We have arrived. . .

On the door to St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, the parish church in Bethlehem, there is a sign that reads, "We are hoping that: If you enter a tourist, you will exit as a pilgrim. If you enter here as a pilgrim, you would exit as a holier one."

Together we have walked the journey of a pilgrim and have grown to know the Lord in ways that were unimaginable to us. We have walked the road to Emmaus and have met the Lord and our eyes were opened.

Thank you for accompanying us on this pilgrimage through the blog. Thanks for your prayerful support and while we were far away from our family and friends we remained close to you through prayer and love for the Lord.

Our Journey Home Begins!

copyright Ork Posters

We have reached our final day in the holy land. We celebrated Mass a bit later in the morning than we usually do since we have concluded our class days for the trip. Our bags are packed and we have begun the process of saying goodbye to Israel. Many of us are looking forward to coming back to the United States for various reasons, but this last day has been an opportunity to reflect on our experiences of the pilgrimage and give thanks for the many graces that we have received.

Most of us spent this day packing and doing some last minute site visits. Our flight leaves late in the evening so we had much of the day to ourselves. We have had great experiences on this trip, great classes, great tour guides and experiences that have drawn us together as a group. This pilgrimage has been a great time to learn things about ourselves and draw closer to the Lord. It has been a once and a lifetime opportunity to be able to come and spend this much time in the holy land. I am sure that we will all remember this pilgrimage for the rest of our lives.

Reflecting with St. Joseph

It has been a beautiful gift to have had quiet time to reflect on our pilgrimage. And it is all the more beautiful that we had the opportunity to reflect on our pilgrimage on the Solemnity of St. Joseph with Mass at Dormition Abbey! Dormition Abbey was built on the place where Mary, after her time was spent on earth, fell to sleep and was taken into heaven body and soul!



I've always had a great devotion to St. Joseph! Probably because he gives me hope in my future priestly vocation. St. Joseph, just like us in his brokenness and human weakness, was asked to protect and guide Mary, the one Immaculately conceived, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the World; talk about a big task! St. Joseph, out of the entire Holy Family, seems to be the least equipped for the task given to him. Yet he receives his task, probably fearfully, but nonetheless he serves in the task faithfully always responding to the Lord's request of him. How true is it for us discerning a call to the priesthood. Many of us, like Joseph are broken and seem least fit to lead the Bride of Christ. Yet the Lord continues to extend His call to the priesthood even to those who seem unequipped and powerless. Please continu
e to pray for us as we try to answer the call of the Lord with faithfulness like St. Joseph did!

At the Edge of the End

Today we had our last day of classes in the Holy Land, which brought lessons in Ezekiel and on the passion narrative of John.  From Ezekiel we saw his deeply purposeful use of prophetic signs in order to display the way of the Lord to people blind to His word. From John, we gained an insight into Jesus’ passion, the heart of our faith, and the center of our lives. We received insight into His Light versus the light provided by the world, and that His Light had power even amidst seeming powerlessness.  Both were valuable lessons for us as we continue toward priestly ordination!

Following classes we began to wrap up our trip.  Some wandered the city making new discoveries, others returned to old favorites, and others to quieter things.  Tonight we entered into a period of silence and prayer, a period of reflection and thanksgiving.  The plan for our reflection is once again to recall all that the Lord has done for us on this trip through the places we have visited, the topics we were able to study.  Please continue to pray for us as we wrap up our pilgrimage!

“Lord, Teach Us How to Pray..."

View of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Today we found ourselves on top of the Mount of Olives, ultimately following the path of Jesus in the days leading up to Holy Week.  We began at the church in Bethphage, not far from the town where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived.  It was here that Jesus mounted the colt that would take Him through the Beautiful Gate into the City of Jerusalem and the drama of the Passion.  It was a beautiful morning and, near the peak of the Mount of Olives, we could see much of the surrounding countryside, truly a beautiful site to behold!

From there we proceeded down to the Pater Noster church, the site where Christ taught His disciples to pray the Our Father.  Attached to a French Carmelite convent, the church is designed to reflect the great gift Christ gave us in the Our Father: we are called to be true children of God and, by this, truly brothers and sisters.  The universal nature of this gift is reflected in the Our Father being written in 168 languages throughout the church.  We were all able to wander through the church and find the various translations that reflected our own cultures and backgrounds before gathering once more and traveling even further down the Mount of Olives.

