Thanks for the Journey

       Yesterday before noon we rode onto the familiar campus of Mundelein Seminary.  It is hard to believe that we have been gone since the beginning of December.  All of us are excited to be home, and to spend some time relaxing before we begin our next set of classes in March.
       Looking back, it is incredible to see all that the Lord has done in and through us in the last 3 months.  The people, sites, and experiences resonate in our hearts, reminding us of the encounters with Christ that happened each day, each moment, while we were in the Holy Land.  However, in those moments Christ taught us something important.  We are blessed to have been in the Holy Land, to encounter Christ there.  But we need not be there to see Him, to talk with Him, or to serve Him.  We encounter Christ each day when we encounter our neighbors and even when we encounter strangers we have never met before.  What each of us brings back from the Holy Land is different, but we all bring an awareness of Christ's presence breaking into our lives each and every moment.  God, please give give us eyes to see You.
      Thank you for taking this journey with us.  You have been in our prayers, and we appreciate the prayers you have said for us.  We hope that your experience of the Holy Land through this blog brought Christ into your daily life in a new way.  Keep looking for Him, because He is always present to each of us.

What was Pilgrimage?

We had two days of final exams.  I have just finished my last final and feel very relieved. After several weeks of classes combined with so many actual experiences of pilgrimage, I have learned much about what it means to be a pilgrim. Through the many places that we have visited and the adjustments I have had to make in order to adapt to the different structures of this pilgrimage, I can say that a pilgrimage is a walk of faith. When one goes on a pilgrimage, they enter a new path. They come to a new understanding about themselves and the world. We must remember that this path is not a temporary path. The path of a pilgrim is a lesson that will help them grow for the rest of their life.

            Seeing pilgrimage as a walk of faith is a common theme in the Bible. In the Old Testament the Israelites made a journey through the desert, in which they were absolutely dependent on God. In order for the Israelites to learn to trust in the Lord, God gave them many signs and wonders. As we were told in one of our classes: Israel’s departure through the sea was a miracle worked by God that would never be forgotten by His people. We also see the walk of faith several times in the New Testament. From the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus called His disciples to walk in faith by leaving everything behind and following Him. Jesus continued to challenge the faith of His disciples by relating the conditions of discipleship: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:28).

            Understanding the pilgrimage as a walk of faith is also made visible in many of the sites we have visited. During our stay in Bethlehem I had the wonderful opportunity to see the spot where our Lord was born. This spot reminded me of the faith of our Blessed Mother. By saying “yes” to God, Mary has become the perfect example of what it means to be a pilgrim. She abandoned her own will and allowed God to take her to places she would have never imagined.

            While the Blessed Mother and the saints are good examples of the importance of faith in the life of a pilgrim, the most perfect example of what it means to walk in faith as a pilgrim is Jesus Christ. In His life and ministry Jesus totally surrendered Himself to the Lord. Through His forty days of fasting on the mountain, Jesus overcame temptations of the devil. Through trust in His Father, Christ was given the grace to endure death on a cross. Walking in the footsteps and example of our Lord is not easy. In order to make a good pilgrimage one must abandon their preconceptions and desires and put their trust in the Lord. When one faithfully allows the Lord to be the center of their pilgrimage, he or she will grow in self knowledge. Through continued prayer and reflection, this greater self-knowledge will help the pilgrim to grow in their relationship with God for the rest of their life. 

The Answer to the Test

            “As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools,” so reads a bumper sticker I once saw back in the States. While prayer is indeed quite encouraged in the seminary, I have a feeling that many prayers were said today for God’s intercession. For today is the first of our two examination days for our scripture courses here on pilgrimage. It occurred to me, as that bumper sticker passed into my mind as I poured over details of the intricacies of the Gospel according to Mark, that most of us tend to pray much more frequently when we need something. Whether it’s last-minute knowledge, a hole in traffic so that we can make it to work on time, or even the larger things such as guidance on one’s vocation in life, a job or even health, it is common to pray for a specific thing. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

            It occurs to me that we tend to pray for something when we realize that we lack something in our lives. All of the things which I mentioned above are good things, important things which help us to live our lives and live them to the full. However, we need more than just those individual things. If we pray because we lack some particular thing or cannot get it using only our own power, it can be hard to see the bigger picture. All of us, as created beings, are incomplete on our own. Aristotle describes human beings as the social animal, which is to say that we are made to exist in relationship with one another. This goes beyond our relationships with our fellow human beings and extends to our relationship with God. On our own, we lack the ability to form that perfect relationship with God that He desires to have with his people. Indeed, on our own power, we lack a relationship to God who brought us, and indeed the entire created order, into being and continues to sustain us.

            Therefore our prayer, while interceding for various needs which we have both individually and as the human race, also brings us to a deeper communion with God. This requires a growing awareness of the ways in which God has worked in our lives. This pilgrimage has allowed each of us to experience, in new and different ways, the way in which God is working in our lives and in the life of the human race. Our prayer, which St. John Damascene defines as “the raising of the mind and heart to God,” ultimately allows us to draw ever closer to God and grow in our love for one another, whom God has made in His image and likeness. In the course of this pilgrimage we have learned to see how God has worked in the course of time and through various different peoples. This has led us to reflect on how God has worked in our own lives. Day by day let us grow ever more aware of how God has worked in our lives in order that, when we see him at the end of our pilgrimage, we might know him and his love for us. 

"He Ascended into Heaven, and Is Seated at the Right Hand of the Father"

Some of us pilgrims had a chance of visiting the Mosque of the Ascension on top of the Mount of Olives.  For us as Christians, this place has a very significant role in our lives of faith. Commemorating the Ascension of the Lord brings joy to us as Christians who believe that, at the end of our pilgrimage, Jesus will be there to welcome us into the heavenly kingdom where we shall see him face to face. Although it’s unclear if this is the actual spot where Christ ascended, we believers don’t commemorate the exact place as much as the event which occurred. It doesn’t matter where the ascension exactly took place but what matters is that He ascended back to his father and our father.

            St. Luke is the only evangelist who gives a clear description of the ascension, writing “He led them out as far as toward Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them and was carried up into heaven” (Lk 24:50). As I mentioned earlier, we don’t know the exact place but the reality remains that He ascended.  One of the most striking details about the ascension is the fact that, when Jesus called the twelve, he have them his power to drive out demons, lay hands on the sick, restore sight to the blind and other gifts. He later gave this same power to the disciples and, after the resurrection; he extended his power to all the believers. Whoever believes in him and is baptized receives this same power. This shows how Jesus is very generous with his grace.  Luke is trying to draw a distinction between the terrestrial mission of Jesus and that of the apostles, which began with the descent of the Holy Spirit. After the Ascension of our Lord, the Bible tells us that the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy and spent much of the time in the temple praising God.  We Christians, who received the charism, or the power of the Holy Spirit, have received a charism of action. We are encouraged to actively use the gifts of the Holy Spirit which we have received in order to build our communities.

