The journey begins! \240Today we were supposed to travel to NY a day in advance of our trip to the Holy Land. The weather did not cooperate! \240After 3 cancelled flights to LaGuardia, we decided to collect our luggage and drive to New York. \240We made it about halfway but had to stop due to treacherous freezing rain. \240We stayed at a Hampton Inn in Clearpoint, PA. \240No restaurants were open so we had Dominos Pizza delivered. \240It tasted like cardboard. We were dying to wash it down with some wine but to no avail! \240

When planning the the day in NYC in advance of our trip, I had envisioned a walk through Central Park, Times Square and a visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral. \240Instead, we saw this church next to the gas station on our way to the airport! \240I guess we saw St Patrick’s after all!

Thinking about the hundreds of episodes of the Office we’ve watched!

Finally, on the flight to Frankfurt on Lufthansa! \240We’ve already met some people who are part of our pilgrimage. Looking forward to getting to know them!

We had a lovely breakfast at a coffee bar in the airport. The omelette croissant was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time!

We made it to Tel Aviv. And now for a 2.5 hour bus ride. \240Oh vey!

After the long bus ride, we finally arrived at the Ron Beach hotel, \240It’s dated, but a decent hotel. We had an awesome dinner there, one that would rival any cruise buffet. After dinner we had Mass on the terrace of the hotel which overlooks the Sea of Galilee. Fr. Dan Good is our spiritual director for this trip It was overwhelming to think about the times that Jesus spent in this very place and all the people he met and ministered to.

This is the view outside of our window. We weren’t able to see the sea last night because it was dark. The sea is 7 miles wide and 11 miles long. \240

The countryside here is very hilly. \240I was surprised at how dirty, old and run down the cities are here. \240The buildings are dingy and many are abandoned or under construction. Our guide Amer is a Palestinian Christian and was telling us about the history and culture of the land. It is very clear that the land and people are very much marked by tension between the Muslims and Christians. No one here is “politically correct.” The Christians here have been persecuted and there is much animosity between the peoples.

Our first stop was Mt. Tabor and the Church of the Transfiguration. Our bus parked half way up the hill and then we took shuttles the rest of the way up the winding road. \240It was really awesome to be in the place where the transiguration happened. \240I couldn’t help but think about Jesus being there.

We had Mass here at 8:00am. Mike had the opportunity to serve at Mass here. \240We said a decade of the rosary, meditating on the mystery of the Transfiguration.

From the terrace of the Church of the Transfiguration we can see the Jezreel Valley and the plains of Mediggo.

In the Scripture account of the transfiguration, the Gospels tell us that Peter James, and John saw a vision of Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah, which represent the Old Covenant. \240In the church, there is a small chapel dedicated to each of them. \240They are pictured below: Elijah and then Moses.

Mark 9:2-10

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them,

3 and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

4 And there appeared to them Eli'jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.

5 And Peter said to Jesus, "Master,it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli'jah."

6 For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid.

7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him."

8 And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.

9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead.

10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

As we were waiting for the shuttles for the drive down, I ran into Msgr Kasza from Detroit. What a small world!

After visiting Mt. Tabor, we went to Cana to visit the site of Jesus’ first miracle. \240All couples in our tour group renewed their wedding vows and we had a quick minute to step into the church picture above.

We went to a restaurant in Nazareth for lunch. We had chicken kabobs and lots of side dishes. For dessert, baklava and Turkish coffee!

After lunch we drove to the Church of the Annunciation. \240Pictured here is the place where the angel Gabriel appears to the blessed mother and announced the Incarnation of Jesus, \240The inscription on the altar says, “The Word of God took flesh here.”

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, " Hail, full of grace,the Lord is with you!"

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, *"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, " How can this be, * since I have no husband?"

35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;therefore the child to be born will be called holy,the Son of God.

36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing will be impossible."

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

This is the outside of the Basilica of the Annunciation,

As Steve Ray was explaining the simple life of the holy family, the Muslim call to prayer was blaring over the city speakers. It was pretty annoying and distracting. It was symbolic of how Islam and other cultures are distracting and pulling people away from Jesus and the truth He reveals.

