My previous post was a little formal describing how the geography of the Holy Land was "a fifth Gospel" to me. That was partially because I wrote it for our diocesan newspaper, the Pittsburgh Catholic (in which it was published November 20; see www.pittsburghcatholic.org ). Here let me tell some informal stories about our wonderful pilgrimage.
*Overall the pilgrimage was a fantastic experience. We had warm sunny weather throughout. (I never wore the Steelers jacket I brought with me.) It was so sunny, that upon returning to New Castle parishioners said I had a sun tan. Our group of 34 pilgrims got along well. Our diocesan guide, Helene Paharik (who works with Bishop Zubik as an associate general secretary for the Diocese of Pittsburgh), was an excellent and enthusiastic interpreter of the Sacred Scriptures. Her love of the land, and her joy at leading our pilgrimage, was infectious. All logistics went well. No one got lost or hurt. We never felt threatened in Israel (despite the fears of our family members).
*Our tour company, Unitours, provided a local guide. Jerry is a 40 year old American Catholic who emigrated to Israel ten years ago and married a Jewish woman from Morocco. He had two children, and his wife was 8 3/4 months pregnant. He was a fountain of information--historical, archaeological, biblical, political, cultural. However, his wife gave birth to a baby boy on the Friday of our trip. So while Jerry when home to be with his wife and children, for three days we had Isaac, a native of Israel who was more formal. Isaac also had a sly sense of humor. When we went to the Dead Sea, he told us that our bus driver was actually 900 years old, because he swims in the Dead Sea several times a year, and the minerals from that very salty lake keep him young. Sammy (Osama) the bus driver roared.
*We had daily Mass in the holy sites. Each one was special, as we celebrated the Mass prayers for that particular site (and not of the universal liturgical year). We had two outdoor Masses (under a tree steps away from the Mount of Beatitudes church; and along the shore of the Sea of Galilee); we celebrated the Annunciation of Mary in Nazareth, the prayer of Jesus atop Mount Carmel; Christmas in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the Passion of Christ in the Gethsemane Church, Easter in a chapel of the Holy Sepulcher Church, and the Emmaus post-resurrection story in Emmaus Church. We also read and prayed Gospel passages on the bus as we approached the different churches and towns, along with Helene's insightful commentary.
*Israel is a first-world country. We enjoyed all the creature comforts of a new retreat center (Pilgerhaus at Tabgha) a stone's throw from the Sea of Galilee, and the four star Dan Hotel in Jerusalem. We had sumptuous buffets for breakfast and dinner each day. Special meals we sampled were St. Peter's fish from the Sea of Galilee (head, tail, eyeball and all!), lots of Middle Eastern hummus, falafel and pita bread, and cheeseburgers at the Elvis Diner in Tel Aviv. We found Elvis in the Holy Land!
*We had fun on the trip. The pilgrims found out that it was my birthday during our tour. So our Muslim bus driver and our Israeli Jewish guide worked with a Muslim baker to surprise me, a Catholic priest, with chocolate birthday cake on the Sabbath in Jerusalem (when all the bakeries were closed). It was delicious. Yes, I did have a second slice for breakfast the next morning.
When we took a boat ride on the calm Sea of Galilee we belted out "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" and "Amazing Grace," with a harmonica accompaniment by one of our pilgrims. Several of us floated in the (ten times saltier than ocean) Dead Sea, and coated ourselves with its healing mud. No incriminating photographs remain, however!
*We were serious too. Pilgrims got first-had information about the fractious political situation and conflict between Palestinians and Israelis from Palestinian non-violent peacemakers in Bethlehem and from the Latin Patriarchate's Auxiliary Bishop William Shomali. Christians are an oppressed minority in Israel and throughout the Middle East. We also had the sobering task of visiting the Yad Vachem museum of the Holocaust.
*Archaeologists have contributed much to contemporary understanding of the books of the bible and the culture in which Jesus lived. This was especially true at Capernaum, where St. Peter's family house and compound are located. Another recent non-biblical "dig" was Qumran, on the shores of the Dead Sea. We saw an actual Dead Sea scroll (from about 100 B.C.), one of about 800 which were found between 1946 and 1994. We walked through the remains of buildings of the Essene community which generated the scrolls. This strict sect for men only was active during Jesus's time. Scholars speculate that St. John the Baptist may have briefly joined the Essene community at Qumran before beginning his own ministry along the Jordan River.
*We did not stop at the Jordan River. It is, in good Pittsburghese, a "crick" [creek]. Yet as it leaves the Sea of Galilee it gives life to hundreds of acres of fruits and vegetables, as the Israelis have "made the desert bloom" through advanced irrigation practices.
*I had not done my required spiritual retreat this year. So I decided I would treat the pilgrimage as my retreat. The pace of the days allowed for both communal prayers (Mass and other services) and personal prayer. The whole trip was filled with special moments of grace, as we literally walked in the footsteps of Jesus and prayed in churches which were 250, 400, even 1,000 years old.
*As our country celebrates Thanksgiving next week, I give thanks to God for the huge gift of this spiritual pilgrimage, which helped us pilgrims to "learn Jesus, love Jesus and live Jesus" more.
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