Back Home

We made it back to St. Paul safe and sound.  Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land was incredible and packed with many graces.

Thank you to all of you who read this blog and prayed for us.  The support means so much to us.

May God be praised and may His name always be great in Israel!

God bless!

Day 26 - Leaving Israel

With sadness mixed with excitement we left Jerusalem today.  We had one last stop before our late night departure for New York: Abu Gosh, another possible site for the Emmaus of Luke's Gospel (there are actually four possible sites).

The Ark of the Covenant also spent some time in this location, so we visited a Church that honored Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant.

In this land, where the presence of Jesus is so palpable, it is tempting to say with St. Peter on Mt. Tabor, "It is good that we are here, let us stay".  We know, however, that the Lord is calling us to encounter Him in the ordinariness of seminary life in St. Paul and in ministry to our dioceses.  No, we cannot stay in the Holy Land, but the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is more real and powerful than any of the places we have been in this land.  The beauty of the incarnation is that we can meet the Risen Lord in Israel or Minnesota, Jordan or South Dakota.  And we can praise Him for that!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 25 - Last Full Day in Jerusalem

Today was our last full day in Jerusalem. It's still cold and rainy, verging on sleet, but that didn't stop up. We had a day off and most guys went out to pray at their favorite Churches and do some last minute shopping.

In the afternoon, we had an audience with an Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem. He spoke to us about the conflict in the Middle East. Over the course of this trip my perspectives have changed. I used to think Jerusalem was in conflict because of the three major religions that venerate it. The reality is that Christians in Israel and Palestine are a peaceful minority caught  between the two heavy hitters. This is sometimes hard for the local Christians, but it also gives them a unique position to be peacemakers in a turbulent time.

I can't help but see the roots of the small group of early Christians living in Jerusalem surrounded by their brother Jews and the Romans. The Bishop said that true peace can seem impossible, but he reminded us that "nothing will be impossible for God." (Lk 1:37)

Two weeks ago as we entered the city, we recited the beginning of Psalm 122: "I rejoiced when they said to me 'let us go to the house of the Lord.' And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem." Now as we prepare to leave we pray the end of Psalm 122: "For the peace of Jerusalem pray."

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 24 - Free Day

Today was a day off.  Heavy rains and wind kept many of us inside playing games and reading.  Last night, however, twelve of us were able to spend time locked in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Seminarian Ryan Andrew has this to say about his experience:

One of the greatest blessings of my life was to pray in the Holy Sepulchre Church right above the tomb of the risen Jesus Christ.  I brought the prayer intentions of my family, friends and others close to Jesus at the very spot where the conquered sin, evil and death!

The opportunity to thank the Lord for His redemption which renewed the world will always remain a very dear memory to me.  Thank you to all those praying for us on our pilgrimage and thank you to all those made this pilgrimage possible. I hope to share the blessings I have received with those back home and with those I minister to as deacon and a priest.

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 23 - Bethany and Jericho

Your two faithful bloggers will be spending the night in the Holy Sepulchre. We've affectionately named the groups who do this tombers. Tomorrow is a free day but we'll be sure to post some reflections from our tombers.

But what about today? Today we went to a different empty tomb. We bused to Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We had some prayer time in a Church near Lazarus' tomb. At the front of the Church were Jesus' words, bold and in gold: "I Am the Resurrection." (Jn 11)

We had Mass in Jericho, an important city in both the New and Old Testaments. Here Jesus healed the blind man Batimeaus and redeemed Zacchaeus. (Lk 18-19) These two have so much to teach us. Both wanted to see Jesus. As pilgrims in the holy land we have all been guilty of wanting to see Jesus. Maybe in a rock, or building, or even an empty tomb. But sight didn't change these two men, Jesus' words did: "Zacchaeus come down." "Your faith has saved you." The truth is the tomb we tombers are visiting tonight is empty. But during this trip, we have all encountered the master, and heard his voice.

Oh and we rode a Camel! That's right, a Camel!

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 22 - The Way of the Cross

Friday gives the Church an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of Jesus.  Jesus gave all in a supreme act of love, and it can be easy to lose the sense of awe, gratitude and sorrow that the death of Jesus should evoke in us.

Sculpture of Jesus based on the Shroud

Today we had the chance to be led through an exhibit on the famous Shroud of Turin.  A consecrated woman gave us a powerful presentation of this extraordinary burial cloth.  She encouraged us to remember that Jesus took on the darkest of suffering during our most difficult moments as priests.