They people of ancient Nazareth lived in caves. \240It was a tiny town. This is the entrance to the cave where Joseph lived.

After a long day, we came back to the hotel to another wonderful dinner buffet.

Our next day instructions were always posted in the lobby.

This is a picture of the Sea of Galilee as we drive to our first stop. Jesus walked on water HERE.

This rock marks the spot of this healing:

Mark 5:25-34

25 And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,

26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.

27 She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.

28 For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well."

29 And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, "Who touched my garments?"

31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?' "

32 And he looked around to see who had done it.

33 But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.

34 And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

As we arrived at the Mt of Beatitudes it started pouring rain. Our bus was the first in the gate and we were able to get a covered shelter for Mass.

The grounds here are beautiful.

Matthew 5:1-2

1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them HERE.

Driving to Cesarea Philippi and we see Lebanon in the distance beyond the fence.

This place was a place where pagans would worship the god pan. People would throw a living sacrifice down the cave. Jesus comes all the way here to ask his apostles a question: who do people say that I am?

The pagans considered this the gates of hell.

Matthew 16:13-19

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"

14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."*

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."*

17 And Jesus answered him, " Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter,and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hadesshall not prevail against it. *

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, * and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

A very Arabic lunch in the village of Druze people. \240We had Druze and Fallafel sandwiches.

Pictured here are Marty and his daughter Rose from Indiana. \240Turns out Marty workered for Ralph Russell at Eli Lilly in Lafayette in 1990-1991.

This is the place of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.

The rock here marks the spot of the miracle:

John 6:1-14

1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tibe'ri-as.

2 And a multitude followed him, because they saw the signs which he did on those who were diseased.

3 Jesus went up into the hills, and there sat down with his disciples.

4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a multitude was coming to him, Jesus said to Philip, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?"

6 This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, " Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little."

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him,

9 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?"

10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost."

13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten.

14 When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!"

This is the outside of the church of the multiplication of loaves.

After the mount of the multiplication of loaves, we drove next door to the church of the Primacy of Peter, This is the place where the following happened:

John 21:1-8

1 * After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'ri-as; and he revealed himself in this way.

2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples were together.

3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing.

4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

5 Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No."

6 He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.

7 That disciple whom Jesus loved * said to Peter, " It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea.

8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yardsoff.

This is the Rock upon which Jesus and Peter had the following conversation:

John 21:15-19

15 * When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

16 A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."

17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.

18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you fastened your own belt and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will fasten your belt for you and carry you where you do not wish to go."

19 (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God.) And after this he said to him, "Follow me."

These steps lead up to the rock in the church. At the time of Jesus the water level was up to these rocks.

After our day of touring, we had a chance to go back to the hotel and relax before we went to Magdala restaurant for dinner. While we were there, the sun peeked out and shone on the green hills on the opposite side of the lake. \240This picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was beautiful.

We began the day by driving to Capernaum, the place of St. Peter’s house, where Jesus gave the Bread of Life Discourse and healed the paralytic.

We celebrated Mass here, at the church built above the place of St. Peter’s house,

The excavated site pictured here shows where the first Christians built a chapel upon the place where Peter’s house stood.

Mark 2:1-12

1 And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.

3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.

5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven."

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,

7 "Why does this man speak like this? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they questioned like this within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question like this in your hearts?

9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?

10 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-he said to the paralytic-

11 "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home."

12 And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

This shows excavations of the town of Capernaum.

This is the synagogue where Jesus taught in Capernaum. \240The white stone shows the synagogue that was build in the 400s, but the black stone is part of the original synagogue.

John 6:53-59

53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;

54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.

58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um.

This is taken from the seaside in Capernaum.

After Capernaum, we drove to a place where we took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Before the boat ride, we visited a small museum of a fishing boat that was discovered. This boat dates back to the time of Jesus.

