A busy, but simple day. We had classes in the morning, followed by the return of our speaker on Judaism. Today was allotted as more of a question-and-answer time, so we took the opportunity to learn more about some of the less understood tenets of Judaism. The evening was ours for relaxation, card games & catching up on work,
Field Day!
Today we had morning Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Calvary. Words cannot describe the spiritual fruits we received there. We walked back home to begin a day long journey with CRS (Catholic Relief Services) to hear what they do in the Holy Land and to visit some of their sites that they do their work.
We were divided into two groups. One group was going around the Bethlehem area while the other group was going around the Hebron area. The Bethlehem group visited the Nahaleen village and met with the farmers and townspeople there who benefit from the CRS Food for Work program. It was an eye opening experience to see the struggles the people have over water rights and land rights. From there we visited the Latin Patriarchate School in Beit Sahour where we met with many of the schoolchildren as they asked us questions and we asked questions of them. It helped tremendously that they gave us cookies and coffee and tea, which as we all know, give a seminarian a piece of food or drink and he will be your friend for life. We had a break for lunch at a traditional Bedouin style tent restaurant that was very good. The final stop was a tour of the Dehaisheh Camp where the struggles people have when they live there because of being refugees.
The second group visited a village near Hebron and viewed a plantation project and visited with farmers in the area and where CRS has built homes for them. They saw some of the agriculture products that are being grown, including tomatoes that were very good. They next visited a family in the old city of Hebron City and saw firsthand the poverty that many people live with in this land. Lunch was served at a nice restaurant with authentic national cuisine and then it was on to visit Halhoul town where they visited a family who is benefiting from the CRS Food for Work Program.
After a long day visiting and a long bus ride home, we were exhausted and got back to our home and crashed into bed for the night as the next day we have a full schedule again. It is good that the coffee they serve us here is strong and loaded with caffeine to give us the boost we need at times.
Thursday’s agenda commenced at 8:30am with the arrival of Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway, a local Muslim scholar. He was asked to help the group understand the significance of the city of Jerusalem to those who practice Islam. After a very short introductory lecture here at the Notre Dame Center, we left for a tour of three Islamic holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. Our first stop was Haram esh-Sharif, the preeminent location for Islamic worship in the city. This site is a vast, tranquil religious complex that is home to a variety of Islamic schools and shrines. At one end of Haram esh-Sharif is El-Aqsa mosque, which draws the largest crowd for prayer on Friday afternoon. Sitting at the center of Haram esh-Sharif – and clearly dominating its landscape – is the Dome of the Rock. This enormous shrine houses a rock believed by Muslims to be linked to two stories in the Quran: the sacrifice of Isaac and Muhammad’s Night Journey to heaven. The Dome of the Rock is unquestionably one of the most impressive (and recognizable) structures in Jerusalem. This jaw-dropping edifice glitters brilliantly with its gold-leafed dome, and the bright tiles that adorn its outer walls demand one to stop and marvel. Suffice it to say, the sheer architectural beauty of the Dome of the Rock impressed the group. We were also impressed with the rest of Dr. Abu Sway’s tour and his comments on centuries-old dialogue that exists between Christianity and Islam.
When we arrived back at the Notre Dame Center, we enjoyed lunch and then went to class. Fr. McIlhone and Dr. McNamara sufficiently remedied sleep-inducing symptoms that are typically associated with Class-After-Lunch Syndrome. Father Jim continued to direct us through the Acts of the Apostles; we discussed the martyrdom of Saint Steven, the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, and the conversion of Saint Paul. In the class that followed, Dr. McNamara sketched a quick history of Greek and Roman architecture that culminated nicely with a comparison between the Parthenon and the Pantheon. Our class was enthused by these interesting theological and architectural themes.
In the morning today we went on a tour of the Temple Mount, also the place where the Dome of the Rock is located. Guys had tried throughout our time here to get up and look around on their own, but were unsuccessful. So today we all went together as a group with our Muslim guide to hear about their holy sites here in Jerusalem.
We were not able to enter into the Dome of the Rock because of certain restrictions the Muslims have placed on who can and cannot enter. These restrictions are also a result of the restriction they are faced with. Muslims from outside Jerusalem are not allowed to worship on the Temple Mount and in solidarity with them the sites are closed to all but Muslims from Jerusalem.
After our tour of the Temple Mount we headed back towards the Notre Dame Center for lunch. And following lunch we met in our small groups to discuss our week.
Free day! Splitting off in groups or individually, we went out to see and pray at the churches and sites that we hadn’t yet visited or even to re-visit some that we had.
Today was a semi-free day that turned into a full fledged free day because of rain. In the morning we were supposed to go to an Armenian Catholic Church for Mass, but the weather was so bad and we had to walk there and it was a good distance away, the Mass was cancelled because of rain. Not really, we just didn’t go to that Mass but went to the Mass here at Notre Dame Center. A little rain won’t stop us from worshiping our God with love and avoiding mortal sin!
