Day 4 Updated

Greetings from Jerusalem!

Today we rolled into Jerusalem and we're here for the remainder of the trip! What an awesome city!

But let me catch you up on what we did on day 4 . . . and in another post, days #5 and #6.

Do you remember we arrived in Tiberias on Wednesday? Well, Thursday morning, still in Tiberias, we went to the Yigal Alon Centre to see the Jesus Boat! What is the Jesus boat? Here's the story:

On a drought-dried shore of the Sea of Galilee in January 1986, two brothers who were fishermen from Ginosar—called Gennesaret in Jesus’ day (Matt. 14:34, Mark 6:53)—spied a mysterious object poking up out of the mud. Twelve days later, an ancient vessel saw the light of day for the first time since it sank nearly 2,000 years ago. See photo below. Pretty amazing, isn't it? Apparently, the boat is made of 12 different types of wood!

We then went to the Sea of Galilee to go on a boat ride. It was incredible to be on the same body of water as Jesus and his apostles had sailed on. We got a great view of the surrounding area. There was a very peaceful moment when they stopped the boat engine, and Fr. Chris pointed out how silent it was.  This reminded us of when Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, and all was peaceful. It was a powerful experience!

We were on a boat like this: 

Here's part of our group getting into the boat.

My sister Julie and I on the Sea of Galilee.                                                                                                  

After the amazing boat ride, we drove up to the Mount of Beatitudes near Tabgha,where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. Fr. Chris actually went up the hill to stand in a cave to proclaim the gospel for us. An interesting thing is that Father climbed up the hill, stood at the entrance of a cave, and proclaimed the Word of The Lord. We could all hear him just fine. There was something like an echo chamber that amplified the sound of his voice, much the same way it did for Jesus. Jesus could speak to thousands at a time without a microphone because of some kind of "natural" amplification! In the photo below, Fr. Chris is quite a ways up the hill, and we are all down below on the other side of the street!

s

 Also taking place in Tabgha, . . . are the multiplication of the loaves and the third apparition of the risen Lord when he commissioned St. Peter in John 21.

Stay tuned. More later.

 

Day 3 Photos

Herodian amphitheatre at the ruins of Caesarea Maritima.

Description of the Crusader Church at the Caesarea ruins.

Crusader Church - crossed-arch architecture on ceiling.

Grotto of the Annunciation at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Main altar at the Basilica of the Annunciation.

Fr. Chris Podhajsky and Deacon Rich Wallace celebrating Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation.

Day 4

Day 4 was filled with amazing experiences, including a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee! I just stepped out on the balcony of my hotel room (late at night), and there below is the Sea of Galilee with its water splashing up against the rocks. How peaceful and calming it was.  And there below on the shore are three fisherman! Sounds about right, don't you think? 

More on Day 4 later and photos from Day 3 as well.

Shalom!

Day 3

Greetings friends!

We just finished Day 3 in Israel by driving up the Mediterranean Sea coast to Caesarea Maritima. There is so much history there. Caesarea was once the ancient capital of the Roman province. All morning we walked along the short admiring the impressive archaeological remains of the Roman and Byzantine city that once dominated the region. Many emperors spent time here. It was at Caesarea that Peter came to understand that the Good News was not for Jews only, but for the whole world. Here he baptized the Roman Centurion, Cornelius, and his family. 

After several hours and may photos taken in Caesarea, we drove north to the city of Haifa and then Stella Maris, the Carmelite Monastery dedicated to our Lady of Mt. Carmel. After eating lunch at the monastery, we visited the cave where Elijah the prophet lived! Can you believe it? Elijah appears in 1 Kings 17, 18, 19, etc. The cave, which is located below the monastery, was a very holy place to visit. People had stuck prayer requests on little sheets of paper inside holes in the cave's walls. Pretty cool.

Then we drove to Nazareth, where Mary was born, lived, and received the message from the Angel Gabriel. In the Church of the Annunciation, we were actually able to see the exact space where Mary's home is thought to have been. We celebrated Mass using the readings for the feast of the Annunciation. We then went to the Byzantine Church of St. Joseph, where St. Joseph and the Holy Family lived. We then continued on to Tiberias, a city on the Sea of Galilee, where we will spend two days. Photos will follow later.

Shalom!

Day 2 continued

Day 2 continued . . .

I wanted to include some photos of our pilgrimage so far. These are some photos of our trip to Israel (first photo is in Chicago airport -- only some of our pilgrims are in this photo, including Fr. Chris) and our arrival at the airport. We're off to Ceasaria Maritima on the eastern coast tomorrow.

P

Day 2

We made it to the Holy Land! The trip was wonderful, we had no problems, all luggage arrived safely. Praise God! We're leaving Ben Gurion airport now to go qto our hotel in Tell Aviv for the night. It's 5:46 pm Tuesday here. More later. We go north to Caesarea Maritima tomorrow and points beyond. 

Day 1

Departure day has arrived! We leave in a couple of hours and will be traveling for the next day or two, so you won't see much blogging during that time. Keep in mind there's an 8 hour difference!  Please pray for us!