The boat ride was fun. \240We hoisted an American flag and blared the national anthem. \240We felt like a target in the middle of the lake!

After the boat ride, we went to a restaurant where we had fish for lunch. Mike got a whole fish with its head in tact and I got the fillet (thankfully). Then, we loaded the bus and began our way to Jerusalem.

On the way to Jerusalem, we drove by the mountain upon which Elijah had the stand off with th prophets of Baal.

We arrived at the place of visitation in the Judean countryside:

Luke 1:39-45

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,

40 and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, " Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would bea fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

Steep steps to the church of the visitation.

This wall has the Magnificat in different languages.

English

Polish

The Blessed Mother drank from this well after her journey to visit Elizabeth.

In the Gospel of James, there is a story about an angel hiding John the Baptist behind a rock from the slaughter of the innocents. \240This is the rock.

After visiting the Church of the Visitation, we arriyatbthe Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem where we will stay for 5 nights.

Crossing the border between Israel and Palestine - Bethlehem is in the West Bank Palestinian territory. Christians here are persecuted by the Muslims and are declining in population. There is a small population of Christians who are trying to preserve the faith and protect the holy sites.

Our first stop was Bethlehem Nativity Souvenirs, a large store run by Christians in Palestine. \240They have a difficult life here as they lack many basic necessities and they are not allowed to cross the border. They gifted Mike with a white stole and a beautiful icon of the Blessed Mother. The items here are very expensive.

Here are some pics of the store:

After the store we drove to Shepherd’s Field, where the angel announced the birth of Hedus to the shepherds. Bethlehem is a dirty run down city. The streets are full of garbage and the buildings are not kept.

This is Shepherds Field

Luke 2:8-14

8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.

10 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;

11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 " Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

We had Mass at one of the shepherd caves. The ceiling of the cave is back from the thousands of years of camp fires inside the cave.

This is the outside of the cave. The Polish group from Lodz that has been at almost every site either before or after us had Mass before us. They were singing Polish Christmas carols.

Bethlehem - It’s very dirty and run down here.

Lunch: shawarma and a Diet Coke.

This is the Church of the Nativity. It is controlled half by the Greek Orthodox and half by the Armenians. \240The birthplace of Jesus is in a cave under the main altar. The lines are very long but we were lucky to stand in line only about an hour.

This is our group about to descend into the cave.

The cave.

The place of Jesus’ birth:

Luke 2:1-7

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'ius was governor of Syria.

3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5 to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed, who was with child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.

7 And she gave birth to her first-born * son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

These are the lamps at the altar above the cave.

Next to the cave where Jesus was born, there some othe caves as indicated below:

St Joseph’s Chapel

Grave of the Holy Innocence

This marks the place where St Jerome translated the Bible into Latin.

After the Church of the Nativity, we visited the relics of St. Miriam of Jesus Crucified.

This is outside the restaurant where we had dinner.

Here’s s the crew at our dinner table.

This lamb was stuffed with rice. It was delicious.

After the dancers danced a few numbers for us, we were invited to come up and dance with them. It was a blast!

We began the day in the garden of Gethsemene.

This olive tree is over 2000 years old.

The Kidron Valley and the Golden Gate on the eastern side of the city.

The Golden Gate, the gate Jesus went through when leaving the upper room after the Last Supper and walking toward Gethsemene.

John 18:1

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples across the Kidron valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.

Inside the Basilica of the Agony of our Lord.

The rock upon which Jesus prayed to the Father during the Agony in the Garden. We had Mass here.

Luke 22:39-44

39 And he came out, and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him.

40 And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,

42 "Father, if you are willing, remove this chalice from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done."

43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

The Church of the Pater Noster, where Jesus taught the apostles the Our Father and ascended into heaven.

This is where Jesus taught the Our Father.

Luke 11:1-4

1 He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

3 Give us each day our daily bread;

4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation."

Jesus ascended into heaven here.

Acts 1:6-11

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar'ia and to the end of the earth."

9 And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,

11 and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

*****

After this we went to lunch at Ramat Rachel kibbutz where we had an awesome lunch buffet. I bought a coat at the giftshop because it has been so cold.

