What better way to take a Lenten Pilgrimage than in the footsteps of Jesus? And where better to begin such a pilgrimage than in Bethlehem, the city where our Lord was born. Even people who are not particularly religious cherish the idea of sometime walking the streets of that little city, and of standing at some point where they can look in silence out over the hillsides to a place where shepherds once heard the angelic message. For those of us who love Christ, it is one of the most cherished spots on earth.

As long as I have a memory, I’m sure I will recall my first visit there. It was January, 1970, in the late afternoon; already dusk, in fact. Our tour bus pulled into a great open area where a number of other buses were already parked. Tourists - most of them Americans - were milling a…