Our hotel in Galilee, May 19, 2019

I think the main reason I liked the Galilee area so much is because I could really see Jesus here. Picturing him in all the gospel stories taking place in Galilee was easy. Maybe this is why the Holy Land is called the fifth gospel. 

However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should say that Tiberias, the city in Galilee where we lodged, is considered a resort area by the Israelis, and so there was that, too. We stayed in this lovely, lakefront hotel, Gai Beach. 

The temperatures during our pilgrimage ranged from 75-90 plus.

We had lovely views from the hotel.

Gai Beach accommodated a lot of groups. The hotel had a large dining room on the lower level and a spacious lobby pictured above.

We were up early and then gone all day, so we didn't spend much time at the hotel. But it was a very comfortable place to return to.

We did have a couple evenings where we were able to enjoy a glass of wine, looking over the lake, as we talked about all the awesome places we visited that day.

Moon over the Sea of Galilee.

Capernaum, Jesus's home base in Galilee, May 18, 2019

In the gospels, Jesus always seemed to be on the move, so I've never thought of him having a home as an adult. But if he did, it was Capernaum. Next to Jerusalem, Capernaum is the most frequently mentioned city in the gospels. Above are ruins of Capernaum. In the background, on the right is a modern church constructed over the remnants of Peter's house (see below).

Jesus likely stayed in the home of Peter. The excavated remains of Peter's house are under the glass. One room in the house has ancient graffiti on the walls, which says things like, Jesus is Lord and Christ. It was likely in this house that the healing of the paralytic man occurred (Mark 2:1-12). What good friends this disabled man had. They persevered in their attempts to bring him to Jesus, taking off part of the roof and lowering him down.

Besides the home of Jesus, remains of a first century synagogue where Jesus would have preached, are in Capernaum. 

As the sign on the wall above says, a 4th century synagogue (white stone) was built a top the ruins of the 1st century synagogue. 

In this synagogue, the gospels tell of Jesus casting out a demon from a man (Mark 1:21-39).

Jesus also delivered the Bread of Life Discourse in this synagogue (John 6:22-25.

"For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Father Michael and Peggy read the Gospel of the Bread of Life.

The flag of Jerusalem flies over Capernaum.

St. Peter is honored in a special way in his home town.

"Who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Matthew 16:15-19

Above is the Homeless Jesus statue, one of several located around the world. Though the head and hands of Jesus are covered, his feet bear the marks of the Crucifixion. The statue is a visual representation of Matthew 25:45 Whatever you did not for the least of my brothers, you did not for me.

Capernaum is on my beautiful Sea of Galilee.

Fr. Michael shares the story, Goin' Fishin' with us, appropriate to hear in Capernaum, the hometown of fishermen and fishers of men.

Multiplication of the Loaves & Fishes and the Primacy of St. Peter, May 18, 2019

The number of holy places we would visit in a day was challenging and sometimes exhausting. For example, on the date of this post, May 18 we: went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, saw a 2,000-year-old boat, like the type Jesus would have ridden in, visited the Mount of Beatitudes, went to the Church of the Multiplication of the Fishes, had a lunch of Peter's Fish, went to the Church of the Primacy of Peter, and finally saw Capernaum, Jesus's base in Galilee.

Interspersed through all this were Mass, multiple prayer services, an embodied Rosary, and songs. The places we went weren't just historical sites,  but locations of profound religious happenings. It was often overwhelming to me and I consequently, wasn't able to blog simultaneously. Usually, we would get back to our hotel in time for supper, and I was physically and emotionally exhausted. Afterwards, it was back to my room for a little reading and lights out.

Carrying on with the itinerary of Mary 18th. . . With the exception of Capernaum, all the places listed above are in an area called Tabgha, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Let's start with the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. During the prayer service here, we passed out bread. When Fr. Michael was reading the gospel passage from John, "Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to whose who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted," it struck me: maybe it is the giving thanks, the gratitude, that is the multiplier in life.

This church was constructed in 1982, a replica of the 5th century church that was once here. The mosaic floors are part of the original church, including the mosaic of two fish and a basket of bread in front of the altar. Under the altar is a block of limestone that is venerated as a table of the Lord.

Collect

O God, in your goodness you provide for the needs of all creatures,

and through your Son, with the multiplication of the loaves and fishes,

you satisfied the hungry crowd who followed him.

May, we, your faithful, truly prove our love for our brothers and sisters who suffer,

so that, freed from need, they might serve you in serenity and peace.

Appropriately, after visiting the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, we had Peter's fish for lunch, a whole tilapia. It was delicious. Pretty sure they didn't have french fries in Jesus's day.

After lunch, we made a short, beautiful drive to the Church of the Primacy of Peter. 

This is the spot where Jesus appeared to his disciples after his Resurrection and affirmed the Primacy of Peter, that he would be in charge of the church. Three times Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" and then telling Peter to, "Feed my lambs."

This church contains the Mensa Christi or table of Christ, where tradition says that Jesus had a breakfast of bread and fish for his Apostles. The banner with 800 on it is commemorating eight centuries of Franciscan presence in the Holy Land, 1217-2017.

This Church was built in 1933 above the ruins of a 4th century church.

The rock-table where Jesus fed his Apostles fish, which he helped them catch ,and bread, after his Resurrection.

Father Michael and Val lead us in a dramatic prayer service. outside the church

Breakfast on the Beach. To my mind, one of the most lovely post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus is when he cooks his disciples breakfast on the beach.

John 21: 1-19 After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.