Dominus Flevit

As we made our way down the Mount of Olives we stopped at many Churches — that's one thing I really learned here, there is a church for everything. The first church we stopped at was Dominus Flevit (Tear of the Lord). This church was built at the spot where Christ is said to have first looked of Jerusalem and wept because of the wickedness of the people. George quoted Matthew 23:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

As I walked around the grounds of this church I couldn't help but notice that many of the plants were the same kind of plant, and not something that I've seen around here much. I think stood out to me so much because my father had a few when I was growing up, and the name was so silly that I was certain that it couldn't be the real name. However, as I walked those grounds and saw so many of those plants I became increasingly more convinced that the name my father had told me all those years ago is the name it is commonly known as: Hen and Chick. Surely this wasn't an accident. (For the record, both of these pictures are from the internet, I didn't get any of my own here.)

I didn't point this out to either Aunt, nor George (nor, for that matter, did he point it out to us. Honestly, I'm not sure he's aware of the significance.), but it was an interesting insight for me. Additionally, there was a picture on the altar of a hen with chicks under her wings. I'm not sure how I would feel about going to a church where that seems to be the main theme, but on the other hand, it is a really good warning and call to each of us.