After lunch we drove to a hillside to get a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Steve told the story of salvation from this vantage point. Here is the view:

This is Zion gate in the wall surrounding the Old Town of Jerusalem.

The Upper Room

These are Pelicans carved on a pillar inside the upper room. Pelicans were an early symbol of Christianity. This room is part of an old church that was built over the site of the original upper room. \240At some point in history it was taken over by Muslims and turned into a mosque. \240Now the property belongs to the state of Israel. It was disappointing to see remnants of the mosque inside the upper room.

Peter in Gallicantu - This church is the place where Peter denied Jesus and where Jesus was imprisoned on Holy Thursday.

This is the cistern where they held Jesus overnight on Holy Thursday. Our guide told us that it is likely that Jesus was in water while he was bound in there.

These steps date back to the time of Jesus. \240Jesus walked these steps back and forth between the Upper Room and Gethsemene.

They had a nice gift shop here. Mike got a stole.

The street which marks the way of the cross is narrow and has lots of steps. In places it’s more like an alley. The street is lined with vendors.

The way of the cross culminates at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built over Mt Calvary.

As we entered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre we heard the Armenian priests chanting. \240The steps lead to the top of Calvary.

As we entered the upper chamber we prayed the last 2 stations of the cross. We went 2 by 2 to place our hands inside the hole under the altar. \240I took the list of prayer intentions and my Bethlehem rosary and placed them on the rock.

The hole under the altar marks the spot where Jesus was crucified.

After that we had Mass at the chapel directly to the right of the place of Jesus’ crucifixion. It was wonderful to be able to have Mass here so that we could prolong our time in this place and contemplate Jesus’ crucifixion. I read the first reading from Numbers. Dave proclaimed the Gospel.

This is my body which will be given up for you, HERE.

These are our leaders: Janet and Steve Ray, Fr. Dan Good, and Amir our local guide.

This is the stone upon which they laid Jesus to prepare him for burial.

This is the place where Mary stood as Jesus was crucified. \240

This would be her vantage point looking up to the cross.

This is a chapel directly below the top of Calvary. \240You can see the split in the rock which occurred when Jesus died. It is said that the blood of Jesus would have spilled through the crevice of this rock. This is called the Chapel of Adam. \240It has a symbolic tomb of Adam to signify how all of humanity is freed from sin by the blood of the Lamb of God.

Matthew 27:50-53

50 And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split;

52 the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,

53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Our guide said that Jesus was scourged multiple times. This is one of the pillars upon which Jesus was scourged.

We were able to see the Holy Sepulcher in the morning before the crowds. \240We will come back later to get inside. \240There are Masses here every 30 min between 5am and 8am.

This marks the place where Mary Magdalene met Jesus in the garden.

After breakfast we went to the Wailing Wall.

Women pray on the right side and men pray on the left. The wall isn’t actually the temple wall, but a retaining wall of the western wall of the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great.

Mike had to wear a yarmulke to get in.

The deacon class!

*****

We had lunch in the Old Town and afterwards a small group of us went back to the Holy Sepulchre. \240We were notable to take pictures but I want to describe our experience.

In the inner chamber is the empty tomb and a marble slab that covers it. \240We had to come back later in the afternoon to get in. \240We waited in line for two hours, but it was well worth the 15 seconds we were able to be in there. It is hard to describe what it’s like to be in the holiest place on this earth. \240When I walked out I felt tingling from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, as if a jolt went through me. \240Mike experienced the same thing. Incredible!

Today was the pinnacle of our spiritual pilgrimage.

We adore you O Christ and we praise You, for by Your cross You have saved the world.

******

Today we took a group shot of the 54 of us who have been traveling together this week. \240The sick ones cane out for the picture! \240We met some great folks from New Orleans, Moe and Andree and a nice couple from California Chris and Kathy.

Here is the Detroit contingent!

