What is a Holy Site?
For many centuries pilgrims have come to the Holy Land, nourishing and strengthening their faith as they walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Prayer and contemplation of these mysteries of His Life, of His Passion and of His Resurrection have made holy these places where the mysteries are recalled. It is our prayer, that for all those who travel to the Holy Land, the Word of Scripture may come alive in them and remain a spring of living water.
A holy is not necessarily the historical site where a salvation event took place. Rather it is the place where, since the beginning, believers have remembered a particular event of salvation. For a Christian, a holy place is first of all linked to Tradition, to the handing down of the memory of salvation from one generation to another.
Faith calls us to go “beyond the stones”. The place is not meant to enclose the believer into a portion of space but rather to invite us to open and reread the Word of God and to make present a moment of the past when God acted in history.
Isn’t a holy place becoming authentic when it unites brothers and sisters together in listening to the Word of God, when it helps each pilgrim to live the mysteries of the life of God in ever greater depth? A holy site receives its soul from a community of faith and prayer which recalls an event of salvation, according to the testimony of Scriptures and Tradition.
At the heart of his pilgrimage, each one can acknowledge that it is human life as a whole that is meant to become holy.
Ecce Homo Basilica, second station of the Way of the Cross
Since the Crusaders, Christian tradition has placed the beginning of the Via Dolorosa in this area. We are situated at the second station of the Way of the Cross that we share with the Convent of the Flagellation. Here we recall Christ's suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers and his trial by Pontus Pilate. The name "Ecce Homo" refers to John 19:5
"Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate said to them: "Behold the Man".
A Basilica was erected in honour of the mysteries of the Passion that this place evokes: Jesus crowned with thorns, Jesus tried by Pontius Pilate in the paved yard, the Lithostrotos, Jesus presented to the crowd by Pilate with the words: Ecce Homo – Behold the Man. (Jn 19, 5) The consecration took place on April 1868. As Father Alphonse Marie Ratisbonne, founder of the community of the Sisters of Sion had wanted it, it entails the precious remains of the roman door called Ecce Homo Arch. On August 30th 1902, it was proclaimed as a minor Basilica by Pope Leon XIII.
Besides, on the pavement called Lithostrotos, some rests of the Roman games, the Game of the King can be seen. This enables to recall the scene reported in John’s Gospel chapter 19, 1-3, when the soldiers played dice to share Jesus’ tunic.
The words of the Scripture resound with a particular power. The silence which pervades offers the person of faith space for reflection and prayer.
It is possible to come and pray in the Basilica or to join for the prayers and masses celebrated there.
It is also possible to have a mass with a group every day except on Sundays.
To book for a mass: by mail: reservation@eccehomoconvent.org or by fax: 972 (0)2 628 22 24.
