “Behold the Man.”  This is the original arch of the time of Our Lord, and it was here that Jesus was shown to the people by Pontius Pilate when he exclaimed in Latin; “Ecce Homo”.  The arch is still in a great state of preservation and has only been discovered in recent years, during excavations which brought to light the courtyard where Jesus set out on His last journey with the Cross.  This courtyard is reached by descending a flight of stone steps, though it was an open courtyard in those days.  It is beneath the Convent, and large stone piers in the courtyard support the building above.  The paving stones of this crypt are the actual ones of the Praetorium, and there are, traced upon the flagstones, Roman games, where the nun suggested that the soldiers may have played as Our Lord was stripped of His clothes and garbed in purple mantle, and crowned with thorns, and suffered other indignities.  It seemed such a wonderful thing to me, as I stood upon these flagstones beneath the Convent, that Our Lord Himself had trod upon them Himself, when he set out from here with the heavy Cross upon His shoulders.  At the far end of the crypt, and under the Via Dolorosa, was a lovely mosaic depicting Our Lord carrying the Cross, and this is the 2^nd Station.  There were lots of marble plaques let into the wall, very like those so common in France, and in fact most continental churches, only these contained the names of pilgrims that had passed this way.  I forgot to say that the flagstones were in a great state of preservation, worn smooth, but perfectly level.

Leaving this building, after purchasing the two pairs of babies shoes for my little daughters, and proceeding up the hill, we pass on our left the Church of the Flagellation, and a Chapel of Scourging, where a column of scourging is shown.  It was here that the crown of thorns was placed on His head.  It may all seem very confusing, and I must explain that the area where all these incidents occurred is very small, only a few paces separating each spot, though we had to traverse many passages etc. to reach them today.

The road goes downhill now and at the foot there is an Armenian Church which marks the 3^rd & 4^th Stations, called Our Lady of the Spasm.  It was at this spot that Jesus fell for the first time, and where He met His Mother.  Turning to the left and then to the right a few yards on, we come to a small chapel on the corner, the 5^th Station, where Simon the Cyrenian took the Cross from Christ and carried it on.  Unfortunately, both the Armenian and this little chapel were closed, so I couldn’t visit them this day.The road goes uphill again, a  few minutes walk, and on the left hand side we come to the 6^th Station, the house of St Veronica, who, when Christ passed by, wiped the sweat from his brow, whereby an imprint of His features remained on the cloth.  There is a small chapel quite close, but it was closed also.  At this point I could not find the 7^th Station, so I proceeded up the hill where I came to a Russian Church in the interior of which can be seen traces of an ancient wall and gateway.  I am told that the discovery of these conclusively proved that the Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre were outside the walls of Jerusalem at that time, a point that was for centuries the subject of much controversy.  There were some beautiful paintings on the wall inside depicting the last events in the life of Our Lord.  The gateway is very old, and has probably been re-built over the site of a previous one, and it is believed that Jesus went through it, to Calvary.  The stones which formed the threshold are preserved behind an iron grill.  There were also some very pretty icons exhibited depicting Our Lady and the Saviour