Boats and the Sea of Galilee, May 18, 2019

I mentioned that my favorite part of the Holy Land was the Sea of Galilee. It matched my mind's eye of what Galilee would look like. So easy to imagine all that Jesus did here. We went on a boat ride to see a boat. More on that below.

Leaving shore.

Our boating hosts wanted to make us feel at home.

I took a lot of photos of the Sea of Galilee. This body of water, a lake, is known by other names: Lake Tiberias, the Sea of Kinneret, Lake Gennesaret.

The Sea of Galilee is135 feet at its deepest. It contains 22 types of fish.

The Sea of Galilee is mentioned 51 times in the Gospels.

One of the strangest gospel stories takes place near the Sea of Galilee, The Healing of the Gadarene Demoniac, found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Scholars believe Gadarenes is possibly modern day Kursi. It was a pagan place, as evidenced by the people herding pigs, an unclean animal according to Jewish law. Here is Mark's account, 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice, "What have you do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!" (He had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of the man!") He asked him, "What is your name?" He replied "Legion is my name. There are many of us." And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. And they pleaded with him, "Send us into the swine. Let us enter them." And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned. The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed of Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But he would not permit him but told him instead, "Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you." Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Above is a depiction of the demon-possessed pigs plunging into the sea from a display at the Festival of the Nativities.

Here are some of my fellow pilgrims dancing on the boat.

On the left, my friend Peggy Arizzi, who invited me on my first pilgrimage, and now this, our third together. On the right is Geralyn Sparough who has also traveled on two of these pilgrimages.

Jesus stilled these seas and walked on these waters.

Getting close to land.

More beautiful blooming trees.

Here is the destination of our boat ride, the Galilee's Miracles Center. Displayed here is a boat from the time of Jesus.

The Ancient Galilee Boat. The boat was discovered by two brothers in 1986 during a drought. The shoreline had receded, showing the boat buried and protected by the seabed's sediment. After it was excavated, the boat went through an 11 year restoration process.

The boat showed evidence of being repaired many times and used 12 types of wood, indicating that it was owned by someone of limited means. It is thought to be they type of boat referred to in the Gospels.

Can't you imagine Peter and Andrew fishing from this boat? Or Jesus sleeping here while a storm kicks up?

From our pilgrim's prayer from today:

Today as we move across the Sea of Galilee,

the sea upon which your Son sailed and fished and walked,

Remind us of the importance of water to our very existence on Earth.

When our pilgrimage goes beyond this land,

Remind us of this day and the responsibility we have 

to give drink to the thirst and to protect and care for all the waters on Earth.

Amen.

The First Miracle at Cana, Thursday, May 17

For our last stop, we journeyed to Cana, the place of Jesus's first miracle.

The Wedding Church. Here is a beautiful meditation, The Joy of Cana by Caryll Houselander

The marriage at Cana is a showing of the joy that Christ brought into the world. Here, at his Mother's request, our Lord worked his first public miracle. It is a delight to think that this first miracle was in no way connected with unhappiness It was not healing sickness, forgiving sins, or raising the dead; it was simply giving joy, more joy, to people who were already rejoicing. . .

It is true that a change of heart is the only thing that can begin to bring happiness back into the world. It is true too that it is not in our own power or strength to change our own hearts, and what is needed is a miracle.

First of all what must this change really be like? It must be an absolute change, a change like that which happens to a piece of grey cloth dipped into a crimson dye, and dyed all through. The symbol of the wind at Cana is apt: wine restores vigor to an exhausted man, warms him all through, brings color back to his face, gives him courage, softens his heart, takes away his sense of insufficiency, and sets hi free.

The joy of God is a wine that changes the drab, cold, colorless substance of human nature into the rich, crimson, warm vitality of supernatural life. I changes discouragement to hope, doubt to faith...

How can such a change of heart happen? Only be a miracle it is true, and who can work such a miracle but Christ? When a a comes to this world with Christ in his hear, he too can work this miracle in Christ's name. 

These are the size of the jars containing the water that Jesus turned into wine.

ValLimar as the Linen Lady. Mary tells the head waiter and all of us, "Do whatever He tells you."

We all have the opportunity to receive a blessing. Here a group of our pilgrims are blessed, while the rest of us pray over them. During the blessing for married people. Father Michael mentions the importance of courage and strength. I have a rubber bracelet with these two words on it!

Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, Friday. May 17, 2019

After our morning at Mt. Tabor, site of the Transfiguration, we took a 20 minute bus ride to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus. In the first century, Nazareth was off the beaten path; it is behind some hills and couldn't be seen from the main highway through Galilee. "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" asked Nathanael in John 1:46, giving a hint as to its reputation.

First, we went to Mary's Grotto, where the Angel Gabriel, brought the good news to Mary. "Hail favored one! The Lord is with you! Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." Luke 1

The Basilica of the Annunciation was built over Mary's Grotto, where Gabriel visited Mary. In the Holy Land, there weren't Christian churches built until the 4th century, by St. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Before this, Christians met in homes or secret places. Constantine legalized Christianity within the Roman Empire and became a Christian himself. In the centuries after this, there was a lot of back and forth between the Muslims and the Christians during the Crusades. Churches/mosques would be built and then knocked down. Repeat. The above pictured Basilica of the Annunciation was constructed in 1969 and was built over the site of the Crusader church.

We had Mass in the Basilica and I was the lector. Above, Father Michael prepares.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10

The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky! But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord!" Then Isaiah said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us!"

The word of the Lord.

