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