Group picture after Mass at Dominus Flevit

As we entered the courtyard of the next church the Old City of Jerusalem came into full view, bathed in the morning sunlight.  It was fitting, then, that the church we found ourselves at is called Dominus Flevit, the site where Jesus wept over the future destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.  It was here that we had Mass as a community.  Having just visited the Pater Noster church, it was beautiful to reflect on the reality that we are all sons and daughters of God, and so the Lord is overwhelmed by His love and desire for us to be in relationship with Him and to be holy that He would weep over us as He did over Jerusalem.  With this is our call to live as sons and daughters of God, to be servants of peace and holiness, leading others to the Father’s love.

After a brief stop at the bottom of the Mount of Olives to see the Garden of Gethsemane once more, we returned to where we’re staying for a celebration of our time here together along with the March birthdays and the feasts of St. Joseph and St. Patrick.  It was a great chance for fraternity and fun as we come to the middle of our last week here.  Know of our continued prayers for you all as we travel through these last few days and prepare to return home!

A Day at the Sea

Hey Everyone!

We hope and pray all of you are doing well!  Today was our last major day to travel out of Jerusalem to see sites since our pilgrimage is coming to an end soon.  Today we went to the city of Jaffa. It is a city close to Tel Aviv and has some neat connections to biblical history. We began the day by visiting the tomb of St. George.  The tomb is located underneath a Greek Orthodox Church. We arrived at the church and were told about the story of St. George by our guide and then proceeded down to his tomb. It was nice to be able to spend a few minutes in prayer with him.

            The next stop on our trip was the Church of St. Peter for Sunday Mass. It was a beautiful Mass and a great way to celebrate the 4th Sunday of Lent. The ambo in the church actually is meant to look like a fruit tree.  It was explained to us that it was meant to look like a fruit tree since the Word of God should be fruitful and produce fruit in our lives. Following the Mass our tour guide took us on a tour of the old city of Jaffa. We saw Simon the Tanner’s house, where St. Peter stayed, and also went down to the Port of Jaffa, right on the Mediterranean Sea. This port is special since it is the port that the cedar wood from Lebanon came through on its way to build the Temple under Solomon. The reason this port was used was it was considered the closest port to Jerusalem.  This also was the port that St. Peter sailed out of to go to Rome. A lot of neat history in this city! 

After visiting the port we went and had a nice lunch at a restaurant off the Mediterranean coast. It was a great meal and we had time to go down to the beach for a few minutes afterwards to enjoy the water. Overall it was a good pilgrimage day. This coming week we will be wrapping everything up as we prepare to come back to the seminary. Please keep us in your prayers as we keep you in ours!    

Class Day

Today we started the day of, as we usually do, with Morning Prayer and Mass. After breakfast, we continued with our classes in Prophets and Johannine Literature. For Prophets, we studied the laments of Jeremiah, and we came to know the suffering role of the true prophet who speaks out against the austerities and injustice of society. In Johannine Literature, the Last Supper Discourses were the subject of our reflections. Hearing the message and exhortation of Jesus to the disciples in the face of his passion struck at our hearts: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make out dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23).

After classes and lunch, we were given the great opportunity to visit the Shalom Hartman Institute for our class lecture on Judaism. We took the opportunity to see a Torah scroll and sit in a Beth Midrash, a Jewish house of learning. Our lecturer gladly answered our questions about the role and importance of the Rabbi in Judaism, which were numerous, and we had the chance to study with a chavruta, a learning partner. So, we paired up in groups of two and began to study the role of sacrifice in Judaism. The room quickly filled with the voices of thirty plus seminarians reading and interpreting texts. And, as you can imagine, it became pretty loud! Well, it definitely was an eye-opening exercise in an alternative method of study.

As we finish up these last days of our pilgrimage, be assured of our continual prayers and please keep us in our prayers as well. For our friends and family, we will see you soon!