In the afternoon, we joined the Franciscans, and many other lay faithful, for their weekly stations of the Cross that follows the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.  The stations ended outside the empty tomb in the Holy Sepulchre as we celebrated Jesus' victory over death and sin.

Posted via Blogaway

Day 21 - Ascension and Emmaus

Chapel of the Ascension

We returned to the Mount of Olives this morning but this time we went to the peak. Far above the garden of Gethsemane lies the crusader Church of the Ascension. Today it's a mosque but originally it was a small church dedicated to Jesus' Ascension and it was built without a roof. I caught a lot of seminarians starring up into the sky. (For the record so did I but we should have read Acts 1:11.)

The Our Father in different languages

We had mass down the hill in a cave where the apostles may have slept while Jesus prayed. We also visited the cave of the Our Father. I think today we hit our cave limit. In fact the guys are currently having a "what is it about caves?!" conversation at the table next to me.

One of the many caves in the Holy Land

We ended the day traveling to Emmaus/Nicopolis, one of two possible locations for Jesus' appearance at Emmaus. We had a holy hour scheduled but the Church was locked so we spread out and prayed outside. Several guys prayed in a ruined crusader Church on the site.

Posted via Blogaway

Day 20 - Bethlehem

Future shepherds adoring the Christ Child.

Spirits were high this morning as we sang Christmas songs on the way to Bethlehem.  It was only a short drive before we crossed into the West Bank.  It was startling to see the concrete wall that separates Israel from the West Bank.  Bethlehem is right next to the wall and has the largest population of Christians in Palestine.

Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity.  We were able to spend time in prayer at the place where Christ was born.  You had to almost lay down in order to venerate the sacred ground, humbling  yourself before the place where Jesus humbled himself.

The cave at Shepherd's Field

Next we visited the shepherd's field.  We sang the Gloria, the song that opens with the angels message to the shepherds that Christmas night, "Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to people of good will".

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 19 - Pool of Bethesda and Herod's Citadel

Ruins of the Churches built over the Pool of Bethesda

After a week of unseasonably good weather, our luck ran out today. It was windy and overcast, and the threat of cold rain is still imminent. Nonetheless we soldiered out into our comfy, heated bus and drove to the east side of the city. There we visited the Pool of Bethesda (Jn 5:2) where Jesus commanded the lame man to pick up his mat and walk. It was much bigger than any of us expected. Much of it was still underground, but in Jesus' day it was almost the size of football field.

Next we visited the Tower of David, which is the original location of King Herod's palace. There is debate among scholars as to whether Pilate tried Jesus at the Fortress Antonia (next to the temple) or at this ancient fortress (across town from the temple). Either way, Jesus was brought there for his meeting with Herod on Good Friday.

Sweet Micky D's

Sensing the effect the gloomy weather was having on us, Fr. Zilverburg took us to visit the American Embassy... McDonald's! Most of us ordered the Israeli version of the Big Mac, the Big  American.

We ended the day by visiting the famous Dead Sea Scrolls and a giant model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. (I'd be lying if I said we didn't all feel like some sort of Biblical Godzilla looking down at tiny ant people!)

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 18 - Temple Mount and the Cenacle

Most of our day surrounded the Temple Mount.  Well, for the Jews it is called the Temple Mount; for the Muslims, it is the sanctuary of the Dome of the Rock.  That was just one distinction  we learned about in this religiously and politically tense location. 

It became obvious today that Christians in the Holy Land are caught up in the middle of a very confusing and hurtful conflict.  This was exemplified in our visit to the Cenacle, the place of the Last Supper and Pentecost.  The current building is from the Crusader period. After the crusaders lost the Holy Land, it became a Muslim Mosque.  Now the building is owned by the State of Israel and they refuse to give the building back to the Church.  So, in the upstairs there is the remnants of the Mosque and in the main floor there is now an active Jewish Synagogue. All this in the place where Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Unity.

During our period of prayer at the Western Wall (the last remnant of the Jewish temple), I prayed that all peoples might bend the knee at the name of Jesus and every toungue confess, to the glory of God the Father, that Jesus Christ is Lord!

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 17 - Ein Karem and the Museum of the Shoa

Today we drove to the Hill Country of Judea (Luke 1:39) to the town of Ein Karem. It was here that Mary made her Visitation to Elizabeth and where John the Baptist was born. I think we were all surprised how green the area was; we can't break the desert stereotype. This rocky green country would have been a beautiful place for these women to live and pray together, and to prepare to give birth to two very special babies.

