St. Anne's Church and Pools of Bethesda

We entered through the Lion's Gate into Old Jerusalem.  

Next to this beautiful garden was St. Anne's Church, dedicated to the Mother of Mary:

Right outside of the Church, there is an ancient pool.  A pool in this area, Bethesda, is mentioned in John 5:1-9.  Bethesda actually means "house of virtue and good deed" which is exactly what Christ displays in these verses:

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

 "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

 Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

Thank you Patrick for carrying my purse and waiting for me as I snapped photos of everything.  Now that's a great husband!