The Blessings of Pilgrimage

            We are still at Notre Dame.  Having visited most of the sites we are now in the final days before we go back to Mundelein at the end of this week. We have been enriching our minds and our souls through our classes and prayers. Today we had two classes, The History of Israel and The Spiritual Pilgrim. These were our last classes here at Holy Land. We are now beginning to prepare ourselves, spiritually and mentally, for exams and for our return.

            It has been a blessed moment for us to be here on pilgrimage. We have enriched our minds with the geography, culture and traditions in which our Lord was born, lived, died and rose. We have been following his footsteps and now it is nearly the time for us to go out and proclaim the good news. In fact, as we are from different parts of the world, we shall bring this news to our different nations (Mt 28:19). Our understanding of the Scriptures has been enriched. When we read the scriptures, they now make more sense than they did before. This is because we now know the geography of the places mentioned in the Bible and we know the culture into which Christ was born. These are just a few of the fruits of pilgrimage. What else can we say? It can be said that ungrateful hearts dry out all graces. Therefore, we remain so grateful to God for this moment and we continue to thank everyone who has contributed to our ability to experience this wonderful pilgrimage. May God bless you all.

What a Walk Reveals

            I went for a walk.  Not uncommon, nor in my case unusual.  In fact I find that a nice walk does a world of good.  It relaxes me and helps me decompress.  It’s something about exercise and fresh air I’m sure.  So, I went for a walk.  I was feeling a little pent up, being in the same place quite a bit of the time with classes and what not.  I had a vague destination in mind, but nothing in particular.  I walked through the streets of Jerusalem, and I made some meandering turns here and there.  However, I came to find that this walk was not helping me relax at all.  There is a difference between walking in a familiar location and a foreign city.  You can’t really just walk.  You have to keep your bearings and try to not get lost.  In the end, I returned to our residence a little physically tired, but not relaxed at all.

            Then I started to try and figure out other ways of letting off some steam.  As I ran through all my usual hobbies and distractions, I quickly realized two things.  First, none of my usual hobbies were available to me.  Play on my guitar? Nope, it’s in Chicago.  Watch a movie?  No theater close that I know of.  Go for a walk? Well we saw how that worked out.  When I left on pilgrimage, I left behind the things that I used to recharge my batteries.

            Then I realized that there was one thing that I had not thought of.  Among the many ways that I had developed to top of my personal fuel tank, prayer had not been first on the list.  It hadn’t even made it into the top ten.  Only because I was on pilgrimage, because God had placed me beyond these normal things I used, did I even think of it.

“That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons . . . [a]nd he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons . . . [a]nd in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed.” Mark 1:32-35

Jesus knew what he had to do to rest; he had to stay close to his Father.  He was surely exhausted by the energy it took to minister to so many in need.  So he went off by himself and prayed.  Prayer is not an important part of our daily lives.  It is the most important part.  We turn to so many different things, good things, to try and give us energy: family, hobbies, exercise, food, sex, material possessions, etc.  In and of themselves, none of these are bad.  However, when we place them at the center of our lives, when they become the things we turn to in order to make us feel better, we have lost our bearings.  All these things are goods that God has created for us, but as created things they are finite.  They disappear and run out.  In prayer, be it personal prayer, meditating on scripture, the liturgy, or especially the sacraments, we turn to the source of life itself and receive our rest from Him.  Only God can be the fount of life giving refreshment that will sustain us forever.  

Pray. Study. Rest.

Pray.  Study.  Rest.  These are three very important things, things that are meant to be part of each person’s life.  True, for many people it is not easy, and sometimes not possible, to make time each day for all of these, especially given the busyness of life.  We have many things to do, demands from work, activities, family and friends.  For us, on days like today, when we have a few hours of time spent in the classroom, the study part seems easier.  I went to class.  But there’s more to it than that.  Study doesn’t mean just showing up, it means actively seeking the truth.  It means an honest desire to find the truth and an open heart to receive it and be changed by it.

Rest.  “My heart is restless until it rests in You.”  Saint Augustine wrote this famous line, and his words written so long ago still resonate today.  Our hearts are restless; we bounce from one thing to the next to the next.  But where, with whom, do they rest secure, rest in the absolute certainty of being loved and cherished by the other?  This is why we, especially us Americans, must learn to rest, learn to do nothing and just be.

But study and rest are by no means the end of the story.  In fact, taken outside their proper context, when taken too far, they can become something which leads not to God but close us in on ourselves.  That is why pray is the first task listed.  That’s the one that is most important, that’s the one that keeps us rooted firmly in God.  Most people are capable of serious study, and equally capable of working hard at our jobs.  But are we intentionally and consciously making sure that spending time with Jesus is right at the top of our priority list?  This is not easy.  As a seminarian, we are asked to do many things, asked to juggle many things.  We are currently staring down the barrel of a few exams and deadlines for papers quickly approaching.  This makes the study part seem pretty important right about now.  But we cannot let our work, our study, become an end in itself, it just is not meant for its own sake.  The challenge is to remember, and more than just to remember, but to make real in our daily lives the fact that all of our study and work and rest are directed toward being with Jesus.  Our lives must be directed toward remaining with Him as He remains with us.

The Last Week

In these last days of our pilgrimage it is easy for us to prematurely begin the process of transitioning back to “normal” life.  The number of class sessions which we have in these final days increase, we must begin our preparations for final examinations and we have begun to get emails regarding the commitments and obligations that will be awaiting us when we arrive home.  While this is the easiest time for us to lose the spirit of a pilgrim, it is also the most important time to remain on this journey.

You see, right now each one of us has to make a choice.  This decision will affect the way that this experience forms and shapes our life and our ministry.  If we exit the pilgrimage now, if we leave that attitude that we have prayerfully fostered over the last two months, we run the risk of weakening how this experience shapes our relationship with Christ.  If, however, we continue with the spirit of a pilgrim, our return home will not mean the end of our experiences.  Rather, we will continue to enter into the graces that we received here more deeply and we will continue to journey towards Christ within our heart.  In short, we will no longer be on a pilgrimage, but we will remain pilgrims.

As we said in some of our first blog entries, the pilgrimage is an outward journey to foster an inward journey – the journey of the heart to Christ.  With the grace of God, this experience can be an important step in that life-long journey.

A Night to Remember

                Five members of our class took advantage of one of the unique opportunities Jerusalem has to offer: being locked in the Holy Sepulchre for the night.  After being greeting by a Franciscan Friar who told us the three rules (no sleeping, no singing, and no lighting candles) he said the entire Church would be ours for the following nine hours.  The doors were locked, both from the exterior and interior sides, the monks went their way, and we went to pray.  We found ourselves able to pray, unobstructed, at the most important sites in all of Christendom: Calvary and the Holy Sepulchre (the actual tomb of Christ).  Aside from near-freezing temperatures and a few random cats wandering around, we had ample time to enter into the mysteries of Christ’s death and Resurrection.

