Janet and I are in Nazareth, as I’ve already shared, and right now we are at the pre-wedding party of 1,000 people — family and friends of the bride and grooms family. We are honored to be guests.
The groom’s family puts on this huge party to welcome the family and friends of the bride (including us). Amer and his family had hosted a party for the groom’s family a few days earlier.
Families are very involved in the weddings to a degree unknown in the West. No wonder divorce and premarital sex is virtually unknown here.
Actually the wedding is in Nazareth, but that is only four miles away. Janet and I are going to the wedding of Nagum Shehadeh who is the beautiful daughter of our friend and local Catholic guide Amer.
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I will also be posting YouTube videos of this authentic Holy Land pilgrimage here on my blog at http://www.CatholicConvert.com/2010.
While there Janet and I will be renting a car, exploring new places, running new trails (like from Nazareth to Cana) and working on our next book for Ignatius Press. Keep us in your prayers.
For all you radio listeners out there … STEVE RAY LIVING THE BIBLE IN THE HOLY LAND!
While on Pilgrimage in Israel we stopped at Qumran, near the Dead Sea and the place where John the Baptist baptized. John the Baptist ate grasshoppers here (Matthew 3:4).
I mentioned to my pilgrims that if anyone found a grasshopper — I would eat it like John the Baptist did in the desert. Grasshoppers, locusts and crickets were considered “clean foods” for the Israelites (Lev. 11:22).
Did Jesus eat them? Why not? It was clean food for the Jews specifically mentioned in the Bible. Leviticus 11:22 says they are “clean” and can be eaten.
Well, finding a big juicy grasshopper became the goal for many of the pilgrims. And before long I found myself with a 4 inch long wiggling insect in my hands and only a sense of humor to get me through.
I promised the group if they found one I’d eat it — never believing they’d find one. They found a BIG one. What to do?
I ate it — live and wiggling — very crunchy. Now I know what a locust tastes like and I know why John the Baptist ate them with wild honey!
Living the Bible here in the Holy Land!
You can see all our past videos of our pilgrimages at www.SteveGoes.com. Go to Pilgrimages > Past.
Our pilgrims spoke over 12 languages and here are all of them sharing the OUR FATHER in their languages. What a beautiful way to show the universality of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church!
The early morning walk of the Via Dolorosa to the Tomb of Christ for Mass is always the high point on any pilgrimage. Enjoy!
Part I (see Part II below)
After returning for breakfast we took off for St. Ann’s Church for singing and teaching (perfect acoustics), then to watch Bar Mitzvahs at the Western Wall. Free afternoon, group run around the Walls of Jerusalem, the Holy Shroud Exhibit and a free afternoon.
June 10, 2010 at 9:39 am
· Filed under Pilgrimages
Day Six, Parts I and II: Mass at Gethsemane, visit to Mount of Olives, Pater Noster Church, Lunch and Mount Zion.
Visited Promenade to get expansive “aerial” view of Jerusalem where I gave a 20-minute overview of all of Salvation History.
Then to Abby of the Dormitian, the Upper Room and St. Peter in Gallicantu where Jesus was imprisoned over Holy Thursday night and where Peter denied Jesus. We had dinner at the hotel.
June 10, 2010 at 5:58 am
· Filed under Pilgrimages
Part II of our full Bethlehem Day. We finished by going to Hebron to see the tomb of Abraham & Sarah, Isaac & Rebecca, Jacob and Leah in the Machpelah. It was very special to see the city of the Patriarchs and where King David began to be king.
We then had a festive dinner in Bethlehem where we ate stuffed lamb with Palestinian rice and many other fine foods and wine. Then we danced!
June 7, 2010 at 10:39 pm
· Filed under Pilgrimages
Today we started out at Tabgha where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish — and yes, it WAS a miracle and not just a lot of people learning to share. Then to Capernaum where I gave my talk “Defending the Eucharist” before we had Mass at Peter’s House. Everyone took pictures of the synagogue where Jesus said, “Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood.”
Next we ate St. Peter’s Fish at the Tanureen Restaurant before the drive south UP to Jerusalem. It is always UP to Jerusalem since it is where God dwells and is the highest place on the earth. Along the way I gave my conversion story on the buses, Fr. Ahn gave his vocation story and Teresa Tomeo told her story of her coming back to the Church.
We stopped at Ein Kerem to visit the Church of the Visitation where I gave my talk on Mary, Ark of the New Covenant. Then we arrived at the Notre Dame Hotel in Jerusalem which is across the street from the Old City and the Holy Sepulchre. Everyone had a great dinner and went to bed though we did arrive early and had some free time.
