Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a hill located east of Jerusalem. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament where it is linked to major events of the Passion of Jesus and his Glorification:
- Triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Mount of Olives (near Bethphage)[1]. Jesus leaves the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem on a donkey, acclaimed by the crowd (Palm Sunday).
- Discourse on the end times: Mount of Olives[2]. On the Mount of Olives, Jesus announces the destruction of Jerusalem and speaks about the end times (this is the "apocalyptic discourse").
- Prayer and agony of Jesus: Garden of Gethsemane (at the foot of the Mount of Olives)[3]. After the Last Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane (at the foot of the Mount of Olives) to pray and there he is arrested.
- Ascension of Jesus: slope of the Mount of Olives, near Bethany[4]. Jesus ascends to heaven from the Mount of Olives (more precisely, near Bethany, on the east side of the mountain).
- At the end of the work, Maria Valtorta places the last dwelling of the Virgin Mary there as well as her assumption into heaven. Maria Valtorta describes this last dwelling as being the house of Gethsemane.
- Maria Valtorta locates there the giving of the Our Father prayer, which the Gospels mention without specifying the location[5].
- She also mentions a place from tradition: the field of the Galileans, the site of their encampments during obligatory feasts such as the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
These passages show the importance of the Mount of Olives in the life and teaching of Jesus, notably as a place of prayer, teaching, and preparation for upcoming events.
Location[edit | edit source]
- The Mount of Olives (Har HaZeitim הר הזיתים, in Hebrew) seems to have always been called that.
- 31° 46’ 50’’ N / 35° 14’ 40’’ E
- +815m
Inhabitants or natives[edit | edit source]
As its name indicates, the mount is covered with olive trees. Only the property of Gethsemane, whose name means "oil press", is inhabited. After the Ascension, it is where the apostle John and the Virgin Mary will live. She will experience her Assumption there.
Description[edit | edit source]
Jean-François Lavère describes it thus in his Geographical Dictionary:"A favored place for prayer and rest, this is where Jesus gathers his eleven Apostles (Judas is absent) to teach them the Our Father, on the evening of the Passover of the second year.'‘Are we going to Gethsemane? No, higher up. On the Mount of Olives' (…) 'I take you to crown the Passover with a rare and desired pearl... They climb through the olive trees, leaving Gethsemane on their right and rise still further up the mount until they reach the ridge where the olive trees rustle.'”[6].
Maria Valtorta provides meticulous descriptions of this famous place.
"'The Mount of Olives has a rounded summit.' 'Everything is gentle on this mount: the ascents, the Judean panoramas, the summit. It truly breathes Peace, enveloped, as it is, with olive trees and silence.... But usually it is really a place of rest, of meditation. To its left, for one looking towards the north, there is a slight depression and then a new summit even less sloping than that of the Olive Grove.'"[7].
The seer even manages to convey the atmosphere prevailing in these places, such as when Jesus comes to pray there at early morning.
"'The olive wood that covers the hill gradually lightens and emerges from the shadows. The trunks still in shadow are invisible whereas the silvered foliage is already visible. It seems as if hoarfrost has spread over the hill but it is only the grayness of the foliage in the uncertain morning light.'" [8].
And it is in this place that Jesus gives his last command to the Disciples, just before his Ascension:
"'He climbs still up to the highest summit of the mountain, the one closer to Bethany.' (…) 'Go! Go in my Name to evangelize people to the ends of the Earth.'" [9].
Notable events[edit | edit source]
During the Second Temple period, fires lit at the summit of the mount signaled the arrival of the new moon of the religious new year[10]. From the 4th century, the mount is dotted with sites and buildings recalling episodes from the life of Jesus:
- The teaching of the Our Father (Eleona or Grotto of the Pater Noster);
- The acclamations of the people upon his arrival in the Holy City (Sanctuary of Bethphage);
- The lamentations over Jerusalem (Dominus Flevit);
- Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before the arrest on Holy Thursday (Basilica and Grotto of Gethsemane);
- The ascent to Heaven performed at the summit of the mount (Chapel of the Ascension).
Its name[edit | edit source]
The mount takes its name from the olive fields that compose it.
Where is it mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
EMV 3 EMV 71 EMV 614 EMV 621 EMV 634 EMV 642
Mount of Olives in 2022 viewed from the East, from the mouth of the Wadi Qelt
Mount of Olives in 2024, viewed from the Cenacle terrace in Jerusalem.
Explore[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Matthew 21:1-11 | Mark 11:1-10 | Luke 19:28-40 | John 12:12-19.
- ↑ Matthew 24:3-51 | Mark 13:1-37 | Luke 21:5-36.
- ↑ Matthew 26:30-56 | Mark 14:26-52 | Luke 22:39-53 | John 18:1-11.
- ↑ Luke 24:50-53 | Acts 1:9-12.
- ↑ Matthew 6:7-15 | Luke 11:1-4.
- ↑ EMV 203.1.
- ↑ EMV 279.1.
- ↑ EMV 533.1.
- ↑ EMV 638.22-23.
- ↑ Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 2:4.