Israel cont.

Day 3-

Sea of Galilee      

     We started day three with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was a sunny, warm morning and a slight haze lifted as we pulled away from shore. Ten minutes into the ride the captain turned on music. Immediately, I teared up when I heard, "Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands have made....." There were only two wishes I remember Theresa having before she died: That the twins be raised wholesome Catholics and that How Great Thou Art would be played at her funeral.  I delight in the lyrics of this song because they allude to the very nature of Theresa's person! After the song and a few others had been played Fr. Guido asked us to sit for a meditation. And his meditation was on the very notion that I have struggled with since Theresa died, that is: faith can move mountains.
     During the last 9 months of Theresa's life I knew how grim the outlook was. My gut feeling from the moment she announced to me that her platelets were low, screamed that she didn't have a chance. However, I told myself that if I believed enough, possessed enough faith.....God would spare her life. I simply thought that death was not an option if I didn't think about it. Therefore, we rarely visited the the topic of dying and any of the specifics associated with it. Moreover, certain members of the family were convinced that she should have as much fun as possible, to keep her mind off the inevitable. More than once, I was told to avoid any serious discussion and keep Theresa focused on future endeavors. Don't get me wrong, I think that with chronic illness this aspect is important; however, it should not overshadow the ultimate questions in life. Life is short and frankly, not all about fun. Needless to say, my conscience urged me to bring these topics up anyway, but I shut that little voice down for two reasons.
     First, I didn't want to offend her husband. I felt caught between a rock and a hard place. I loved Theresa inherently, without reserve. At the same time though, I knew the importance of a spousal relationship and feared treading on the marriage vow. Now, I regret holding back....but hindsight is always 20/20. Secondly, I thought by talking about dying I might be doubting the possibility of a miracle. Oh, how naive I was! I viewed faith as some kinda magic! It has taken me a year and a half since Theresa's death to understand that faith does not merely move mountains. Faith is even greater than that! Which brings me back to Fr. Guido's meditation.
     Fr. Guido explained that most Hebrew words are associated with ideas. The Hebrew word 'sea' is associated with one's life and the continuum of earthly time. Father continued to say that the word 'mountain' is associated with a mystery of God. Therefore, faith that can move mountains metaphorically means the kind of faith that can move God mysteries(the mountains) in to our lives(the sea). Faith enables us to grasp on to something larger than a mountain, a mystery of God. We may never totally understand those mysteries, but faith allows us the ability to embrace them.
     Ha! And there was the answer I had been searching for. How simple!
     One last incidence completes my story. How Great Thou Art was played twice on the pilgrimage. Once on the Sea of Galilee, as previously mentioned. The other time was during the Mass said in Notre Dame, which lies on top of Mount Zion, the highest point in Jerusalem. I listened to those beautiful lyrics on a sea (my life) and a mountain (God mystery-Theresa's death). To some, it may seem like coincidence. But I think, Theresa's heavenly prayers were shining grace upon me.

Gotta love those yellow hats....

Just soaking up the sun.

Church of Peter's Primacy

     Church built upon the supposed site where Jesus reinstated Peter as the leader among the apostles. According to tradition this is the spot where Jesus laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles and told Peter, "Feed my sheep" after the miraculous catch and third time He appeared to them after His resurrection. 

Fr. Guido celebrated Mass on the beautiful church grounds. Of course, the gospel reading was John, chapter 21 when Jesus appeared on the shore. Father explained in his sermon that in the original Greek text John uses different words for love: phileo, which means more or less a human love and agapao, which means to die for someone. The Greek text would read like this:

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me like you would die for me? 

Peter: Yes Lord, I love you but only with a human love.

            ............

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me like you would die for me?

Peter: Yes Lord, I love you but only with a human love.

            ............

Jesus: Simon, son of John, do you love me with human love?

Peter: Lord, you know everything, you know I can only love you with a human love.

Jesus continues: "Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone will dress you and lead you here you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. (John 21:18).

Fr. Guido's interpretation of the reading was that as mere humans we are only capable of loving with a human love. However, when we allow Christ in to our hearts, He transforms us. Christ's love working through us, enables us to act in ways we never could have dreamed of. Jesus says to Peter, 'Ya........when you were young and didn't know me you did whatever you wanted, but now......now that you know who I am and have accepted me in to your heart.....I will lead you to places you don't want to go. You will follow, even to the point of crucifixion, because I live in you. By My grace, your love will be perfected."

LUNCH

     

Talapia caught from the Sea of Galilee. In Israel it is referred to as, St. Peter's Fish.

Fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. It was DELICIOUS!

Capernaum

     Capernaum is the town where St. Peter's mother-in-law lived. Jesus resided there for 20 months when He first started his ministry. 