                After about four hours the doors were opened and the other Christian Churches (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Coptics, and Armenians) which have a claim to the building entered to pray their liturgies.  In the middle of the night the holy sites were filled with bells, incense, chanting, and unexpectedly large crowds of people.  In the Old City of Jerusalem, the streets were deserted and quiet, yet the Holy Sepulchre was thriving with actions all praising the Lord!  While it was nice to have the last few hours of the night back in relative solitude, the movements of the entire evening were joyful.  There was a profound joy throughout the night.

                Last night we went to an empty church to pray at an empty tomb.  We did not expect to find the tomb occupied, as Mary Magdalene did on that first Easter Sunday morning (Lk 24:1-9).  So what were we expecting as we ventured into the tomb or as we climbed up Calvary?  I think we received exactly what we had set out for: a time to pray with Christ and rejoice because the tomb was empty.  He is Risen!  We encounter Him each and every day, whether here in the Holy Land, back home in the States, or anywhere else we may travel.  Let us be reminded of that each and every day, every time we make the cross.  Let us make the saying of John Paul II ring true in our hearts: “We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.”   Let us be joyful.

A Deeper Look

Today we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about Judaism. Judaism is a wide umbrella of practice including groups such as Secular Jews, Traditional Jews, Orthodox Jews and Ultra-Orthodox Jews, just to name a few. With such a wide range our speaker knew she couldn’t present all the intricacies of Judaism to us in one short day. She decided therefore to focus her talks on some of the commonalities amongst most Jews. One of those topics was Midrash.

            Midrash is kind of like a collection of stories or sayings that have built up around the Bible. They often attempt to clear up confusion or answer questions that come up during the reading of the Bible. As examples we looked at three Midrashim connected to the story of Cain and Abel. In Genesis it says that Cain invited Abel out to the field. The Midrashim attempt to give possible conversations that they might have had on their way to the field. The conversations presented are attempts to explain why Cain killed Abel. Without giving the entire stories I will summarize the three Midrashim to say that the first said it was a conversation over money, the second over power, and the third over sex. The Rabbis were basically saying that these are some of the reasons that we as humans fight and kill each other. We fight over money (or possessions), over power, and over sex. That held true then and it holds true today.

            The Midrashim gave insight into human thought and human life. One of our classmates compared this to our Catholic Lectio Divina. In Lectio we use our own imagination to place ourselves into events and explore the setting, much like the Midrash does. By doing so we can also come to know ourselves better and come to a deeper appreciation of our human condition. The Midrashim and Lectio Divina stand as examples for us as to how we can further engage the Bible stories that we know so well in order have a second and deeper look. Sometimes when we think we already know something we miss another lesson that is waiting to be discovered. 

The Prayer of Christ

We are entering the final moments of our pilgrimage. This evening we did a holy hour in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was an incredible experience to spend time with the Lord at the same spot where He experienced His agony.  As a man having both a divine nature and a human nature, Jesus knew that He was going to die an extremely painful death for the salvation of humanity. But it was at the moment in Gethsemane when He seemed to come face to face to what He was going to undergo. He knew that his trial was upon Him, and He knew that He could not face this trial alone.  So He went to the garden to pray.

As I reflected on the Jesus’ agony in the Garden today, I realized that this gospel passage teaches us the importance of prayer. We are reminded not only of the importance to take time out each day to be alone with God, but we are reminded that we should pray with a sense of urgency, of desperation. We live in a world that is filled with urgency for many things. We are desperate for instant gratification. We want instant e-mail. We want instant communication through cell phones. We seek fast food. Our prayer today at Gethsemane asks us to ponder whether we have the same urgency for God as we do for the things of the world.  This place reminds us how necessary it is to put God first in our lives, to depend completely on him.

In his urgent plea to the Father, Christ reminds us of the intense battle between the flesh and the spirit.  If we don’t pay attention to how God is working in our lives at every moment, we can easily become complacent. We can slip into the notion that we can do things on our own and, like the disciples at the Garden, we can get caught off guard and fall asleep. Therefore, now is the time for us to stay awake. Now is the time to cry out to God and seek his help. May we follow the example of Christ in his urgent plea to the Father so that we might constantly be aware of our own spiritual needs and the needs of others.   

Assumptions

            Today we had a lecture from a local expert on the topic of Catholic-Jewish relationships in the Holy Land. He spoke extensively about the particular challenges which face these relations in this part of the world as the result of two factors. The first is the unique situation of Israel as a land with a majority Jewish and minority Catholic population. In the situation of Jewish-Catholic dialogue with which we are accustomed in the United States, Judaism is a minority and Catholicism, while not a majority, is a large percentage of the community. The second is the peculiarities of Israel as a nation founded precisely as a Jewish State and the history of this land. It was an elegant reminder to me that attempts at dialogue and relationships can never be discussed in the abstract. Rather, relationships and dialogue take place between people; people who live in a particular context and carry a particular history. Without understanding and respecting the various unique factors which accompany people in a particular time and place, it is impossible to forge any kind of relationship.

            Jerusalem, indeed the whole of the Holy Land, is a place which has seen far too little peace and has a history of poor relationships among its residents. It was difficult, yet necessary, to see that some of my more naïve assumptions about the possibilities of dialogue were not accurate. It reminded me that it is easy to make assumptions about people in all manner of circumstances. It is only by actually meeting with people and engaging them as they are that our assumptions can give way to a genuine understanding of the other. It is not only in the course of inter-religious dialogue that we make erroneous assumptions, nor do those assumptions concern only people thousands of miles from home or from a much different culture. Rather, we also tend to make assumptions about those people closest to us. I hope and pray that we all might learn to engage in genuine dialogue with other people, rather than simply make assumptions about them. Then and only then will we advance in genuine understanding and build a solid relationship. 

God's Grace

Today we were blessed to have mass at the Church of St Anne, built by the Crusaders in AD 1138. There is a tradition that the crypt enshrines the home of the Virgin Mary and her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne. In the crypt, we had an opportunity to visit and pray in what is said to be the birthplace of Mary, the virgin mother of God. It was in this Church that we had today’s Eucharistic celebration. Next to it are the ruins of the miraculous healing pool called Bethesda, around which many sick people gathered in hope of healing once water stirred up. In the gospel of John we read about Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath, a man who had been ill for 38 years and who Jesus found lying next to the pool but had no one to put him in the pool once the water stirred (Jn 5:1-13).

