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The group of 20 pilgrims with Father Mary David Hoyt, FJ, as the pilgrimage spiritual director, stayed one night at Mount Carmel, three nights on the Mount of Beatitudes by the Sea of Galilee and six nights in Jerusalem near the ancient city of Jerusalem. Mount Carmel, near Haifa is the site of Elijah the Prophet’s cave and where the Carmelite Order was founded. Today, a Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is built over the cave of St. Elijah.
The three days spent by the Sea of Galilee offered the opportunity to visit the area where our Lord spent three years before his passion and death. Especially here, we read the Scriptures where our Lord fed the thousands, healed, taught and called his first disciples, some of whom were fishermen. The north shore of the Sea of Galilee, where the Mount of Beatitude is located as well as many of the sites of our Lord’s apostolic life, offered the pilgrim a remarkable scene of Galilee. From early sunrise over the Sea of Galilee, to taking a boat ride across the sea, to praying in the Church of St. Peter built over the home of the first Pope, St. Peter! Within the Galilee area, is Nazareth, Cana and Mount Tabor.
The three days allowed time for prayer, for meditation and time to touch, to walk, to experience the land!
As we traveled southward toward Jerusalem through the Jordan River Valley, there is a drastic change in the terrain. From a green, lush environment to a dry, desert land. The site of our Lord’s baptism at the River Jordan is surrounded by the desert. In Matthew 4:1 we read, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” After the pilgrims renewed their baptismal vows, we spent 40 minutes in a remote area in the desert to experience the silence of the desert.
We stayed at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem, the Vatican’s hotel in Jerusalem located across the street from the ancient city of Jerusalem. The Notre Dame, directed by the Legionaries of Christ and staffed by Palestinian Christians, offers pilgrims a warm hospitality with a spiritual environment. While in Jerusalem, we visited the sites of our Lord’s birthplace in Bethlehem, the sites of his passion, death and resurrection as well as other sites such as the birthplace of St. John the Baptist, the Mount of Olives and Emmaus.
Mass at various holy sites was an important part of each day. Masses offered at the holy sites are the liturgy of the site. For example, in Bethlehem, pilgrims celebrate the Christmas liturgy; yes, even in June! In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher Church, Mass in the Tomb of Christ is that of the resurrection. The mysteries of the rosary come alive as well. On pilgrimage, we see the sites of every mystery of the rosary, except one; that of the “coronation of Mary” from the glorious mysteries.
A pilgrimage also educates the pilgrim about the local church. In the Holy Land, the local church is called the mother church. Many Christians of the Holy Land are descendants of the early church. They are called the “living stones” for they are part of the body of the Christ and have welcomed pilgrims since as early as the first few centuries. Today, they continue to welcome pilgrims. Our group joined a local parish, the Annunciation Church, in the Bethlehem area for Sunday Mass; it was the Feast of Corpus Christi. Though the Mass was in Arabic, the pilgrims sat among the congregation and we joined in prayer in our own language; for the Mass remains the same.
After Mass, the parishioners offered Arabic coffee and sweets — a tradition in the Holy Land.
The group had an audience with His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Welcoming our group, he briefly spoke about a major concern of the “plight of the Christians” in the Holy Land. Another impressive audience was with Archbishop Elias Chacour, a Palestinian priest and recipient of various peace awards and advisor to the Vatican and leaders on the Israeli/Palestinian situation. Chacour founded the first University in the Holy Land with professors and students from the three religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. His famous book, Blood Brothers, tells the story of his early life raised by the Sea of Galilee and the strong faith of the Christians of the Holy Land.
The spiritual opportunities are tremendous! Spending time in prayer, in silence in such holy places made so by our Lord and by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints and numerous pilgrims before us! Imagine receiving the Eucharist at the site where our Lord was crucified? Imagine carrying a large wooden cross on the Via Dolorosa? Imagine kissing the tomb of our Lord? The litany of what a pilgrim can experience in the Holy Land is tremendous!
As a part of the ministry of the Pilgrim Center of Hope, we both have led numerous groups to the Holy Land. The purpose is to encounter the Risen Lord and to be in solidarity with the mother church of the Holy Land. To receive a journal of this pilgrimage, contact the Pilgrim Center of Hope. A small donation of $5 assists with cost of printing. If you are interested in learning more about the Holy Land, or would like a presentation on the Holy Land in your parish; contact us. Although the pilgrims return to their homes; their pilgrimage continues…it never ends. It is the same with each one of us, our journey in life is a pilgrimage to the house of the father. Our destination is the heavenly Jerusalem.
Deacon Tom and Mary Jane Fox are executive directors of The Pilgrim Center of Hope, a Catholic evangelization ministry in the archdiocese. They can be contacted at (210) 521-3377. |