Fr. Lally, S.J., a spiritual director at our seminary and 20 yr. + Holy Land guide told us (during our Holy Land pilgrimage during Christmas!) that when you want to know someone better you go to their home. In His loving providence Jesus invited us to His home so that we might know Him better, and it worked!
Despite living and dying at a specific time and place He transcends space and time to be with us eternally through His resurrection…and He was indeed with us as we took time to pray often over the Scripture readings at the different sites, returning to those sites that were especially fruitful.
The sites provided the opportunity to engage the mysteries of our faith. It was a particularly important time since I am preparing to be ordained a deacon later this year (October 2008) and a priest next (2009).
As all Christians, we are hopefully continually being configured to Christ. However, through my future priestly ordination the configuration will be something altogether special:
I will offer in the person of Christ (through Jesus acting through me) the same sacrifice of Himself on Calvary (His death by crucifixion), making His sacrifice present on the altar (transcending space and time) in an un-bloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine (the bread and wine are changed to no longer be bread and wine at all but completely the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ).
There is only one place in the world that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass does not transcend space and that is at Calvary, the exact location of Jesus’ sacrifice. It was an amazing experience to celebrate this.
As you can imagine the entire pilgrimage was very fruitful and beautiful. There are too many stories and affects to share here. I will though share the different locations at which we were blessed to pray. You all were in my prayers and continue to be.
On the Sea of Galilee:
-St. Peter’s Primacy (Jn 21: 1-19)
-Capernaum (too many scripture versus to list)
-Multiplication of Loaves (Mk 6: 30-40)
-Mt. Of Beatitudes (Mt 5)
Nazareth:
-Cave of the Annunciation (Lk 1:26-38)
-St. Joseph’s Church (over his workshop)
-Synagogue of Jesus (Lk 4: 16-30)
-Mary’s well (the only well in Nazareth and thus the place where a woman would get water for their family)
-Cana (Jn 2:1-11)
-Yardenit Jordan River Baptism Site
-Qumran (location where the Dead Sea scrolls were found)
-Dead Sea
Jerusalem:
-Gethsemane (Lk 22:29-53)
-Palm Sunday Path of Jesus on the Mt. Of Olives (Mt 21:1-11)
-Chapel of the Ascension – now a mosque (Acts 1:1-14)
-Dominus Flavit – place where Jesus lamented for Jerusalem (Lk 19:41-44)
-Last supper route through the Kidron Valley
-Pool of Siloam (Jn 9:1-41)
-Holy Sepulcher (Calvary and the empty tomb of Jesus)
-Via Dolorosa - way of the Cross (Lk 23:27-31)
-Dormition Abbey – where Mary fell asleep to later be assumed into heaven (1 Cor 15:51-55)
-Last Supper room – also Resurrection & Descent of the Holy Spirit (Mt 26:26-30; Jn 20:19-28; Acts 2:1-13)
-St. Peter in Gallicantu – Peter’s denial (Lk 22:54-62)
-Western Wall (“wailing wall” – last remnants of the Jewish Temple destroyed by Romans in 70 AD)
-St. Anne’s Church (birth place of Mary)
-Pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:1-15)
Ein Karem:
-Place of John the Baptist’s birth (Lk 1:1-25)
-Place of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lk 1:29-56)
-Bethlehem (Lk 2:1-18)
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