Holy Mass in Hebrew

We have been in Jerusalem for almost a month now, but it was not until today that we had our first formal encounter with the local Hebrew speaking Catholic community when we joined them for Mass in Hebrew. Not knowing the language, I tried following along in a missal with transliterated responses for about two sentences before giving up and just simply listening to the beauty of the rhythm and sounds of the words. Thankfully the universality of the Mass remains familiar enough to know at least where you are and what is happening so that you are able to pray along silently in your heart. While listening however, I did hear the repetition of at least one intelligible word in the readings, “Israel…something, something, something…Israel”. Checking the readings on my kindle (in English) I saw that they were from Hosea, the prophet through whom the Lord told Israel, “I will betroth you to me forever: I will betroth you to me with justice and with judgment, with loyalty and with compassion; I will betroth you to me with fidelity, and you shall know the Lord” (Hosea 2:21-22). You look up from the book and you see this people, His people, today; the same people to whom He gave His promises and from whom He took His flesh. For myself, coming from a country that is only a few hundred years old, it is difficult to grasp the reality that here in the Holy Land you are constantly in contact with people and places that contain thousands of years of history. They are the people and the places through whom the Creator has chosen to enter into His creation. With all of this in mind I later prayed Evening Prayer (in English), where in Psalm 135 we hear again repeated that, “The Lord has chosen Jacob for himself and Israel for his own possession….” followed by, “Sons of Israel, bless the Lord!” The history contains us too: Sons of Israel as the New Israel the Church, the bride for whom Christ gave up His life on a tree down the road from our hotel (Eph 5:25). Today we all celebrated this wedding feast of the Lamb together in the Mass where there was “neither Jew nor Gentile”, but all were “one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

Yad Vashem

Today we visited Yad Vashem, which is Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to documenting the story of the six million Jewish victims and imparting their legacy to future generations.


Yad Vashem’s name comes from the biblical verse: “I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name [Yad Vashem] that shall not be cut off.” (Isaiah 56:5)

From the moment we walked in the door, we were immersed in the history of the Holocaust, by historical artifacts, photographs and videos which recall various events and the testimony of survivors.

The Hall of Names: a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust

The many faces, names, and situations we encountered expressed the feelings of vulnerability, oppression and abuse of the powerless, and the voiceless of that time. This tragedy was the result of a humanity who had decided to take God out of its heart. When humanity forgets about God, then men and women become predators preying on the weak and powerless among them.



Like the Holocaust event of the past, there are many forms of oppression and violence in today’s world. It's not enough to go to the museum and feel troubled for a while. It's not enough to be furious only about oppression in the past because we are called to be leaders of our time.  Rather, the Holocaust commits us to be aware of violence in all its forms and to help open the eyes of others to see the atrocities and crimes against humanity that are happening before our eyes.





Even though we speak different languages and come from different cultures and races, we know that our humanity is the common denominator that moves us to enter into real solidarity with those under oppression.  We realize, even more strongly, that our humanity, with the example of our Lord Jesus Christ who entered in solidarity with us, leads us to be in solidarity with others. Jesus alone reveals humanity’s real identity, mission and fulfillment.

What's My Favorite Spot in the Holy Land?!?

I was just recently asked, "So what has been your favorite place to visit so far?"  I sat there lost for words!  I've had so many special graces throughout our pilgrimage.  Each grace was given through an encounter with the Lord in prayer, how could I describe the intimacy?  I then came across the following in my spiritual reading: 

"The events of the worldly life of Jesus are not only holy in themselves, they are sanctifying. On the souls who meditate on them and wish to be associated with them they confer graces, which increase their union with the life of the Saviour... Bethlehem, Nazareth, Golgotha, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the sending of the Holy Spirit, constitute the principal phases in the drama of our redemption and of our supernatural adoption" ~ Bl. Columba Marmion.

Bl. Columba Marmion reveals the difficulty to the question I was asked!  How does one explain the mystery of God's love in our own redemption and adoption!  How can I describe how this trip has brought a great encounter with the Lord and his love for me! In the experiences itself, it is a mystery even to myself.  It's no wonder I was left struggling to list all the places we have visited from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, to the Church of the Transfiguration at Mount Tabor, the Church of Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; the list goes on and on. Each of these places has a unique place in my heart in which the Lord has revealed his love to me!  As our pilgrimage starts to come to a close, I coming to realize that it will take my entire life (and priestly vocation) to explain the beauty and impact this pilgrimage has had on my life!

Heavenly Music at Abu Gosh

On Sunday we arose early and quickly ate breakfast to get on the bus to experience another day in the Holy Land. We boarded the bus and made our way first to the tomb of Samuel. After spending some time with the guide and talking about the life and call of Samuel, we then went back on the bus to head to Mass with a religious community at Abu Gosh.