We started the day with Mass at St Stephen. This church marks the place of the martyrdom of St Stephen, the first deacon. \240Mike served as deacon of the Word and Dave preached. All the deacons vested for the Mass with the exception of Chris who was sick.

Liz read the first reading:

Acts 6:1-15

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists * murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

2 And the Twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

3 Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty.

4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

5 And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Proch'orus, and Nica'nor, and Ti'mon, and Par'menas, and Nicola'us, a proselyte of Antioch.

6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen(as it was called), and of the Cyre'nians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cili'cia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen.

10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

11 Then they secretly instigated men, who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."

12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,

13 and set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law;

14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us."

15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

This is the Gospel reading Mike proclaimed.

Matthew 10:16-22

16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

17 Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues,

18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.

19 When they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour;

20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;

22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Dave gave a powerful homily that reflected on our experience here. \240He challenged us to go back and let this trip inspire us to take the next step in our mission as disciples.

From left to right: Moe, Jim, Dennis, Steve, Fr Dan, Fr Abel, Mike, Dominic, Dave

Next we went to the Shrine of the Book museum in Jerusalem where we saw a 1/50 scale model of Jerusalem in the first century and some fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls.

This is the model of the city.

The model was interesting in that we could associate the places where we visited with this model of the old city. \240It really helped to tie things together and to appreciate the Gospels more deeply.

We didn’t spend much time in the scroll exhibit.

After the museum, we descended into the Judean desert.

We drove to the city of Jericho. This is the oldest city in the world, about 10,000 years old. \240It is said that in that time period, it was destroyed and rebuilt 40 times.

Joshua 2 recounts how the Israelites sent spies into \240Jericho to scout the land to see what the would be up against in order to cross the Jordan and inhabit the promised land.

These are some shots from Jericho today. Here is a coffee shop.

We saw several shepherds and their flocks.

This is a sycamore tree, like the one Zaccheus was in when he met Jesus.

This is the Mt of Temptation where the devil took Jesus:

Matthew 4:8-11

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;

9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

10 Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your Godand him only shall you serve.' "

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Next we went to the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized. \240The rope marks the border between Jordan and Israel.

This site marks the spot where Jesus was baptized:

Mark 1:9-11

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove;

11 and a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son;with you I am well pleased."

Many people get baptized in the Jordan. \240From our group, we had a 19 year old woman, Alyssa, get baptized today.

Next we drove to Qumran National Park to visit the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. As we drove, the sun cast its rays upon this Holy Land. \240It was symbolic of how God’s blessings for the world have poured out from heaven to us through this land.

Qumran National Park - This was the dwelling place of the Essene community in the time of Jesus. The Essenes were are strict sect of Judaism who separated themselves to live in the desert away from Jerusalem where corruption abounded. John the Baptist is believed to have been a member of this community. \240

Our guide believes that the Essenes would have come to believe that Jesus was in fact the Messiah given that Jesus was baptized only 3 miles from these caves and that John the Baptist was among them. It possible that the Essenes documented this in the scrolls that were found in these caves. \240Our guide speculates that these writings are among the scrolls that remain hidden and in the custody of the Israeli government.

This is a Mikva, a Jewish ritual bath.

This is the wadi by the caves. \240A wadi is a dry river bed that floods during the rainy season.

This is Cave 4. \240The scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd looking for his goat. The discovery of the scrolls was a major event in that these writings were very close to the time of Jesus and confirm the writings of the Bible.

This is a view of the Dead Sea from Qumran. \240The mountains of Moab (in Jordan) are in the distance. \240This is the place where the Israelites crosses into the promised land after wandering the desert for 40 years. Mt Nebo is in this general area. This is where Moses was told he could not cross. \240Moses died here and was buried:

Deuteronomy 34:1-6

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan,

2 all Naph'tali, the land of E'phraim and Manas'seh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,

3 the Neg'eb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

4 And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD,

6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe'or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day.

*****

Next we floated in the Dead Sea and ride camels. Lots of laughs, great fun!

We ended the day back at the Notre Dame center where we had a quick dinner and packed up to go home.