Reflecting on these two important sites in the life of our Lord Jesus, one comes to appreciate and to clearly understand the salvation history of humanity. Having Mass at the site where the Blessed Virgin was said to have been born, lived, and grown up as a normal child bring us to understand the humility of God. The humility of God is visible as He uses normal and ordinary things in our lives to bring about extraordinary things. Anne and Joachim lived a simple but upright life and raised Mary in a life of holiness as they cooperated with the grace of God. Born for a special mission and thus being conceived without original sin, Mary became the mother of the incarnate Word, bringing forth through God’s grace the Savior. Anne and Joachim cooperated with the grace of God to raise Mary, who fulfilled the divinely ordained mission given to her. We too are called on to pray and imitate the humility of Saints Anne and Joachim so as to let God’s will be done in our lives and to fulfill the mission to which we are called. Gazing on the Pool of Bethesda, we realize Jesus’ concern, love, and compassion for those who are suffering. Jesus initiates the healing process; He gives the grace and we are to cooperate with His grace to attain the healing we need in our lives. This healing can be physical or psychological, but above all it is spiritual. Like the lame man who believed and was cured, we too are challenged to cooperate with God’s grace. 

Friendship with Christ

            We had the opportunity to visit the Mount of Olives, where Christ ascended into heaven, as well as Bethany where Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the friends of Jesus, lived.  We saw the tomb where tradition tells us Lazarus was raised by Jesus Christ.  We have also been at the place where Jesus Christ taught his disciples how to pray.  At this place, called Pater Noster, the prayer that Christ taught them, the ‘Our Father’, is translated into more than 150 languages from different parts of the world and placed on the walls of the church and courtyard.

            By visiting, seeing, and entering the tomb where Lazarus laid, then coming out of the tomb, we were reminded of our hope of being raised by Jesus from our own tomb of sins through the Sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation.  This was a way of connecting to our Lord by walking in His steps.  It was a moment to continue cultivating an abiding friendship with Christ just as Martha, Mary, and Lazarus had done during Christ’s earthly ministry.  To be with Christ is our first and most important priority, which brings us to fulfill His mission.  He calls us first to be with Him, them He sends us out as long as we stay connected to Him (Mark 3:14).  We can only have power and authority to do Christ’s work if we are united with Jesus.  Thus visiting these sties allows us to follow Jesus’ steps and renew our friendship with Him that He may send us to carry out His mission according to His will.  May the Lord bless all who made this journey possible and continue to bless us and give us the zeal and desire to serve Him and His people in love.  

The Choice to Love

            As darkness deepened in the valley, a small group descends from the city into a well known grove of olive trees.  As most of the group stops, four of them continue a short ways on alone.  Then a solitary figure walks on to a rock outcropping and falls forward in prayer.  This is the moment of decision, and in this moment, we see the true depth of love.

            The Garden of Gethsemane stands a few hundred yards from the eastern gate of the Old City of Jerusalem, which is now called St. Stephen’s Gate.  It is here that Jesus asked His Father if there was another way, any way, other than the agony of the Passion.  Yet in this moment we see Jesus’ resolve to do the will of His Father, for in the same breath He says, “not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39).  This is the place of complete surrender.  Jesus, who is both fully God and fully man, shows us both His humanity in His desire to escape the agony and death that awaits Him and His divinity which is completely in line with the will of God.  The Cross was not something forced upon Christ from a harsh and judging God.  The Cross is God coming down and choosing to place Himself on the Cross for us.  By entering into the depths of our humanity, God frees us for new life in and through Him.  The only explanation for this is complete and utter love, the love of God for us.

            Such a love asks us if we are willing to respond.  When someone does a loving act for us, the only appropriate response is an act of love in return.  Anything less is hollow and demonstrates selfishness on our part.  But a loving act in return, an act of reciprocating love, shows our desire to truly be united with the one who loves us.  Gethsemane is for us also a place of decision, a place where a choice is made.  Jesus loved His Father and us with everything He had, to the end.  Will we love Him with the same love, with everything we have, to the end?

The Beginnings of Peace

Winding streets, narrow water channels, underground tunnels, ancient fortresses and wide open spaces in the middle of a crowded city.  The Old City of Jerusalem, the City of David, and the Temple Mount, respectively are all places which we visited today.  By now we have all been in the Old City plenty of times, exploring its maze-like streets, the innumerable nooks and crannies, and the places that memorialize what Jesus did here.  But the Temple Mount, that was a new experience for most of us; it was a place we had only seen from a distance.  Of course, we have all seen the Dome of the Rock, or the Golden Dome as it is also called, dominating the landscape of the Mount, but we hadn’t been up to the place itself to see, up close, the building that was raised over 1300 years ago by the victorious Arab Muslim leadership.

In the midst of all this there is, somehow, a peace of sorts in Jerusalem.  Muslims, Christians, Jews and the ever-present stream of tourists and pilgrims manage to more or less get along here.  Which makes me wonder: what does real co-existence look like?  What does real tolerance look like?  Does it merely consist in saying something like: “I’m okay, you’re okay, let’s be friends”?  Or perhaps, “I’m right, you’re wrong, let’s get along”?  Or, “I don’t like you, you don’t like me, let’s do business together”?  Is there something more we can say, some firm foundation upon which to build lasting peace, enduring co-existence, and authentic tolerance?

To find our firm foundation, maybe we could look to Jerusalem.  True, over the centuries and the millennia many wars have been fought here, much blood has been shed in the name of religion or perhaps to stamp out one group or another.  But yet if we look closely we see the seeds of peace sown in the hearts of the faithful.  Each of us, Jews, Christians, Muslims, believe in a God that we cannot see, who has created the brother and sister whom we can see.  “For whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” (Lev 19:18).  "O mankind! We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know and honor each other (not that you should despise one another). Indeed the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most righteous." (Quran, 49:13). May this shared belief be our firm foundation, may these shared values be the beginning of a lasting peace.

We are Pilgrims on a Journey

         Today is our first full day back in Jerusalem after our trip to Jordan.  Today was actually a free day for us to recover from the Jordanian trip, to catch up on journal writing or homework, or to just explore the city.  One of the things many of us spent time doing today was catching up on email or other communications with our friends and family back home.  We find ourselves being asked about schedules and other obligations when we return home in just a few short weeks.  While beginning to look to the future, one thing is clear: our pilgrimage is rapidly reaching its conclusion.  Or is it?

        Not wanting to neglect the duties we have at home, it is important to also remember that our pilgrimage continues.  This is not time to simply check out and look forward to what comes next.  God is still working in and through us on this pilgrimage and is asking us to remain attentive to the here and now.  That is one of the principle points of a pilgrimage: being open to what is occurring now and seeing how it helps us live a more authentic Christian life.  At Mass by the banks of the Jordan River, the site of the Baptism of Jesus, the celebrant reminded us that, as Christians, our life here on earth is nothing but a pilgrimage.  The ultimate goal of this pilgrimage is life with God.  Danielle Rose, a Christian singer-songwriter, once wrote a song entitled 'See You in the Eucharist.'  Towards the end of the song she says:

"We are pilgrims on a journey

We are headed for the throne

Carried on the wings of angels

Oh we do not walk alone

All our prayers we lay before Him

And His grace will pave the way

To lead us to our one true home

Where we'll see each other face to face."

