Even though I will make at least one more post here sometime soon regarding the Israeli / Palestinian conflict, I wish this morning to thank the Pilgrim Center of Hope for their outstanding work in preparing for and leading this pilgrimage. More specifically, I wish to thank Mary Jane and Read more
Now that we our pilgrimage has come to an end, rather than giving a day-by-day account, I’ll recall the sites of Jerusalem according to our Lord’s final entrance into Jerusalem and his Passion. (Our group arrived home shortly after noon today. The pilgrimage far exceeded our expectations!) The Upper Room: Obviously, Read more
Ein Karim is believed to be the community in the Judean hillsides (Luke 1: 39-40) where our Blessed Mother visited her cousin, Elizabeth. Ein Karim is only 7 miles from Jerusalem and about 100 miles from Nazareth, so it would have taken Mary about two weeks to journey to this Read more
Well, my friends, as I write this post, our pilgrimage is entering the final 30 hours of our time in the Holy Land. I apologize for the delay in updating this blog on our journey. The days have been long and full, and the internet service since arriving in Bethlehem Read more
Sunday, April 12, Holy Land Bethlehem was a very small town at the time of Jesus. Translated, Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” In God’s eyes, this must be one of the reasons this humble town was chosen to be the birthplace of the Son of God, the Bread come down Read more
Saturday our group left Galilee behind. We passed into the West Bank and south through the Jordan Valley to the Jordan River for our first stop. The Jordan Valley is the border area between Israel and Jordan. It is a very fertile valley along the river, and some of the Read more
West from Jericho on the way up to Jerusalem, one passes by a beautiful mountainous area in the Judean Desert. This is the location of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, the place traditionally believed to be where King David wrote this well known Psalm 23: The Lord is my Read more
After a good night’s sleep and leisurely start, our pilgrims loaded the bus and headed for Mt. Tabor, the sight where Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John. Mt. Tabor is just a few miles west of the Sea of Galilee and not far from Nazareth. One would think Read more
Wow! Words cannot express the graces received by our group today on the Sea and shores of Galilee. As Thursday comes to a close here on the Mount of Beatitudes, our Pilgrimage group has just concluded the day with a prayer service in the Blessed Sacrament chapel. Most of the Read more
Up early this morning, and after prayer, decided to go for a walk prior to breakfast. The wind is really strong along the Sea of Galilee this morning, and it is hazy. Nevertheless, a perfect opportunity to walk with Jesus along this shore where so much of his ministry took Read more