The Church where mass was said was built by the crusaders, and faded frescos from that time lined the wall. When you walked in, you felt a sense of holiness and you knew that people have been praying here in this church for almost 1000 years. After spending some time in personal prayer in preparation for Mass we began the liturgy with the nuns, brothers, and priests walking in procession and chanting the opening antiphon in truly angelic voices. The Mass was marked by a reverence and noble simplicity, and even though it was an hour-and-a-half long, it was an hour-and-a-half in heaven worshipping the Lord.

The chapel at Abu Gosh

The afternoon was spent enjoying the warm weather and feverishly studying for our midterm exam the following morning.

The Final Countdown

 

 

 

We have entered into the last full week of our pilgrimage journey.  This is a weighty sentence to write.  The next several days will see us thinking and turning our minds more and more to our journey home.  It will become more and more difficult to concentrate on living in the moment, living our pilgrimage journey.  This post today is an appeal to you, our family, friends, benefactors, to pray for us even more intently these next two weeks.  We have had some tremendous graces on this journey.  I am certain that all of my classmates have stories of how God has touched them, has triggered the inward journey that the outward pilgrimage brings about.  These experiences will undoubtedly strengthen us in our future ministry.  Each and every one of us pray that we will be able to take these experiences and apply them to the benefit of our future parishioners.  We are praying always for these individuals and families, some of whom might be reading this very blog. 

            To walk in the footsteps of Christ has shown me the importance of always walking with Christ.  Only by close intimacy with Christ can I hope to be an effective minister of His People.  To be able to walk in these footsteps, to pray at the places where He accomplished the definitive reunion of God and humanity, as well as unifying all of us to each other, has given me an insight into priestly ministry that I can't really put into words.  Hopefully it will illuminate and inform my future ministry, giving me direction, purpose and zeal.

            Know that you are all in our prayers, and I ask in a special way today that you pray for the grace to stay focused on the pilgrimage experience, for myself and each of my classmates.  We look forward to seeing you soon, but not just yet!  We've still got work to do!

"I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit"

Today we visited the Church of St. Peter Gallicantu, a church on the eastern slope of Mount Zion in Jerusalem. The word ‘Gallicantu’ means “the crow of the rooster,” and the church is centered around the theme of Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus. The church building itself is beautiful. Also of interest, it is built over the spot where Caiaphas’ house was which would mean that this is where Christ was held before being taken to Pilate.And that is where our day began: in the dungeon where Christ was held. A small and dark pit, carved into the bedrock, a hand-hewn cavity in the bones of the mountain. There we huddled as one of our brothers prayed Psalm 88.

From the darkness we ascended to the church, where we had mass. After our thanksgiving was prayed, we burst forth into the sunlight to explore the grounds. There was an ancient Roman road, a model of what the city would have looked like during the Byzantine period, and of course, the inevitable gift shop.I suppose there is some lesson or thread of reflection that can be pulled from this experience. Perhaps the movement from pit to liturgy to the world, or maybe the difference between darkness and light, or maybe even the creeping influence of materialism. Or maybe the reflection could simply be silence.

Qumran and the Dead Sea

Today we had the opportunity to go and visit Qumran and the Dead Sea. Qumran is a vast valley by the Dead Sea surrounded by a mountain chain, and it was the center of a Jewish sect of the Second Temple period known as the Essenes. This community was dedicated to prayer and the study of the Scriptures. Also, it seems they were very concerned about purification because archeological excavations found several of what appear to be baths for purification.

It was in some of the natural caves of this mountain chain where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. They were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherdboy chasing a stray sheep (or goat). It is said that he threw a rock into one of the caves and heard the cracking sound of a jar. Inside the jar, there were several scrolls.  Eventually many more scrolls were found that have deepened our understanding of the Bible and shed light on the histories of Judaism and Christianity. “Among the texts are parts of every book of the Hebrew canon—what Christians call the Old Testament—except the book of Esther because it does not mention the name of YWHY at all. The scrolls also contain a collection of previously unknown hymns, prayers, commentaries, mystical formulas and the earliest version of the Ten Commandments. Most were written between 200 B.C. and the period prior to the failed Jewish revolt to gain political and religious independence from Rome that lasted from A.D. 66 to 70—predating by 8 to 11 centuries the oldest previously known Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible.” (taken from www.smithsonianmag.com) Nowadays, these scrolls are kept in the Israel museum.