This pilgrimage should remind all of us that, as Christians, we are always called to seek God.  We are called to imitate Jesus and be led by the Holy Spirit to see the Father face to face.  While our pilgrimage to the Holy Land is drawing to a close, our pilgrimage as Christians will continue long afterwards.

The Temple of the Heart

As we awoke this morning in Amman, we began our last day in Jordan.  This day was dedicated to visiting the site of the ancient Roman city of Jerash.  The uniqueness of this site is due to its level of preservation and its massive scale.  For two hours we walked through relatively intact arches, temples and markets.  It was not difficult for the imagination to enter into life at the peak of this city.

One fascinating aspect of our experience was seeing the juxtaposition of paganism and Christianity.  While one moment we were walking through the temple of Zeus or Artemis, in the next we were captivated by the mosaic on the floor of one of three Christian basilicas.  This clearly demonstrates the evolution of this city from paganism to Christianity during the early centuries after Christ.  It would have been easy to be drawn into the uniqueness of this site from an archeological or historical perspective.  I think, however, there was an important spiritual lesson here for all of us who walked through these ruins.

Just as in Jerash there are, within our hearts, pagan temples next to Christian temples. In other words, we are all in need of continual conversion.  The spiritual life is one of constant attention to tearing down these false temples of self-interest and selfishness, and allowing the great temple of the Holy Spirit to be more and more glorious.  We will never be perfect this side of heaven but, with God's grace, those pagan temples will eventually fall into ruins.  The spiritual life is a journey, a gradual progression towards God.  And, in the end, we will dwell forever in the Lord's temple and He will dwell within the temple of our heart.

The Beginning of our Pilgrimage

This afternoon we had the opportunity to celebrate Mass near the site of the Baptism of our Lord beside the Jordon River. Our celebrant Abbot Thomas, our in-house spiritual father, did a wonderful job of connecting the meaning of the site to our lives. He connected it both to our lives here on pilgrimage in the Holy Land and also to our lives back home.

We started by renewing our Baptismal promises, just as we do each Easter. As the group was finishing the renewal the sun came out from behind the clouds and shone on us for the rest of the Mass. Fr. Thomas used his homily to demonstrate how that renewal of the Baptismal promises is for us and for every Christian a renewal of our role as pilgrim. We here are physically living out the life of a pilgrim, but that physical manifestation will stop when our plane lands back in Chicago under a month from now. Yet our spiritual pilgrimage, and that of all those who have journeyed with us through this blog and in prayer continues past our return. Through Baptism we entered into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ and became members of his mystical body, the Church. Our life here is therefore not our own. Nor is our life here on Earth meant to be fulfilled and complete.  We are meant for something greater.  In Baptism we were made pilgrims here on Earth who journey towards the rewards of Heaven. As Vatican Council II taught in Lumen Gentium: we are “[o]n Earth, still as pilgrims in a strange land.”

The Gift of Adventure

As part of our journey, we went to Petra, Jordan. This experience was one of the most memorable experiences for me during our pilgrimage. Petra is said to be one of the greatest archaeological treasures in the world. It is filled with multicolored sandstone mountains in a secluded site of steep rocky slopes, high cliffs, and soaring mountain tops. Amidst these beautiful natural wonders is an ancient city carved into solid rock by ancient an Arab tribe called the Nabataeans over 2200 years ago. Although the Nabataean kingdom was powerful, they were eventually annexed to the Roman Empire in AD 106. 

As we made our way through the gate of Petra I was in awe. The ancient main entrance is a long narrow gorge of magnificent beauty. It is like walking through a narrow canyon with high rock walls. On the walls are several bizarre looking geological formations. After entering the gate we were shown many caves that decorated the rock walls. These caves had carved entrances and were used by the Nabateans as tombs. The largest of the royal tombs has a main chamber of 17 X 18.9 m in size. We also saw the tomb of Sextius Florentinus who was the Roman governor of the province of Arabia. Among other interesting Nabatean structures which were carved into the rock were a high place of sacrifice where religious ceremonies took place honoring Nabataean gods, an ancient theatre and a colonnaded street.

While we saw many amazing things at Petra, I would say the most memorable experience was my climb to the Ad-Dier Monastery and the rain storm we encountered on the way down. The Ad-Deir Monastery is a large structure up a mountain that was used by the Nabataeans as a either a tomb or temple, or possibly both. It was later used as a church in the Byzantine era. In order to see the structure we had to climb a flight of 800 stairs up a mountain. It looked like it was going to rain and it was a very cold day. Some of the other seminarians decided to go. Others decided not to. I debated whether I should make the pilgrimage up the mountain, but decided to go. It was an amazing experience. I went alone but met some of the other seminarians at the top. On the way up I somehow got lost from the stairs that were carved out of the rock. At one point I heard a voice yelling to me, telling me which way to go. I would later find out that this person was a Bedouin, a person who was born and raised in the caves of the area. I spoke to this person and had tea with a Bedouin family. I soon learned that several Bedouin families live among the caves of the area.

After getting to the top of the mountain and seeing the monastery, the rain began to come down. The other seminarians and I made our way down the mountain as fast as we could, but we soon were caught in a massive rain storm. We had about three miles to hike back to the bus. As I made my way through the canyon I got soaked. The narrow way that we had to walk was filling with water, looking like a river! Waterfalls were forming on the sides of the high rock walls and pouring into the canyon. The wind was soaring through the canyon. It was so cold that my brain felt numb. When I finally got back to the bus with my seminarian brothers, I was very relieved. I was cold and soaked, but I was on my way back to the warm place where we were staying.

Although our visit to Petra was not explicitly religious, it is an event that I will always remember. It was an adventure of high magnitude that taught me new things about our mysterious world. Life is filled with so much natural beauty, magnificent history, and amazing cultures. May we each come to learn more about our world and be open to the many adventures we encounter.

Workers, not Builders

“We may never see the end result. But that is the difference between master builders and workers. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs; we are prophets of a future not our own.” – Archbishop Oscar Romero Prophets of a Future not Our Own

            Throughout this pilgrimage we have visited various sites within the Holy Land. Today we began our brief journey into Jordan. We visited Mount Nebo, the place across the Jordan River where Moses saw the Promised Land. We were privileged to be able to celebrate Mass at the chapel atop the mountain. The view was quite remarkable, from the top of the mountain one could see the northern shore of the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Jericho and the hills of Judea near Jerusalem. On a clearer day one can apparently see the city of Jerusalem from atop of this mountain. During the homily, the celebrant discussed the fact that Moses was brought to Mount Nebo in order to view the promised land, but told that he would die before he could enter it (Deut 32:48-52, 34:1-6). The theme of the homily was that we like Moses, must surrender ourselves to God’s plan and remember that we are but an instrument that God uses in order to carry out his plan of creation.