As part of our pilgrimage, we had daily Mass, prayer services a few times each day, embodied Rosary, and liturgical skits and dances. All greatly enhanced our experience of the Holy Land. Above, Betsy performs a liturgical dance at the end of Mass.

The red bag to the right contains all of the prayer requests that we pilgrims brought from home. This bag is making the pilgrimage with us and is placed on the altar each day before Mass.

At many of the churches I visit, I take a photo of the Ninth Station of the Cross: Jesus falls the third time.

In the courtyard of the Church.

There are about 50 pilgrims on this trip. A couple of them are deaf and blind. Traveling with them are guides and interpreters. The interpreters do tactile signing. As the interpreters sign, they hold the hands of the pilgrim and through movement and tracing onto their hands, the interpreters are able to describe the sites and sounds of the different locations. These fellow pilgrims and interpreters are my heroes! Our fellow pilgrims were cheerful and slowed us up not one bit. The interpreters don't stop moving all day, and at all times, have to pay close attention to what is being said and what we are seeing. They did their work with such joy!

Next to the Basilica of the Annunciation was the Church of St. Joseph. It was built in 1914 over what tradition says was the workshop of St. Joseph.

A visitor relaxes on one of the pews in St. Joseph's.

Jesus works with Joseph in the workshop.

Transfiguration, Friday, May 17, 2019

We are staying at Gai Beach Hotel in Tiberias, located on the Sea of Galilee. As I am writing these entries after my trip, I can say: the Sea of Galilee is my favorite part of the Holy Land. I think this is in part because it is so easy to imagine Jesus preaching, curing, and working miracles here. The area seems like it is unchanged from the first century. Plus,  I love being on the water.

The waters Jesus calmed and walked on, preached from and brought up fish from.

Today we are taking our bus to Mt. Tabor, where the Transfiguration occurred. We will be spending the next few days in the Galilee region.

Galilee is a region in northern Israel where Jesus spent a lot of time. He was born and grew up here, spent much of his three years preaching and curing here. The Sea of Galilee is mentioned 51 times in the Gospels. Galilee was well populated then with many towns around the Sea of Galilee. It was a little more worldly than Judea, the region to the south. Our guide Sam told us that Galilee was on the way to everywhere, while the Judea was on the way to no where. "It's easier to raise a legion of olives in Galilee than a child in Judea," was an expression from the times. Eleven of Jesus's disciples were from Galilee, while only Judas was from Judea.

Tradition says that the Transfiguration happened on Mt. Tabor. "Tradition says" is a phrase we heard frequently in the Holy Land. I translate it to mean: we aren't exactly sure where the event occurred but it was likely somewhere in the vicinity. Mt. Tabor was a good guess for the Transfiguration, as it has been considered a holy mountain for centuries.

The Basilica of the Transfiguration was built in 1924.

The mosaic above the altar is beautiful.

On Mt. Tabor divinity breaks through humanity. The radiance of Jesus recalls Moses going up Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments. When Moses descends, his face is glowing.  Our tour guide Sam pointed out it's telling that Jesus brought three apostles with him: Peter, the Rock, James, the head of the church in Jerusalem, and John, the last apostle to die. Jewish tradition also says that two or three witnesses are needed to validate an event. Jesus needs his friends.

On Mt. Tabor, Jesus's divinity broke through his humanity. I think God's divinity is constantly breaking through to us through creation and our loved ones. But often, like the apostles, we can be asleep.

The plain of Jezreel, seen from Mt. Tabor.

Below, the Sea of Galilee at night.

St. Peter's in Tiberias: Thursday, May 16, 2019

The first stop on our pilgrimage was the town of Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. One of the beautiful things I noticed first about Israel were all the gorgeous flowering bushes, trees, and gardens. 

We spent the first three days and nights of our pilgrimage in Tiberias. I loved being on the Sea of Galilee. Apparently a lot of Israelis do as it is a resort area. Tiberias was founded by Herod Antipas between 17-20 AD. Sometimes the Sea of Galilee is known as the Sea of Tiberias.

Our first Mass was at St. Peter's in Tiberias. There was a church on this site as early as 1100, built by the Crusaders. The current church dates to 1870. Above Fr. Michael prepares.

Above is a wall of the church built by the Crusaders.

During many of the Masses, I had thoughts about my brother Father Jim, who died on October 12, 2018. Or as I prefer to think of it, was born to eternal life. Feelings of sadness would well up within me; Jim was a priest but never traveled to the Holy Land. I would console myself by thinking about him in the perfect new Jerusalem.

The readings from the Mass centered on St. Peter, from his epistle and from Matthew 16: 13-19, when Jesus says, "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church." Jesus puts Peter in charge despite all of Peter's weaknesses and failings: Peter tells Jesus he doesn't need to go through his Passion, he denies Jesus. But Jesus doesn't revoke Peter's commission. It's a good thing that Jesus asked such a sinner and screwup to be in charge of the Church. He would have empathy for the rest of us and be a comfort to us in our own sinfulness. 

The symbols for the four Gospel writers. They look modern, almost like a cartoon.

The lion, symbol of St. Mark.

Looking through the door of the courtyard to St. Peter's with a view of the Sea of Galilee in the distance.

Today is the feast day of St. Brendan. According to Fatih ND, "His faith led him to great adventures at the ends of the known world."He wrote the Navigato, which chronicles his travels. It is also the 16th and golden birthday of my son Luke. I miss him and John and will be praying for both of them on this pilgrimage.

Onto the hotel for our first night in the Holy Land.