We are going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from June 19 to June 29 with Select International Tours and a group from the Collegium Center in Haddon Heights, New Jersey. Father James King will be leading our group of about 15 people. We will meet out guide, George Stephan in Israel.
A pilgrimage is a journey made to a sacred place for the purpose of venerating it and ultimately to come to know God better. Christians are not required to complete pilgrimages, but as we looked at where in the world to travel this year, we felt compelled to make this special journey to walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
This experience is going to be pretty intense not only because of the rich history of the area, the challenges of culture and language, but also because so many people have told us that its life changing from a spiritual sense. We feel very lucky to be able to make this trip and hope that you will journey along with us in a sort of virtual pilgrimage by reading this blog.
Our scheduled itinerary is below. We have been told that sometimes things get moved to avoid crowds or problems, so we're ready for that. Our blog posts for each day of the trip will go into more detail on each of these locations.
Wednesday, June 19 We will meet our group in New Jersey and take a bus up to Newark. We leave Newark International Airport around 6 PM bound for London, England where we arrive at 6 AM London time. After a two hour layover we fly to Tel Aviv, Israel arriving at 3PM on Thursday, Israeli time. Our flight time is about 12 hours, but the total travel time is probably closer to 21 hours from the time we leave the house until we get there! Israel is 7 hours ahead time wise.
Friday, June 21 Following breakfast, we drive to Mt. Tabor to see The Church of Transfiguration and celebrate Mass. Our next stop is Cana where we will visit the Wedding Church and renew our vows. We'll also visit the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that run an elementary school here. A short drive takes us to Nazareth, the town of Mary’s home, where Jesus played as a child, learned a trade, and grew to manhood. We visit St. Joseph’s Church and the Church of Annunciation. We stop at Mt. Precipice, from where we have great view of the Jezreel Valley. The angry multitudes wanted to throw Jesus from this mountain after His teaching at the Nazareth Synagogue.
Saturday, June 22 Depart for the Sea of Galilee to enjoy a morning boat ride on the peaceful waters. We travel to the Mt. of Beatitudes where Father will say Mass for us before continuing to Capernaum, where Jesus began His Galilean ministry. Here we explore the synagogue which dates to the time of Christ and see the site of St. Peter’s home. There is a church with a glass floor which is constructed over the site, allowing us to look down into the excavated ruins of Peter’s house. We are supposed to eat St. Peter’s Fish (tilapia) for lunch but its served with the head on so we may chicken out on that one Our next stop is the Church of Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, commemorating where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000. Our last stop is the Church of the Primacy of Peter, situated on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where after His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and told Peter, “feed my lambs; feed my sheep,” (John 21). Following an early dinner tonight we return to the Basilica of the Annunication for the Candlelight Procession with the local Christians.
Sunday, June 23 We begin with Mass at the nearby Basilica of the Annunciation and then say goodbye to Nazareth. We'll visit Sebastia, where Salome danced for Herod and where John the Baptist was beheaded. Visit the Church of the Ten Lepers in Burquin, built over the cave honoring the ten lepers healed by Jesus. Drive between Mt Gerizim and Mt Ebal, the mountains of blessing and cursing, where the Israelites renewed the covenant. Travel through the West Bank, passing Shiloh, where the Ark was kept, to visit the beautiful Church of Jacob’s Well and see the well where Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman and promised her living water. Enjoy a Genesis welcome before arriving at our beautiful hotel, the Notre Dame. The rest of the nights on the trip are at this hotel in Jerusalem.
Monday, June 24 We begin our day in Bethlehem with a visit to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity located above the birthplace of Christ. Bending low as we enter through the Door of Humility, we enter the Church and descend into the Grotto of Nativity. Beneath the Altar, a
14-pointed
Silver Star marks the exact spot surrounded by the Latin inscription: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA
JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). We celebrate the
joyous Christmas Mass in St. Jerome’s Grotto. Following
a relaxing lunch, we shop at a Christian store and see the actual Dead Sea Scrolls Jar. Visit
Shepherd’s Field and Grotto. Our group will be split up into smaller groups of 6-8 people and
be transferred to local Christian homes, where you will enjoy a home cooked meal as part of
our Sharing the Bread program. Tuesday, June 25 Depart for Jericho – the first city to be captured by Joshua as part of his
conquest of the Land
and the site of the Mount of Temptation. Stop for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises at Qasr Al
Yehoud. This site holds the oldest and most ancient tradition for being the place of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan (Mathew, 3: 13-17). Later, drive to the Dead Sea and
take a dip in the salty waters and shop for Dead Sea products. If there is time, we may get to stop at Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were found.Wednesday, June 26 Ida's birthday! Following breakfast, we visit the Basilica of Agony also known as the Church of All Nations where Mass will be celebrated. We have some quiet time in the Garden of Gethsemane also known as the Garden of Betrayal. Since the fourth century, tradition has placed the betrayal by Judas here. Then, we continue up to the top of the Mt. of Olives to visit the Ascension Chapel and visit the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer. We will get a panoramic view of Jerusalem from this location. We walk along Palm Sunday Road stopping at Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept over the city. Continue along the Jewish cemetery with a view over the Eastern Gate. Following lunch, we visit Caiaphas Palace and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Our final stops of the day are Dormition Abbey and the Upper Room.
Thursday, June 27 We start the day with a wake up call around 3 AM so we can pray the Stations of the Cross along the Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) before an early morning Mass in Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is the
site where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. We return to the hotel for breakfast and
some rest. Our day continues with visits to St. Anne’s Church and to see the Pools of Bethesda
where Jesus healed the Paralytic. We then visit Ecce Homo, where Jesus stood for judgment in
front of Pontius Pilate. We also visit Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall. We tuck a prayer
into the Westerm Wall just as St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis did before us. In the
afternoon we visit Bethany to see the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Tonight, we return to
the Basilica of Agony for our Holy Hour.Friday, June 28 We head to Ein Karem to visit the Church of the Visitation, where we celebrate Mass. We will see Mary’s Spring and the birthplace of John the Baptist. Tonight, we have dinner at Cheers in Bethlehem.
Saturday, June 29 We get up very early again to board our bus to the airport in Tel Aviv. Our flight leaves at 7 am so that sounds like 3 AM again. We arrive in London at 10:30 London time and have a 6 hour layover before our 4:45 PM flight to Newark. We arrive back at Newark at 7:35 PM.
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