            I was reflecting upon this theme during our Mass on Mount Nebo. It occurred to me, as I had been with the group that celebrated Mass at the Holy Sepulcher yesterday, that our Promised Land is not an earthly city but a heavenly dwelling in the presence of God. This Promised Land is not anything which can be imagined in this earthly life. Rather, this earthly life exists in order to bring about God’s will in creation and to prepare us for the eternal Promised Land which awaits us in heaven. The work of building up this kingdom, which is ultimately God’s work, is a work which has existed before us and will continue to be perfected after we depart from this earthly life. Like Moses, we are called to help build up God’s creation, but we will ultimately leave much undone for it is not our project, but God’s creative action in which we can only cooperate in.

            It is Christ’s life, death and resurrection which have ultimately brought about the redemption of the entire created order. The only way in which we can enter into the eternal kingdom which God has promised us is to enter into the mystery of death and resurrection. It is this ultimate surrender to our independence, however illusory, and to everything which we have known which allows God to finish the work of perfecting us and bringing us into heaven. It is this eternal mystery which we enter into at every Mass. It is this eternal mystery which we have been blessed to enter into at such places as the Holy Sepulcher and Mount Nebo. It is this eternal mystery in which we must continue to immerse ourselves until our master builder summons us to himself.

The Meaning of a Tomb

            Half of our pilgrimage group was blessed to have mass inside the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher today. The Holy Mass began at 6:30 am and it was an incredible experience for us to have such a rare opportunity. This was truly a unique experience which we will carry in our memory for the rest of our lives. Standing in the tomb where Jesus was buried and contemplating the mystery of human salvation, which was fulfilled in this exact spot at the resurrection, is beyond our imagination. Meditating upon the mystery of our salvation and pondering on God’s love for us fosters a deeper appreciation of who we are not only as children of God but as God’s chosen ones.

When reflecting upon the mystery of the tomb, those without faith one comes to believe that it is a symbol of lifelessness, a place of no hope and the end of life. For those who believe in Jesus, however, his resurrection gives death a new meaning, not as the end of life but its transformation and completion. Our faith is clear and our hope is a surety because we are certain of our destiny in Jesus Christ. Gathering around the tomb of Jesus to celebrate Mass made us appreciate in a deeper way the mystery of our salvation. Reflecting and looking at the empty tomb in which Jesus was buried made us to appreciate the gospel account of the resurrection. “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him” (Mk 16:6).

[Blogmaster's note: Sorry for the delay in posting today's reflection.  We were on the road and got back late.]

Our Worst and Our Best

            Today, we celebrated Holy mass at St. Peter in Gallicantu. It is located on the eastern slope of Mount Sion.  At this site stood the house of the high priest Caiaphas where Christ was brought after his arrest (Mk. 14:53) as well as where Peter denied Jesus (Mk. 14:66-72).  There is a truly beautiful church at the top of which sits a rooster.

            Peter denied his master three times, but what is more significant is Peter’s confession after the denial.  Scripture tells us that Peter “broke down and wept” (Mk. 14:72).  He realized his sin and confessed it.  Before Christ had given Peter the command to care for His sheep, he asked Peter three times, “Simon Peter, do you love me?” just as Peter had denied Him three times.  Being at this site reminded us of our weaknesses.  In one way or another, we have all denied Christ by our words and our deeds.  We have denied Him far more than three times!  Praying the Holy Mass at this site was like re-experiencing our denial of Jesus on one hand, while on the other hand it was a hopeful moment, in that if we confess our sins, God forgives us.

            It is when we recognize our weakness and sins and confess them that Christ not only forgives us, but entrusts us to carry out His mission just as He did with Peter.  As Bishop Sheen once said, “Sin is not the worst thing in the world, denial of sin is the worst thing in the world.”  We have been blessed today to be at this site in order to remind us of our weaknesses and to be assured of our hope of being forgiven, that we may carry on Christ’s mission.

            We continue to thank God for this opportunity and we also thank all who have made this pilgrimage possible.  With one voice we say, “God bless you all.”

What is Possible?

            The valleys and hills surrounding Jerusalem are what the Scriptures refer to as the hill country of Judah.  In the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, a young woman makes an arduous journey into these hills because she has been told something, an impossible something.  She travels down from a tiny village and up into the hills surrounding Jerusalem to see her relative because the unexpected has happened.  This young woman has been visited by an angel, and was greeted with words that have echoed throughout the world ever since: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” (1:28)  She enters into the house of her relatives and is greeted with a phrase that has been spoken and cried and praised throughout the two thousand years since it was first heard: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (1:42)

            Both Mary, a virgin, and Elizabeth, a barren woman, have both been blessed with a child when it was impossible for each of them.  But impossible is such a human word, a finite word.  Impossible belongs to men and women who see only what can be seen with the eyes or touched with a hand.  Mary was able to see past that.  Even though she knew it was impossible, she consented to the angel’s word.  She recognized that she was small and that God was infinite.  She grasped the possibility of God’s presence breaking into our reality and the way He changes everything in the process.  Mary responded to God’s promise to act, and trusted that His greatness would provide for all the obstacles that were faced. 

            We each face many challenges: the bad economy, the struggles of a family, and the countless other impossibilities that we all face in our humanity.  However, all these pale in comparison to the greatest impossibility we face, becoming saints.  Our own eyes show us that we cannot do it.  Our own minds give us a million reasons why this is impossible.  Saints are someone else.  Saints are people like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, John Vianney, or Terese of Lisieux.  Surely that can’t be us.  However, the reason the angel came to Mary and the reality altering action of God that Mary perceived is just this: that we might be saints.  God did not become man just to teach us rules to live by.  Jesus came to transform everything and everyone, if we only let go of our own limitations and let Him.  Jesus came to make the impossible our reality.  He came, died, and rose again to unite us to God.

The Value of a Life

Few events in the history define the history of an entire people the way World War II and the Holocaust define modernity and the Jewish people.  Today our group visited Yad Vashem, the memorial that the Israeli people have created to remember what happened.  Today the group visited the memorial to genocide, to an attempt to annihilate an entire race of people.  Today the group visited one of the defining moments in the history of the Jewish people.

One thing that stood out, among so many things at this memorial, is the deep sense of betrayal that is indelibly fixed in the minds of Jews.  As if the program of humiliation and extermination carried out by Nazi Germany wasn't bad enough, there was nowhere to which the Jews at the time could flee.  What happens when the whole world turns a blind eye to atrocious evil?  What happens when the whole world sits down and refuses to help those who cannot help themselves?  What happens when you and I sit down and allow people to continue to perpetrate evil?