After visiting Qumran, we went to the Dead Sea, the lowest part on the Earth (1400 ft. below sea level). It was a great time to take a break in the midst of our pilgrimage and studies to relax while floating on that salty water (9 times as salty as the ocean). Unfortunately, this sea is disappearing. Scientists say it loses around 3 ft. of water per year. Again, we give thanks to all those who make possible this enriching experience. God bless you all!

Agony and Ecstasy

Today we had mass at the Basilica of the Garden of Gethsemane. The sanctuary is built around the original stone that Jesus would have touched. I was reminded of Ratzinger's book on the passion events, wherein he makes the connection between Jesus lying down in prayer during his agony in the garden, with the rite of ordination. The candidate prostates himself before the altar in imitation of Christ's self-offering to the Father for the salvation of the world.

Later, we all ate a lot of cake.

Prayers For Our Friends and Family

A text message came to me the other day from a family member, and it was the kind of text that makes your heart skip a beat: "Please call me."  The text catches you a bit off guard.  Immediately, you begin to think, "I hope everything is okay." Calling from Israel can be a challenging thing to do.  You need to find a good wireless connection and you need to take into account the time difference (we are 8 hours ahead of Central Standard Time).  

I said a prayer, and made the call via Skype.  The news as I feared was not good.  A young man, a close friend of my relative, had suddenly passed away.  I could hear the sadness, the anguish in his voice as he told me what little he knew about the death.  Suddenly, I wanted to be home.  I wanted to be there physically to help my family as they tried to make sense of this sudden loss.  I felt helpless for a moment.  Then, I offered to pray for this young man's soul, for his family members, and for all of his friends.

During our pilgrimage, even though we are separated by thousands of miles, we can still be united with you in prayer. I was able to offer a prayer for the young man who died at the Holy Sepulcher.  We had a special Mass inside the tomb of Christ, in the very place where Jesus rose from the dead, and in that place I prayed for the soul of the young man who died and for all of those mourning his loss.

We have been so blessed to be here, to see all of these holy sites, and to have the opportunity to pray for you all.  We thank you for your support during our time away.  Please know that you continue to be in our daily prayers.

Class Day

 

After a weekend of visiting more Holy sites throughout our pilgrimage, we continued with our classes today.  In our Prophets class, we are learning about the book of Isaiah where the prophet says, “Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good.  Make justice your aim: redress the wrong, hear the orphan’s plea, and defend the widow.  Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord” (1:16-18). 

            This passage is a great Lenten theme as we continue our journey of faith through the great city of Jerusalem.  Lent is a time of ‘self-denial’ so that we can grow closer to God and rely on His grace in all aspects of our lives.  The Lord is teaching many of us about the virtue of “humility” as we visit so many moving sites during Lent.  Additionally, we are learning about the ‘Bread of Life Discourse’ in our Johannine literature class.  Humility and Thanksgiving are two important virtues that are inseparable.  It is in the Eucharistic celebration that we experience our Lord’s greatest acts of humility (i.e., the Paschal Mystery), as such, we express thanksgiving for the divine life that we receive from Jesus every day as we contemplate the mysteries of God in new and profound ways.   

            As a class we are blessed to be in the Holy Land, and there is so much to be thankful for (our professors, benefactors, classmates, families, our future parishioners, etc.).  I can’t think of a better way to prepare for diaconate ordination than to be in the Holy Land, walking in the footsteps of Salvation History where so many great biblical figures modeled humility, service, and thanksgiving – all because of their love for God. 

The Canaanite City

Today was a beautiful day to take a trip. The weather was beautiful and we began with a bus ride to Ashkelon. We had plenty of time on the bus to read and talk with one another because today was a day full of traffic. I guess everyone must have been out having an exciting day like us as well. After some driving, we arrived at Ashkelon and had a great tour regarding the Canaanite people. We has had the opportunity of seeing the oldest known archway in the world.

                After seeing the archway, our tour guide gave us great explanations about the old Roman basilica and the ancient church at Ashkelon. After the tour, we headed to a great lunch right on the sea. It was a great time for us all just to relax and enjoy a meal together. Afterwards, we headed back many of us spent our afternoon walking throughout Jerusalem and exploring many of the beautiful holy sites there.

