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