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.

May 18, 2019, The Mount of the Beatitudes

It is fitting that the Mt. of Beatitudes, the place where Jesus gave us the Christian mission, is on a mountain covered with beautiful flowers and with a beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee.

Collect

O Father, through your Son here you taught the beatitudes

to the disciples and the crowds.

May your people love what you command, and desire what you promise,

so that, in the midst of the events of the world,

our hearts may look beyond, where there is true joy. 

The grounds are tropical and lovely.

The Beatitudes were given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-12. Luke contains a corresponding Sermon on the Plain, which in many ways is similar to the Sermon on the Mount, but refers to social conditions, rather than the spiritual conditions contained in Matthew's account. Here is the Sermon on the Plain, Luke 6:20-23.

Raising his eyes to his disciples, Jesus said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you,

and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!

Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.

The church on the Mount of Beatitudes was built in 1938.

Its simple interior is quietly beautiful.

In many of the churches I visit, I take a picture of the Ninth Station of the Cross, Jesus falls the third time. This station is of comfort to me: Jesus falls, once, twice, three times--and gets up. We can get up, too, when we fall.

Father Michael offering Mass at an outdoor chapel.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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!