I wrote this in 2000 after a night of fishing with Jewish fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. Since today we are on a boat on the Sea of Galilee with our pilgrims today, I thought I would share this story with you now — it is what I am telling them right now as we rock with the waves right now.
********************************************
I smell of fish and I need a shower, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
The moon is still hanging over the the Sea of Galilee and the waves are gently rippling against the dock. The lights of Tiberias are twinkling in the distance and the silhouette of the small fishing boats are visible bobbing in the water. A gaggle of geese are swimming by honking with self-importance while the eastern sky is beginning to lighten. It is about 5:30 AM and I got up at 4:30 to drive around the lake to meet Shemi.
Over a cold Maccabees beer yesterday, my friend Shemi asked me to go out with him fishing last night but I was tired with a long day ahead of me today and thought it best to get some sleep, but I promised to go with him later. Shemi is a Jewish fisherman (you can see him in my Jesus and Peter DVD’s) who fishes all night out on the Sea of Galilee just like Peter, Andrew, James and John. He reminds me of Peter.
A couple years ago I spent the night out fishing with Shemi and his partner Udi but I got very seasick with the rocking of the boat. My job was to splash in the water and bang on the side of the boat to scare the fish into the net. Shemi asked me to meet him this morning so I could see his catch of fish and how high the water had risen here in En Gev since the last time I was here. It is 11 feet deeper now, a few inches below the full capacity of the sea before they open the dams to let some water out.
Yesterday Janet and I spent of day of discovery finding new things and enjoying the familiar. We found the old ruins of Magdala from which Mary Magdalen was named. We got video footage of the site though it is private property and fenced off, even with barbed wire. We found the Springs of the Apostles where Jesus and the apostles certainly rested and slaked their thirst as they traveled through the gorge under Mount Arbel as they traveled back and forth between Capernaum and Nazareth. Several Arab families were there filling jugs of water to take home.
Other new sites we discovered were the stone marker commemorating the place Jesus healed the woman with the “issue of blood” and where the synagogue official Jairus requested healing for his 12 year old daughter (Lk 8:40-56) and the Domus Galileaea which is a beautiful new papal institute overlooking the sea which is almost finished.
It is used for seminarians to study the Holy Land and for pilgrims to visit. We also had to see how much difference 11 feet of water made at the Church of the Primacy of Peter just south of Capernaum and to say hello to our African priest friend there who said he had finished my book Upon this Rock and enjoyed it very much. Such a thing always makes an author’s day.
We ate dinner at our favorite restaurant here and talked for three hours with our friend who is the owner of the Aberge Shulamit Restaurant. She is somewhat of an atheist and very intelligent and thoughtful. She also told us the marvelous love story of how she met her husband in the Israeli Air Force in 1962 when she was only 17 years old. He died a few years ago and a picture I took of him still hangs in the entry of the restaurant. Please pray for her after our very delightful and probing discussion. I hope she takes my challenge to discover the mercy of the God who does exist and who loves her enough to have sent her Jewish Messiah 2000 years ago.
It is now an hour later and after helping Shemi unload, I smell like fish and I’m going to drive back to the Kibbutz for a shower!
Another great day with no problems but a lot of great things happening. Today we went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Then we visited the museum to see the Ancient Jesus Boat — a boat 2,000 years old found in the Sea of Galilee.
Then we had Mass on the top of the Mount of Beatitudes before driving north to Banias — Caesarea Philippi. I told my conversion story on one bus while Teresa Tomeo and the priests told their stories on the other two buses.
We visited the huge rock where Jesus said, “You are Peter (Rock) and on this rock I will build my Church.” Here we also renewed our baptismal vows in the headwaters of the Jordan River.
Next we had lunch at a Druze Restaurant, drove along the Syrian border and gave everone the last part of the afternoon free. Buses 1 and 2 drove north to Rosh Pina for dinner at Aberge Shulamit (more on this later). Everyone had a great time with the comedy club on the bus on the ride home.
Everyone is doing fine and having a great time. People comments today on how safe and beautiful the country is.
Today we went to the top of Mount Tabor where the Transfiguration took place; then we renewed Wedding Vows in the church in Cana where Jesus turned water into wine (John 2).
Then we had an authentic Nazareth lunch before going to the Grotto where Gabriel announced the birth of the Savior and the Incarnation began. The altar says “The Word Became Flesh HERE!” We had Mass in front of this cave.
