Category Archives: WORD PICTURES AND THE HOLY

Located in the town where, according to the Gospels, Jesus was raised and lived most of his life, this church, built in 1969, was erected on the location where, according to Roman-Catholic speculation, Gabriel, a messenger from God. told Mary … Continue reading →

Located at the heart of the town of Chalchuapa, in El Salvador, this site used to be a Mayan settlement that existed ca. A.D. 100-1200, and whose inhabitants had cultural similarities with the people from Teotihuacán, Copán and the Toltecas. … Continue reading →

Declared as a patrimony of humanity by the UNESCO in 1993, at this location we find the telling remains of an old, under ground city, which show what a typical, Mayan agricultural village looked like 1,400 years ago. About A.D. … Continue reading →

Located in Chalchuapa, along with Tazumal, this site is a pre-Columbian worship Mayan place in which we find a series of pyramids raging from 500 B.C. until A.D. 900. Only two of them have been uncovered and partially restored. More … Continue reading →

This is a pre-Columbian archaeological site that Mayan groups populated and rebuilt since 900 B.C. Because of a nearby volcano activity in A.D. 250 at Ilopango Lake, the settlement was abandoned only to become an important center of Mayan lordship … Continue reading →

As fundamental parts of the walls whose foundations take us back to the times of Solomon and Nehemiah and which were later rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 1500’s A.D., the 8 main gates of Jerusalem bring to life the … Continue reading →

“The Holy Land” has historically been a place of moral inconsistencies. Today, in honor of fear, hate, and ignorance, territories and walls separate families and friends, whose radical representatives clash despite  a common heritage.  Sacredness is sold for control and … Continue reading →

While Jesus’ path to his own execution is symbolized and ritually remembered by pilgrims with praise and gratitude through 14 stations, we are reminded that Jesus’ Passion is not absolutely his own.  It is also the painful experience of other … Continue reading →

After the temple’s destruction by imperial Rome in 70 C.E., only one wall remained standing: The Western Wall. As the last vestige of the temple that Herod “The Great” embellished, in Judaism, this wall is the holiest place for prayers … Continue reading →

Several Gospel stories come to life when we see images of “the Lake of Gennesaret” or “Lake Tiberias:”  “The water braces against the bow of the boat as the Disciples press into the middle of the sea. It is dark, … Continue reading →