In Jerusalem is what is known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall. It is the foundation of the temple mount, and as such is the closest remaining material thing of the third temple. To the Jews this is the holiest of holy places, as it bears direct connection to the ancient temple worship, which was overthrown by the Romans in 72AD.
We are also aware of the Jewish custom of writing prayers and inserting them in the cracks of the stones. For the Temple was the very dwelling place of God.
Yet we are Christians. As St. Paul said, Do you not know that you are the temple of God? In Ezechiel, God says that I will take away your stony hearts and give you hearts of flesh. The old temple walls are cold stone, like the heart without grace. The temple of the new covenant is a heart renewed by grace, no longer stony, but a heart of flesh. Because it is a heart of flesh, it can also be pierced by the sword of suffering, as Simeon prophesied to our blessed Mother. The Jews carry their intentions to the cracks of the cold stone, we Christians place our intentions into the cracks of our wounded hearts and there in love unite our suffering with our beloved neighbor, as Jesus taught us to do, in a sweet offering to the Father through the Holy Spirit.
Let us lift up our hearts to the Lord, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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