Trip Home - Remembering the Blessings

We left our hotel in Jerusalem at 1:30am (ouch) and headed for the Tel Aviv airport. During the trip we prayed morning prayer together - our last time of prayer with the entire group. As we sat in the airports (Tel Aviv, Frankfurt & Dallas), on the planes and in the bus, we got to reminisce on the last 10 days and give thanks for the many blessings we received.

This picture was taken outside of the cave of the Annunciation after our first Mass.

Here we are all posing after Mass in the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor.

Final Dinner

We left Ein Karem for a typical Israeli dinner in a Jewish neighborhood near our hotel. First comes the various salads including beets, hummus, cabbage, olives, eggplant, etc served with pita bread. Then came the fallafel and finally the meat - kabobs of chicken, beef and lamb (no pork of course!). For dessert, baklava.

Our tour guide, Dave, was joined by his wife and the director of Regina Tours, Benji. He encouraged us all to return and bring some friends. The group presented Deacon Jerry & his wife, Carole, with an olive wood carving of the Holy Family since this is the year of the family. There was much to be thankful for... but some people were anxious to start on the packing.

Ein Karem (Visitation & Birthplace of John the Baptist)

Ein Karem is just outside of Jerusalem - though it takes a while to get there in traffic - Mary probably didn't have much traffic as she traveled there on foot to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Our first priority was the celebration of the Eucharist since they close at 5pm and we were arriving at 4:30. We celebrated our final Mass together quite quickly (25 min) but did not leave out the singing - which we were getting quite good at! After Mass we visited the cave of the Nativity of John the Baptist and looked out over the valley to view the Church of the Annunciation - perhaps we'll get to visit it on our next pilgrimage.

St. Peter Gallicantu

Our tour guide said we did not have much time for this visit - maybe 10 minutes but we ventured down the hill to the Church anyway. The lights were out in the cell where Jesus was imprisoned so we did not get to go down the steps for a visit. However, outside we were in the courtyard where St. Peter betrayed Jesus followed by the cockcrow (Denial of Peter - Lk 22:54-71). The steps that Jesus would have walked up as he was taken to prison were also visible amidst the ruins near the church.

Cenacle (w prayer for Holy Spirit)

This room, on the site of the original upper room, is very stark in decor. However, after reading scriptures pertaining to the Last Supper and Pentecost, we prayed divided into two groups and Fr. Brian and Deacon Jerry lead prayer over each person for a particular need. Many of us experienced the gift of tears during this prayer.

Dormition Church (Assumption of Mary)

This Church in one of the sites claimed to be that of Mary's Assumption into Heaven, or as they say in the East, her dormition, her falling asleep. The other site is near Ephesus. This statue is in the crypt of the main Church. We prayed here asking for Mary's intercession for us and we sang a marian hymn.

Armenian Quarter of the Old City

This picture is looking toward the Zion Gate, inside of which is the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. We met here after a free morning in which some of us rested, some packed, some shopped and some did the touring you see cataloged below. The Armenian Catholics are in union with the Latin or Roman Catholic Church. There are a few Latin Catholics in the Christian Quarter but in order to support our Armenian brethren, some of us shared a nice Armenian lunch.

Shroud of Turin Exhibit (Notre Dame Center)

After a good American style breakfast at the Notre Dame center, we visited the Shroud of Turin permanent exhibit which is housed there. It is a very professionally presented exhibit about the history of the shroud, its travels through Europe ending in Turin, questions about its authenticity and an examination of the image on the shroud. Some in our group were worn out with already busy morning but Fr. Eamon Kelly gave a great presentation almost 2 hours long and kept our interest perked. His presentation helped us delve deeper into the reality of what Jesus suffered, the incredible peace with which He offered Himself for us, and the reality of the Resurrection. For more on the shroud...
http://www.shroudforum.com/

St. Ann Church (5 Porticoes)

Sabbath Healing (Jn 5: 1-15) Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk." Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat." He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?" The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you." The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a Sabbath.

Temple Mount

The Dome of the Rock is built on the Temple Mount or Mount Moriah, the site of Abraham's almost sacrifice of Isaac, the site of Solomon's Temple and later Herod's Temple which was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. The Dome of the Rock was erected between 685 and 691 CE. Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, who initiated construction of the Dome, hoped that it would “house the Muslims from cold and heat” and intended the building to serve as a shrine for pilgrims and not as a mosque for public worship. However, historians contend that the Caliph wished to create a structure which would compete with the existing buildings of other religions in the city.

Our tour guide noted that this is the 3rd holiest site for the Muslims because they believe this is where Mohammed ascended into heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. It is the holiest site for the Jews since this is where the Holy of Holies was, the dwelling of the Ark of the Covenant. The Jews do not walk on Temple Mount because they do not want to step on the place where God made His dwelling on Earth, the Holy of Holies.
Christians are allowed on Temple Mount through one entrance but are not allowed to go into the Mosque. The tension surrounding this site underscores the tension between these 3 major religions in this "City of Peace".