I gave a talk “A Day in the Life of the Holy Family” above the cave where they lived for almost thirty years. We then had some free time and Bus 3 went to Aberge Shulamit for dinner (more on Pilgerhaus Hotel and Aberge Shulamit later).
But we never doubted it. Follow our Twitter reports from my home page multiple times each day. All is well, safe and beautiful in Israel. Have no fear! All is going as planned.
A good Mass on the shore of Galilee, a good dinner and all are in bed getting ready for a great day tomorrow on the Mount of Transfiguration, renewing Wedding Vows in Cana, and Mass at the place the Archangel Gabriel announce to Mary the birth of her new divine Son.
On your mark, get set — GO! I set the alarm for early to run the route I would be leading our pilgrims through Assisi and to get a four-mile run in before the rest of the group got up. I wanted to cover four miles and did a bit more.
Assisi is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Medieval with gates, stone walls, banners, flowers, churches, a fortress and tile roofs. It is quaint and stunning — candy for the eyes.
I ran through the life of St. Frances — his birthplace, his family home, the “prison” where his father constrained him. I also ran to the church named after him and past his tomb. “No fotos, no fotos!” but in the morning it is always allowed, since no one is there to yell at you.
Down the valley is the Church of San Damiano where the “St. Damiano Crucifix” spoke to Francis and said, “My church is falling into ruin. Repair my church.” Francis thought he meant the little porziuncola in the valley. He realized later that God meant his universal Church. These sites are all within hiking distance in Assisi.
Today we had a thrilling and very busy day. We started with a tour of the first Marian church which is huge! We visited and explored St. Mary Major with the wood from the manger where Jesus was laid.
Then to Mass at one of the oldest churches — St. Praxedes, a young woman who buried the martyrs of the second century. Her father knew the apostles. She mopped up the blood of martyrs and keep it as a precious relic.
Then we saw the great relics of Jerusalem brought to Rome by St. Helena. They are housed in the Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem. We find there the finger of Thomas, thorns from Jesus’ crown, a nail from the cross, the title sign above the cross in three languages, and more.
A fun lunch in Piazza Navona and then a walking tour to include the Pantheon, St. Maria in Sopra Minerva, Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Agostino (St. Augustine with the relics of his mother Monica and a painting of Caravaggio), then St. Agnes in Piazza Navona.
We then went back out to the area of the catacombs for another meal at the EXCELLENT Cecilia Metalla Ristarante. Now all are in bed.
This day will be in two videos — one posted now and one in the morning.
Today our group went to the General Audience with Pope Benedict. Dr. Scott Hahn was able to get a special ticket (he’d been working on it for a year, I think). After the final blessing he was able to meet the pope and present him with his latest books. You will see him describe it on the video.
Everyone was very happy to see the pope — most for the first time in their lives. It was a beautiful day and most had great seats. The pope goes through the crowd in his pope mobile so many get to see him up close.
After the General Audience we took the bus out the Via Appia Antica to our very nice restaurant outside under a canopy of vines with fountains gurgling behind. It was hard to break away.
We then walked across the street and descended into the St. Sebastian Catacombs, after which we had Mass in one of the seven pilgrim churches in Rome — St. Sebastians. He was a Roman soldier that converted to Christianity and was eventually martyred for his faith.
After Mass we came back to our hotel for Dr. Hahn’s excellent talk on the theology of Pope Benedict (perfect culmination to meeting him today!) and then everyone scattered to the many fine cafes in Rome for dinner and gelato.
Authority in the Church requires docility to Christ, Pope tells weekly audience
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6449
All authority in the Church comes from Christ, Pope Benedict XVI told his public audience on May 26. Therefore, holding any office “subjects the person to the mystery of Christ, making him His servant.”
Since we are here today leading the Dr. Scott Hahn and the St. Paul Center’s Rome/Assisi pilgrimage, I thought you would like to see what we are all seeing!
Through the courtesy of the Vatican Museums ….. enjoy this meditative virtual visit of the Sistine Chapel…a timely reminder of the beauty of the Church, the magnificence of Christian art, and the impending reality of the Final Judgment.
Note by clicking on the mouse you can enjoy the visit from various vantage points! Click here.
Jesuit head of Asian Catholic news agency criticizes transubstantiation http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6434
Stating that “Catholics can become fanatical about one form of the Body of Christ in the bread of the Eucharist as the REAL presence of Christ,” Father Michael Kelly, the Jesuit CEO of the Asian Catholic news agency UCA News, criticized the doctrine of transubstantiation in a May 24 column.
For all you radio listeners out there … STEVE RAY LIVING THE BIBLE IN THE HOLY LAND!
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