But, one might ask, what can one person do?  Indeed, among seven billion people in the world I am but one person.  Well, in the case of Hitler, he galvanized a nation into exterminating twelve million people in the name of the false promise of a better future.  Nelson Mandela galvanized his people and the world into ending apartheid, and the future was better because of it.  John Paul II helped to galvanize people both inside and outside of the USSR to end the oppressive regime, and the future was better because of it.  An unknown priest at a parish you and I have never heard of lived an authentically priestly life, and his people were better because of him.  An unnamed father, an unnamed mother, sacrificed and loved and cared for their children, and their children were better because of it.

Receiving and Giving

“We adore you, oh Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.”

In the pre-dawn hours of morning our rather sleep-deprived group made its way through the narrow and winding streets of Old Jerusalem to pray the Via Dolorosa, also known as the Stations of the Cross.  The entire length of the fourteen Stations amounts to a mere 600 yards; beginning with Jesus’ condemnation by Pontius Pilate and culminating in his death and burial in the Holy Sepulcher.  It is truly amazing to think of how much occurred over such a short distance.  As we made our way through the virtually empty streets of the city to pray at each station, some of which are commemorated by no more than a bronze circle attached to a wall with a roman numeral on it, a strong somber quiet remained over the group.  Praying where Christ fell three times, or where he met his mother, or where he died for all of us truly made the stations come alive.

Before we completed the final two stations, Jesus being taken down from the Cross and being laid in the tomb, we were able to celebrate mass at Calvary, the precise place where Jesus was crucified.  Each and every time the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated, we participate in a re-presentation of Calvary.  The Eucharist is the un-bloody sacrifice of Christ.  I felt that this morning I had a clearer understanding of this than ever before.  The words “This is my body which will be given up for you” struck a deep resonance in my heart.  At this very spot Christ gave up his life - for you and for me.  The experience of mass at Calvary illuminated my heart in a way that nothing more could be added to enrich what occurred. It was a celebration of the Eucharist which I will not forget.

Each and every Sunday, when we are called to the Eucharistic table, we see Christ give us everything, again and again.  He performs the ultimate act of love by dying on the cross so that we “may have life, and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10).  In order to properly receive this entirely unmerited gift, we must be prepared to give ourselves, wholly and entirely, back to Christ.  As we prepare to receive the Body and Blood of Christ into our very selves, we should always meditate on what Christ has done for us.  Part of this meditation includes asking of ourselves: “What have I done for Christ?”

A Tale of Two Kings

Today was our first day on the road since we left the Sea of the Galilee. Our excursion took us to the tomb of the Prophet Samuel, Abu Gosh – the city the Crusaders considered to be Emmaus, and to Bet Guvrin-Maresha. While visiting Bet Guvrin-Maresha I must say that I was thoroughly unimpressed. The city was apparently mentioned in the Bible somewhere but no one could tell me where exactly, the best answer was “I think it is somehow associated with Joshua.” The apparent reason for our visit was to see a Columbarium Cave. The massive underground cave had been carved with thousands of niches. The tour guide said that the niches were originally thought to be the places to store the cremated remains of the inhabitants of the city. He went on, however, to say that modern researchers now no longer think that the cave was for burial. In fact they now think that the cave with two-thousand carved niches was built as a pigeon coop.

It was only in passing that the comment was made that this city, the one we traveled to so as to see a massive pigeon cage, is thought to be the birth place of King Herod the Great. The great King who rebuilt the Temple and many of the massive fortresses we have visited, the King who killed his own sons to avoid civil war, the King who was on the throne when Jesus was born and whom we are told in the Bible had many children in the Bethlehem area killed, was born in this city. Yet, this fact is secondary. It apparently pales in comparison to a pigeon coup.

But this speaks volumes when we think that twenty-one days ago we were celebrating Chirstmas in the city of Jesus birth. Tradition has not only helped us remember the city Jesus was born in but we can point to the exact spot that has long been held as THE birth spot. We as pilgrims still come by the bus load just to spend a few precious moments in prayer and to reverence the place where our Lord was born and where he was laid in a manger. Today it seems that Herod, with his massive building projects and powerful armies, is perhaps best remembered for the fact that he was on the throne when our True King was born. His great dreams seem to have ended in nothing. So why should it be a surprise when a pigeon coup gets top billing over the fact that the city may have been the birth place to the once Great King Herod?

An Unremarkable House

            Our morning was filled with talks that helped us to more fully incorporate the experiences we are having on pilgrimage.  The first talk gave us a deeper appreciation of both the history and theology of ecumenical dialogue, something that has become more real to us since our experiences at the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  Our second talk focused on deepening our appreciation of God's movements in our life through prayer.  This afternoon, one of our hosts in Jerusalem brought us up to the rooftop of our building.  We had a beautiful view of the Old City as the story of Salvation history, and centrally the Paschal Mystery, was shown to us, location by location.

            Looking over the entirety of the Paschal Mystery from a rooftop made one thing clear - each of the key sites of this mystery of our salvation are marked by rather unassuming buildings.  Even the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the most sacred site in all of Christianity, doesn't stand out. It blends into the surrounding buildings and on the inside is mostly dark and dingy.  Some say that the most holy site in all of Christianity should be a glorious Church which radiates beauty throughout the city.  However, I wonder if this actually is the best representation of our faith.

            This unassuming Church is the most appropriate place to honor a God who, humbling himself, assumed an unassuming human nature.  Just as the eyes of faith allowed one to see through Christ's human nature to his divinity, so too do the eyes of faith allow one to see the glorious Paschal Mystery through this building.  Our faith allows us to see beyond what is simply perceptible by our senses and peer into the fullness of reality, to peer into the Mystery of God.  What is true for this building is true for the life of every believer.  The simplest acts and the most common experiences can be windows through which we gaze upon the love of God.  If, however, we are always expecting God to manifest himself to our senses in glorious ways, we just might miss the one who emptied himself, took the form of a slave, and “humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7).  The outward unremarkable appearance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher reveals an inward reality that is the transcendent glory of the Paschal Mystery.  I just hope that, once I return home, I will continue to see the glory of Christ shine through the most mundane of experiences.

How We Grow

Today was a day of prayer for us.  This day was much needed because we have been on the go for the past eight days. The day before yesterday we arrived in Jerusalem. Yesterday was a free day to settle in. Most of us roamed around and explored the area where we are staying. We are staying in a wonderful spot here in Jerusalem. Our residence is located right on the border of the Old City. We are in walking distance of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the spot where Jesus was crucified. Other nearby sites that we have been encouraged to visit includes the Tomb of Mary, Cave of Gethsemane, Chapel of Condemnation, Chapel of Scourging and the Western Wall. The New City is very modern with several stores and restaurants. The Old City is filled with many individuals walking up and down the small streets. Small shops take up both sides of the streets. It is like walking through an ancient shopping mall.

At the beginning of this day our spiritual leader spoke about the significance of our location in light of our pilgrimage. We began our pilgrimage by visiting Bethlehem. Then we moved to areas of Jesus’ ministry. Now we are standing in the place where Jesus gave his life. We have seen many historic and holy places and have learned many things from this pilgrimage. Today was a day for us to reflect on how these experiences has affected our lives. It was a time for us to take our outward journey and bring it inward.