The rest of the day was free to enjoy to ourselves with prayer, rest and relaxation!
Today was the birthday of Fr. Larry Sullivan, our pilgrimage pastor. As you already know, Fr. Larry, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, has been with the group as an adjunct faculty member of Mundelein Seminary. He has been a mentor to the seminarians; by sharing real-life examples from his ministry, he has helped us relate the present experience of the pilgrimage to our future work in the parish.
Many of us helped Fr. Larry usher in his birthday at 12:00am as we watched the Bears trounce the Saints. The Bears victory was the best birthday present that Chicago priest could have received. The early morning celebrations did not prevent us from giving ourselves entirely to our Monday morning academic pursuits. Fr. McIlhone led us in a study of the baptism of Cornelius, and Dr. McNamara led a discussion on the history of the Temple of Jerusalem.
Our afternoon was free: some of the guys toured the Old City of Jerusalem, while others spent the afternoon studying and reading, and still others dedicated their time to prayer.
During dinner we took the occasion of Fr. Larry’s birthday to celebrate the birthdays of all those members of our community who turned one year older while on pilgrimage. There was wine on all the tables, and with the wine came a toast from Deacon Carlos. He pleased the group with his jokes and false Irish accent. After everyone enjoyed a piece of delicious birthday cake for dessert, the group gathered in our classroom for the distribution of presents. All those who had a birthday received a unique Holy Land T-shirt purchased from a local vendor. The evening finally came to a close with the movie Nacho Libre, which was shown for those had the energy to continue the birthday festivities into the night.
Today we visited the Holocaust Memorial called Yad Vashem here in Israel. It was a very somber time for all of us to reflect on the tragedy of the Holocaust and the horrors inflicted on the people of Judaism. We were only able to spend an hour and a half walking through the different memorial sites. It was not near enough time and many have commented that they would like to return in order to see the parts they missed. In an hour and a half I didn’t even make it through the first of three main sections of the memorial. I didn’t want to just rush through it.
After that we were scheduled to go and see the model of the temple and the Shrine of the Book. They had recently changed the schedule times and so we were not able to enter and had to make a change of plans. We instead went to lunch and then traveled to Bethany to visit the tomb of Lazarus. This was the tomb from which Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. All who desired, were able to enter the tomb. After visiting the tomb in Bethany we returned to the Notre Dame Center.
Today started out with classes, as usual, but then opened up in the afternoon. Given a few recommended places to go, we went out – some to Dormition Abbey, some to the Cenacle and some to David’s Tomb. Coming together at in the early evening, we celebrated Mass together at Saint Peter’s in Gallicantu. It is the church that marks the spot where Jesus was brought before Caiphus and where Peter denied Jesus three times.
There are only ruins outside the church, layers of them that will probably take years to excavate. But in the midst of those ruins is a stone path that has survived the centuries. It was probably on this very walkway that Jesus came to be questioned. Reflecting on this and then celebrating Mass, it was sobering to think on our own past, current and future denials of Christ in our sinfulness – but also a moment of grace to realize, especially in the celebration of the Mass, that mercy and forgiveness are available to us in the course of our work to spread Christ’s message of mercy and love.
Today was a field trip day to the Tantur Ecumenical Center to listen to the work that they do there. The morning was spent listening to a talk given by one of the priests who work there on Catholic-Jewish Relations and the effect that has in the Holy Land and in the Church. In the afternoon, we continued to listen to more information on the work done there, especially on the Catholic Church in the Middle East. It was quite a long day but informative.
From there we took a bus to Mount Zion and went to the ecumenical prayer service for Christian unity week in the Cenacle, which is the upper room where our Blessed Lord had the Last Supper with His Apostles. After that, the time spent sitting all day listening to lectures caught up with us all, and we were exhausted. It is amazing how much more tired you get when you are inactive rather than being active and letting he blood flow.
We returned home and had dinner and off to bed for the much needed rest for the business of the next day.
Today was mostly quiet. We had class in the morning with Fr. McIlhone and Dr. McNamara. After lunch we met in our small groups to discuss our journal entries for the week. This took us through most of the afternoon, and we had the rest of the afternoon and evening free. A number of the guys went to the Wailing Wall to view the beginning of the Jewish Shabbat, but most spent the night enjoying their night off.
Today we had a free day from class and visiting new sites. There were a couple of groups of guys who decided to head out of Jerusalem for the day and visit other places. One group headed back to Ein Gedi, a place near the Dead Sea, so that they could engage in a day hike in the desert. Ein Gedi is a spring in the desert, which we had visited once before when we were still in Bethlehem. The other group headed back to Bethlehem to meet up with some of the people from Bethlehem University and play volleyball. They also went though to pass the day in Bethlehem, visiting friends we had made when we were there and visiting the church of the Nativity. Both groups really seemed to enjoy their time at their respective places.
Some who stayed in Jerusalem went around and visited some of the Holy Sites in order to pray, while others went to explore different parts of the city.