Marking the place of St. John the Baptist's birth

The church of the Visitation is beautiful, full of powerful paintings of the Blessed Mother. We had mass at a different church, and prayed in the grotto of John the Baptist's birth. Our guide pointed out that a painting in the small cave showed Mary as the God Mother of John.

After mass we visited the Museum of the Shoa, the national Holocaust museum in Israel. We happened to take the tour at the same time as a group Israeli soldiers. Most looked under twenty. Ive been to Auschwitz, but I saw the Holocaust in a new light today.

After something so heavy we ended a little early and spent the afternoon resting, praying, and playing a lot of hacky-sack.

Posted via Blogaway

Day 16 - Retreat Day

Today was a free day.  We were able to get some much needed rest and extra time for prayer.  Nine of our brothers had an amazing opportunity to spend the entire night in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Nick Froehle was one of the nine, and he has this to say about the experience:

As soon as the doors were shut and we were locked in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the night, it sunk in what I had signed up for—9 hours of prayer and no sleep. The most beautiful part of my time was spent in the tomb where Jesus laid and rose from the dead. Because there were so few of us present, each of us had the opportunity to spend an hour in the tomb itself. As I reflected there on how our Lord’s body had laid underneath the marble slabs, and how it was here that he conquered death, I looked up an noticed a Latin inscription on one of the candlesticks: “Resurrexit. Non hic est.” Translated, “He is risen. He is not here.” It is a quotation from the angel in John’s resurrection account, and it struck me how important it is that Jesus is no longer in the tomb, how we are able to encounter our Lord’s passion and death from this side of the Resurrection!

As the night progressed, the periods that I was able to sit and meditate grew shorter as I grew more tired. Eventually taking to walking and praying rosaries, my prayer turned more into an offering of my own small suffering, namely sleep deprivation. The Holy Sepulcre, though shrouded in silence for parts of the night, would periodically come to life as the different churches responsible for its care rang bells, incensed the various altars, and celebrated their liturgies. At least once, the bells ringing to signal a liturgy beginning woke me up from a drowsy reflection, and so I took to walking and praying my rosary once more until the doors opened for us at 4:00. The night was definitely challenging but filled with many graces that I will take with me back home.

Posted via Blogaway

Day 15 - Masada and En Gedi

A view from above of the men hiking up to Masada

Our first stop today was to Masada.  Masada is an impressive hilltop fortress, overlooking the Dead Sea, built by Herod the Great.  It was used by the Jews in their revolt against Rome. Some of our group hiked up and the rest used a convenient cable car.

After Masada, we went to En Gedi, an oasis with a spring in the middle of the desert.  We enjoyed wonderful scenery on a beautiful hike, including seeing some of the local wildlife.  En Gedi is also where  David dwelt when he was trying to evade Saul.

Finally, we got salty by floating in the Dead Sea.  I can now say I that I have drank a beer in the lowest place on Earth. Our Dead Sea swim was an awesome way to end another great day in the Holy Land.

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Posted via Blogaway

Day 14 - Mt. of Olives

Today was all downhill...s. We took a bus across the Kidron Valley to the top of the Mount of Olives. Father Kuss said mass at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. From the mount we had a perfect view Jerusalem, and we traced Jesus' steps during Holy Week.

Men praying at the stone of the agony

From there we walked down the slope to the Garden of Gethsemane. Knotted twisting olive trees still grow in outer courtyard of the basilica; some are over 2030 years old and would have been in the garden with Jesus that night. It was about noon when we entered, but inside the basilica it is always cool and dark. The ceiling is covered with stars and the pillars are brown like hulking olive trees. At the front of the dark church is an exposed stone platform where Jesus prayed during the Agony in the garden. We stayed there and prayed for a half an hour, many of us reflecting on our upcoming ordinations. Like Jesus we are preparing to give our lives for others, and this is impossible without the Father. We pray that, when we feel alone, Jesus would bring us back to Gethsemane.

We came back out into the sunshine and drove back up the steep hill called Jerusalem. Outside the city walls, archeological excavations have unearned parts of the city the from the very early stages of the city, including Hezekiah's tunnel. This ancient tunnel allowed the city to draw water from springs outside of the city, even in times of siege. We descended (downhill) under the city and we actually walked some of these ancient (slightly claustrophobic) passageways.

After a lot of hiking we are in for the evening and we're putting our feet up. Tomorrow... The Dead Sea!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 13 - The Holy Sepulchre and St. Peter in Gallicantu

Outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Praying in the tomb

Our first day in Jerusalem didn't disappoint.  We started with Mass at the tomb of Jesus at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  The emotion of our group was palpable;  we experienced the mystery of the Resurrection in a new way.