Reflection is necessary for every Christian. In the midst of our busy lives it is important for us to pause at times so that we can recognize what the Lord wants to say to us. In the midst of his busy life, Jesus himself took time to go off alone in prayer and reflection. May each one of us follow this example of Christ and allow our minds and hearts to be open to how our daily encounters and experiences are shaping the journey of our lives. 

Meeting Christ in the Crowds

            After a month and a half of pilgrimage, we have finally experienced our first full day here in Jerusalem. As we did not have anything planned on our schedule, many of us took advantage of the opportunity to explore the city. A group of us decided to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which has within it the hill of Calvary and the tomb in which Jesus was buried. It is an interesting building. Where one might expect a grand church built with the finest architecture with other buildings a reasonable distance away, this is not the case. Rather, the building, due to various additions through the ages as well as its joint custody by six Christian Churches, is something of an eclectic mix of styles. Additionally, there are many shops in a marketplace that sits right up against the church.

            It occurred to me in my reflections that there is much similarity between this present description of the Holy Sepulcher and what it must have been like in Jesus’ day. The city of Jerusalem was in the midst of the holiest time of the Jewish year when Christ was crucified and rose again. Many pilgrims from all over the Jewish world had flooded into Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. As Jesus walked towards the site of his suffering and death, merchants were doubtlessly hawking their wares and people were exploring the city. Where the modern mind often expects a sanitized, separate, and peaceful place to honor such a momentous event, this is simply not the reality of the situation in which the Paschal Mystery occurred. Christ suffered, died, and rose in a world that kept moving. Perhaps this holiest of churches continues to teach us something about prayer.

            While it is quite important to take time to withdraw from the world for prayer just as Christ did before beginning his public ministry, our prayer can never be completely removed from the world in which we live. We must learn to find God in the hustle and bustle of daily life. We must remember that Jesus entered into the chaos and confusion that so often defines our life. God is present in our day to day lives, in our struggles as well as our joys. He calls out and speaks to us even in those moments in which we do not feel much of anything at all and those moments in which we are experiencing the busyness of everyday life. He is the God who suffered, died and rose again to redeem all of this and to allow it to bring us closer to God. This is the message of the Holy Sepulcher. 

Hearing God's Call

Today we have come to an end of our stay in Galilee, the region of much of our Lord’s ministry. We concluded our journey in Galilee with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at Capernaum, in the church built on top of the ruins of the house of St Peter’s mother-in-law. The readings of the day matched with the theme of our call to ministry. The first reading was about the call of Samuel by God. The main celebrant emphasized the message of the readings which call us to contemplate more deeply during this pilgrimage as we make preparations for our deaconate ordinations. After Mass we gathered outside and the tour guide gave us a lot of important information about the site. He challenged us to think about why of all places, Bethsaida, Tiberius and others, Jesus chose Capernaum as the headquarters of his ministry. The first reason was because the area around the Sea of Galilee had a population of at least 20,000 people. We are not shocked hearing that he fed five thousand men with loaves and fishes. Unlike other small towns like Nazareth, Cana and others, which had a population less than 200 people, the area surrounding Capernaum was highly populated. The second reason was the fact the Capernaum was the center of business and taxation. All of the caravans made a stop in Capernaum and these people would take what they had heard and seen in Capernaum to all other places of their destiny.

We made another stop at Jacob’s Well in Samaria, which is under a Greek Orthodox Church.  At Jacob’s Well we read from the Gospel of St John, 4:4-42.  This is the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The text was expounded upon and later we received the historical and archeological information about the place from the tour guide.  We as pilgrims and future priests were challenged with the work that lies ahead of us.  The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well shows how God’s people are longing to be given the living word of God. We can relate this to today’s reading about the call of Samuel; God has called us to minister to his people and has given us this time on pilgrimage to prepare ourselves as best we can for the task ahead of us. We are doing this by being open to God’s grace, being conscious of our inner movements, and deepening our understanding of the Scriptures so that when the time comes to deliver the word of God, we are very prepared and confident. 

Jesus Preaches to Us

            The group is staying at Pilgerhaus Tagbha in Galilee.  Today we visited the Mount of Beatitudes.  This is the place near Lake Gennesaret, also called the Sea of Galilee.  Here Jesus gave a long sermon which expresses the principles values one needs to cultivate in order to be a follower of Christ.  From the sermon we heard, three major themes are clearly expressed; The Beatitudes, the ethical admonitions, and the authority of Jesus’ teaching.

            Jesus gave the Sermon to the crowds two thousand years ago and he is giving the same sermon to us today.  The principle values he laid down for his followers are ever new and relevant to people of every generation.  We had enough time to read the sermon (Matthew 5:1 – 7:29), and the homilist made the point that the Word of God never expires.  The Word surpasses time and space.  In the Sermon, Jesus was not making impossible demands to his followers; he wants us to take his words seriously.  The fact that the principles are difficult does not mean that they are impossible.  In fact, Christ never promised us an easy life, rather he said, “Anyone who wants to be my follower must deny himself, take his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:25)

            So we are blessed to be at this place and hear the Sermon which is being preached to us.  Christ is talking to us as his followers through the Scriptures and in our celebration of Holy Mass.  Christ has laid down the principle values for us.  Let us embrace them, live them, and follow him.

Peering Through the Mist

            As we drove through the Golan Heights our guide said, “You can’t see it, but to the left is Mt. Hermon.”  We had started off the morning being rained upon at Caesarea Philippi.  As we moved up the mountains into the Golan Heights we entered into a thick white cloudbank.  In any direction you looked, you could see no more than ten or fifteen feet.  The driver of our bus was visibly straining to concentrate on the road ahead of us, looking for any obstacles or hazards that could loom up in front of us with no warning.  After having been told about how beautiful the Golan Heights area was, it became difficult not to get upset that we could not see it at all.

            As Christians, we have to remember that we don’t always get a clear view of what is around us.  We travel our pilgrim path through this world, and at times we find ourselves in a dense fog.  We can’t see far in any direction and it can become very easy to lose our way.  We strain to peer through the mist in order to catch even a small glimpse that might point us in the way that we should go.

            These fogs can happen for many reasons.  Sometimes our sins blind us to the path.  Other times it is simply our human nature; we can’t know everything.  Sometimes it is a darkness that comes from God who shields our sight so that we can learn to trust and love Him better.  In any case, the answer is always the same:  follow in the ways that God has given to us and trust in the path taught to us by Christ.  Psalm 119 sings the praises of God and says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (v. 105).  God sent His Word to us, Jesus Christ, to show us the way home.  He will lead us through valleys and over mountains.  He will show us great vistas and take our hand to move us through blinding fog.  We simply need to trust in Him, and follow His path: the path of charity towards our neighbors, the path of love of God, even the path of the Cross.