     Nasser was constantly making wise cracks about his mother-in-law. Obviously, it was a rather strained relationship. But it all made sense when he told us his mother-in-law was his cousin! Anyway here was one of his jokes: 

     A man visits the Holy Land with his mother-in-law. While on the trip the mother-in-law falls ill and dies. The son asks how much a burial will cost. The grounds keeper tells him that to ship her home it will cost $10,000 but a simple burial in the Holy Land will cost $500. The son ponders a moment and replies, "Ship her home." The puzzled ground keeper responds, "Why not bury her here? It would be a fraction of the cost of shipping her home." The son says, "About 2,000 years ago a man died in this land and three days later rose from the dead. I don't think I can take that kind of chance."

This is factually Capernaum from the time of Jesus. Of course, it was uncovered years later and only waist high walls are left. 

The church built over St. Peter's mother-in-law's house. Ugly....I know.

The house where Jesus resided while in Capernaum. Also, where the cripple was lowered through the roof to be healed by Jesus. 

Mount of the Beatitudes

     The Mount of the Beatitudes was a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The grounds were spectacularly landscaped. However, this was a traditional site, not factual.

I was feeling like a dog....blah...

And that wrapped up day 3. Our motel was right on the Sea of Galilee so Alex and I spent the evening enjoying the sunset.

     

19

Israel cont.

Day 2-

Fr. Guido: Our spiritual guide. He was a native to Holland, but had lived in Jerusalem for 7 years from 1997-2004. I think this gave him an exceptional outlook and advantage to other priests had we been on another tour. His homilies and meditations were out of this world!

Nasser: Our guide. A interesting melancholic to be sure! Alex and I found him a wealth of information and quite a kick in the pants. He was a Palestinian Arab Christian Israeli Citizen. He would say, "No doubt, you come here and are confused about my country. When you leave, if you are still confused.....then you understand my country!" Although we learned an entire college class of information on the pilgrimage....Nasser was still right!


CAESAREA:
     We started the second day with a visit to Caesarea. Caesarea was a Mediterranean town built by King Herod the Great. Herod was the King of Judea appointed by Rome. He was of Jewish descent, however, because of his murderous acts and love of power the Jews hardly considered him of Jewish faith. He was not a venerated king among them.
     King Herod built Caesarea in 12 years which would be phenomenal even in todays standards. The city was considered very modern for it's time. It boasted an amphitheater and running water. 12 miles of aqueduct brought water to the city from the Mount Carmel Mountains. A palace was erected next to the the sea, that even sported an 'infinity' pool. The pool was built at a slightly higher elevation than the sea, but with underground channels that allowed water to flow in at the pools' bottom.
     Herod named the city after Caesar and gifted it to him. His purpose being: to gain favor with Rome.  His was neither liked by the Jews or Romans, hence looked for ways to please both peoples.
     Caesarea is important in Christian history because it was the place where the first gentiles converted.

Ruins of the palace.

What was left of the swimming pool.

C'mon AJ...jump in! The water was sooooo warm.

I simply love the Mediterranean!

The amphitheater. 

Remains of the aqueduct.Yes.....that is Alex.

Really....I just wanted to go swimming.....

HAIFA

     We continued on to the city of Haifa where lunch was hosted by the Carmelite sisters. Prior to lunch we visited the House of Grace and the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. 

     The House of Grace was founded in 1985 by Kamil and Agnes Shahade to help convicts, battered women and children regardless of religion.  As a young man Kamil possessed a fiery temperament and violent nature. However, after spending a year at the Madonna House in Canada he came back a changed man, a man with a vision to minister to the out casts.  Kamil had since passed away but the house was still ran by his wife and 4 sons. One of his sons gave us the tour. He spoke of how he grew up with convicts sleeping in the next room and yet not once was their family robbed or hurt. It was a beautiful story! Fr. Guido explained that this was one of the few ministries in all of Israel that reached out to all people whether Jewish, Arab, Muslim or Christian. We were blest to visit the House of Grace because Fr. Guido had known Kamil and the family. Most tours do not stop there. 

The entrance to the House of Grace. Our fearless guide is on the right. And those yellow hats.....that's our group!

The church(restored) that had been the abandoned building were the House of Grace started.

Our next stop in Haifa was Lady of Mount Carmel. The church was supposedly built upon the cave where Elijah hid when Ahab and Jezabel wanted to kill him. 

Right in the middle of Haifa were the Bahai Gardens: a place of worship for people of Bahai Faith, which frankly I had never heard of. 

Haifa- Driving through Haifa we saw neighborhoods completely abandoned. Nasser explained that these empty houses were the result of the 1948 Palestinian Exodus. During the civil war around 80% of the Arab inhabitants where expelled from their homes in Israel. The causes are just one of the many disagreements between Arabs and Israelis. But factors involved were Jewish military advances,  voluntary self removal, collapse of Palestinian leadership and unwillingness to live under Jewish control. The Palestinians considered it ethnic cleansing, while the Jewish government would dispute that. 