Lazarus, Come Out

John 11:1-44

Today we ventured to the other side of the Mount of Olives in order to visit the town of Bethany, which is the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  It is the place where, after death and having been in the tomb for four days, Jesus raised his friend Lazarus and brought him back to life.  We celebrated Mass for the 2^nd Sunday of Lent in the church built by Antonio Barluzzi in 1952.  Of his churches, this is one of my favorites.  One interesting detail is that the stone he chose for the construction of the church is one that absorbs water, making it feel a little damp and cold, almost as if you were in a stone tomb.  The fact that there are no windows adds to this effect as well.  After Mass we were able to walk up the hill a little to enter into the cave in which Lazarus was buried.  We all went into the cave and some of us decided to climb through the little hole to enter into the burial chamber. 

Altar at the Church of Lazarus

After Mass we returned to the Israel Museum.  This return trip was so that we could see the model of the city of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, after the death of Christ but before 70AD when the temple was destroyed.  On our first trip to the museum the model was closed because it was covered with snow.  The model has a scale of 50:1.  It was awesome to be able to see the city the way that it was shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection.  After this visit we had the rest of the day free to work on homework, explore, and pray in Jerusalem.

Model of Jerusalem at the Israeli Museum

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

      The second half of our group had Mass in the tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Like Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John, we made our way to the tomb at the rising of the sun. The Church was calm and quiet and thus conducive for prayer and meditation as there were very few pilgrims at this time. During Mass, the first reading was taken from Acts 10, where Peter, addressing the crowd, bore witness to the resurrection of Christ. The Gospel, taken from Matthew 28, recounted the experience of Mary of Magdala and the other Mary at the empty tomb and the angel telling them, "He is not here, He is risen as He said." These words kept resounding in my heart as I meditated upon them. This was a message of hope and of great assurance that God always keeps His word. Today was a fitting day to remember our beloved dead (family, friends, benefactors, etc). How consoling were these words as we come to a deeper awareness that Christ has risen, and all who believe in Him shall never die, but have eternal life! We left the tomb assured of His abiding presence with us at all moments, for He is indeed the God of the living, not the dead.

Mass at the Holy Sepulchre

        This day of immeasurable graces concluded with some of us participating in the via dolorosa (Stations of the Cross) led by the Franciscan Friars at 3 pm in the Old City of Jerusalem with about 400 other pilgrims from all over the globe. The stations were led in five different languages (Latin, Italian, English, Arabic and Polish). It was such a privilege and great blessing to be able to walk the very path of Christ's passion and death. At the fourth station, I was greatly struck by the art depicting the gaze of the Blessed Mother and Christ as they shared each other's pain.  I could not but recall the great verse, "Did 'er such love and sorrow meet..." (from the hymn "When I Survey the wondrous Cross" by Isaac Waats). We cannot thank God enough for all the blessings He has bestowed on us thus far. We appreciate you following our progress on this pilgrimage and please know you remain in our prayers in a very special way. God bless you!

The Franciscans leadings pilgrims on the Via Dolorosa

Glimpse of our Pilgrimage so far

As promised, here is a collection of photos from throughout our pilgrimage. Enjoy!

Travel light, they said...

After mass at St. Catherine's in Bethlehem

Conquering Masada

Group at Masada

Peter reads the Scriptures at Ein Gedi

Shaun overlooking Mar Saba

Frassati's got nothing on Fr. Fuller

Dan cantors at Shepherds' Field

Group shot inside Mar Saba Monastery

Lunch at The Tent Restaurant

Jegar's contemplative afternoon in Bethlehem

Smell like the sheep

Trying out Shepherding (not as easy as it looks)

Watching others try shepherding might be more fun...

John Bosco and Fr. Dennis grinding hyssop

Edson and Valery climb Herodian

At the top of Herodian

Verso l'alto!

Chris raising the roof at Tel Arad

Friar Arturo reads at mass at Church of the Visitation

Frs. Fuller, Kasule, and Webb at Church of Visitation

Group at Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem

Lunch at Casa Nova, Franciscan pilgrim house (next to the St. John lodge)

Listening to the account of the Lord's Baptism

Michael ponders baptism

Always check your surroundings, Miguel

Running through the tunnels at Akko

David cantors at St. Peter's in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee

Chicago seminarians on the Sea of Galilee

Walking to Capernaum

Reflection time on the shore where the Risen Lord made the disciples breakfast

Dr. Nagel speaks about sacrifice in the Old Testament at Tel Dan

Ash Wednesday at the Church of the House of Peter

Kyle takes a goat selfie

Dan reads at St. Anne (birthplace of BVM)