Later in the morning we saw the rest of the Church, including Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified (the tomb and Golgotha are in the same maze-of-a-church that is the Holy Sepulchre).  It is difficult to describe this Church which contains the two holiest places, but it makes you realize the eternal impact of Christ's saving action. He is risen!

A look into the pit

The next stop was St. Peter in Gallicantu.  This is the location of Caiphas's house; the place where Jesus was first brought after he was arrested to be interrogated by the Jewish leaders (also the place where Peter denied Jesus). At this site is a pit believed to the prison where Christ was held the night before His death.  We prayed through Psalm 88, a psalm that Jesus might have prayed while He was imprisoned here.

A line from Psalm 88, addressing God, is "Will your love be told in the grave?" After seeing the tomb, we can answer YES.  His love was told in the grave, for His love dies not in the grave.  My prayer for all of you reading this is that you might have a new experience of God's love for you, the love that is stronger than death.

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 12 - Ajlun and Jerash

Rare visual evidence that we do in fact have a Carmelite with us on this trip

The group had our last day Jordan today. We drove a few hours up into the Gilead mountains to the city of Ajlun. A monastery once stood on the city's highest peak, but it was taken over and fortified into a castle to defend against the Christian crusaders. And as we marched up the steep slope it was easy to see why Richard the Lionheart failed to retake the city. At first I think we all felt a little out of place in anti-crusader fortress but before long we were having  a great time exploring forbidden passages, playing hacky-sack, and trying to find the highest point to reclaim the castle ourselves! We also had some incredible Arabic Coffee (not the same as Turkish coffee, we were instructed) at the end of our visit.

We left Ajlun and drove to Jerash, which was built on the ruins of the biblical town Geresa. These were by far the most impressive Roman ruins we've seen as the city still had two massive gates, two ancient temples, a piazza the size of the Vatican's and the most intact theater we've seen (and we've seen an awful lot of Roman theaters).

The maker of the amazing coffee

Then it was back across the boarder to Israel, and as I type these words our feet are standing within the gates of the Holy city of Jerusalem! Tomorrow morning we have mass at Jesus' tomb in the Holy Sepulchre. You'll all be in our prayers.

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Posted via Blogaway

Day 11 - Madaba and Mt. Nebo

Jerusalem on the mosaic map

Today was, thankfully, a light day.  We got to sleep in and enjoy a nice breakfast.  We then visited two churches in Madaba. The first was a Greek Orthodox church that is home to a mosaic map of the Holy Land that dates to the 6th century. Pilgrims would be able to see the geography of the land before they crossed the Jordan river into the Holy Land.

Brandon and the view Madaba

The second Church was a Catholic church, home to the local Catholic community.  Most of us "enjoyed" a precarious climb to the top of the bell tower for a 360 degree view of the city.   

We then took a short bus ride to Mt. Nebo;  this is the site where Moses gazed on the Promise Land without being able to enter.  After 40 years wandering in the desert, I can only imagine the heart break that Moses would have felt.  But for us, in 2016, it was a beautiful view.  Tomorrow will be our last day in Jordan and then it is on to Jerusalem!

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway

Day 10 - Bet She'an and the Jordan River

Tim checking out some ruins

We packed up our things and said goodbye to the Emmanuel community, who hosted us in Tiberius, but not before sharing Sunday Mass with them. We celebrated the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and loaded up the bus for our trip to Jordan.

Ancient Roman? No, just Nick.

Before crossing the border Dr. Martin took us to one last ruined city: Bet She'an. Again there were several layers including Ancient Israelite, and Egyptian. But the most impressive was the late Roman city, with a massive theater, bath houses (which included ancient indoor plumbing), and truly monumental pillars.

Then we crossed over the Jordan River into the country of Jordan. We've only been here a few hours and I think many of us are reeling from culture shock. You see, much of the Israel we have seen is a kind of mix between European and Middle Eastern culture, but Jordan is the Middle East. After just a few minutes of driving we felt the shift from the fertile crescent to the desert. And still the bible is coming alive in new ways.

Chris praying on Jordan's bank.

We saw several Bedouin tribes in tents, much like the wandering Israelites. Our bus had to stop at one point to let a shepherd boy, no more than 10, and his flock cross the road. And we visited a Baptism site on the Jordan River where we renewed our faith by praying the Creed.

We are settled in for the night in the town of Madaba. More from Jordan tomorrow!

God bless!

Posted via Blogaway