NAZARETH

     Our first stop in Nazareth was to the Sisters of Nazareth. Again, we only had this opportunity due to Fr. Guido's connections. Sister Irish was the little old sister who gave us the tour. And before I launch into the details, I must say that I can find nothing on the internet that reveals the story of Sister Irish. Moreover, if I asked any pilgrim where the site of the Holy Family's house was he/she would reply, "Under the Franciscan church next to the Basilica of the Annunciation." 

     However, this was Sister Irish's story: The Sisters of Nazareth came from France to Israel around 1900. They acquired a pricey piece of land in Nazareth to build their convent on. During the 1960s when repairs were being made to the foundation a large cavern was found under the convent. Further excavation uncovered a very old well and a cave which housed an altar and tomb. The tomb contained the skeleton of a man buried sitting up right and a ring was on his finger. This indicated he was a bishop. He was not buried facing the altar but towards the door of the cave. The sisters continued digging in the direction the bishop faced. They found what appeared to be a remains of a church, which was built on top of an old dwelling dating to Jesus' time. Beneath the dwelling was a tomb. When the seal of the tomb was opened, burial incense filled the entire vault and Sister Irish said they smelled it for days. The burial place had two chambers, most likely for a husband and wife. In the first century often the loved one was buried beneath the home so that the spirit would remain close by.

     Of course, this is not factual, but the sisters had to wonder if this indeed was the Holy Family's home. It seemed odd that two churches had been built near this ancient cave dwelling, a bishop had been buried facing that cave dwelling and that two tombs indicated a married couple. 

The marks left from the rope used to pull the bucket up from the well. This well also dated to Jesus' time.

The church were the bishop was buried. Terrible picture! The altar is in the center, but I didn't get a picture of the bishop's tomb. 

The steps leading up to the church which had been built on top of the dwelling. (Tom and John on the right....they were some of our favorites on the pilgrimage.)

The possible home of the Holy Family.

The burial chamber under the house. Notice the rounded rock to the right.....very similar to what would have been rolled in front of Christ's tomb.

This is Nazareth. It was built on a hill and in Jesus's time would have only been a town of approx. 400 people. Most of  the houses would have been caves hewn into the hill side. 

Our second stop in Nazareth was the Basilica of the Annunciation: Built over the supposed cave that Mary received the message from Angel Gabriel that she would conceive Our Lord. 

Behind the people is the spot venerated as the site of the Annunciation.

We concluded our second day at a motel on the Sea of Galilee.

     

     

Israel

Grrrrr.....I wanted to recap on our trip as soon as we returned. However, there is this little gal sucking all my energy noon and night. Some days, I wish I was a bear. I could hibernate the entire 9 months away. As soon as spring rolled around I would wake up and find myself ready to pop out a little cub! But I am not a bear; instead, just way behind in my projects. So here goes......

Day 1-

     Alex and I arrived at the correct airport this time around. We went through three security checks in order to board the flight, one was airport security and the other two were Israeli security. Israel asserts they are one of the safest countries due to low crime rates and high security. If only for the past 10 years! Moreover, I doubt Israel is taking into account Palestine when they make that assertion. More about that later......
      Needless to say, trekking  through the airport sans kids seemed like a breeze. And how reassuring it was knowing the kids were in the best hands. I am so grateful for Mom and Dad's sacrifice in coming over here. It allowed Alex and I an experience of a life time: spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally. Moreover, the pilgrimage resolved lingering questions and emotions that had been tormenting me since Theresa's death. The pilgrimage to Israel proved to be an extraordinary time of healing and grace!
      In Tel Aviv we were greeted by Fr. Guido, the spiritual guide, and driver. Upon arrival at the hotel we celebrated Mass, followed by dinner. Yay! Our first taste of Israeli food!!! By the 9th day I didn't want to see another piece of unleavened bread and humus again in my life!

Firewood

Our Germany home boasts beauty and character! It has aged beams, huge wooden garage doors, dormer windows and a fireplace. However, when winter rolls around, it is as cold as a tin toilet seat in Fairbanks. Really...the only way to heat the house to a tolerable temperature is with a fire. Like everything else, firewood prices are double of that in the States. In order to cut our own, Alex would need to get his license to be deemed capable of running a chain saw. But it is possible to cut wood with someone who already has the license. So our dear land lady, set Alex up with her cousin, Gunther, who goes out regularly. I think we are dang blest because now our house is warm and Alex is able to get his hands dirty. AND Gunther has become a regular visitor on our door step, much to Alex's delight.

A Little Behind

At the beginning of September, Mike and Jana ventured over here for a visit. What a delightful time we had! Besides showing them around our area we road tripped to Normandy and Paris. Alex only got one speeding ticket so I consider the drive a success!