Holy Land
Transcript: Day 3: Tiberias: Sea of Galilee - Capernaum Theme: The Ministry of Christ in the Galilee Day 1: Arrive in Tel Aviv From Philadelphia Day 6: Judean Wilderness - Jordan River Day 8: Jerusalem: Mt. Of Olives - Gethsemane - Mt. Zion (Upper Room) Theme: Palm Sunday and the Agony in the Garden Day 5: Jerusalem: Bethlehem & Ein Karem Theme: The Visitation and Nativity In the morning we will travel to the village Ein Karem to visit the Church of Visitation. The site commemorates the visit between our Blessed Mother Mary and her cousins Elizabeth. We will pray the Mystery of the Rosary as we walk up to the Church. After that, we will drive to Bethlehem to visit the fields where the angels came to the shepherds and tell them of the birth of the messiah (Luke 2:8-13). Then, we will go to the church of the Nativity. We will celebrate mass in the sacred church then we will return to the hotel in Jerusalem overnight. This to me would be one of the most impactful things I’ve ever experienced in my life. Being able to visit the place where Jesus Christ was born would teach me that Jesus didn’t have a grand birth, but rather a quite humble one that would soon change the world. We will depart and drive to the Judean wilderness. We will fast for the day to commemorate Jesus’ time spent in the wilderness. We will travel through the wilderness seeing the places that Jesus could have possibly been. After that we will head to the Jordan River for some moments of reflection of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist (Matthew 4:13-17). Being able to witness people being baptized in the Jordan river just like Jesus would offer us a reminder that although Jesus was truly divine he was also truly human meaning that he went through everything we are going now. So we also have that strength to persevere through adversity and do all things through our lord. Me and my family will be taking a flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. We will spend the night in a nearby hotel and enjoy some of the finest Middle eastern and Mediterranean cuisines. Day 9: Jerusalem: Via Dolorosa - Holy Sepulchre- Western Wall Theme: The Way of the Cross In the morning we will wake up and eat breakfast and enjoy the outstanding view of the Sea of Galilee. After that we will make the trip to Capernaum, which is the town where Jesus spent a lot of his time and where he launched his world changing ministry. In Capernaum we will visit the synagogue where Jesus taught and gave the infamous Sermon on the Bread of life. We also see the Mount of Beatitudes, obviously the place where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:20-42). Then we will continue to Tabgha, the place where Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. There we will go to sacred places in Tabgha for moments of reflection. I think that visiting these places would be extremely humbling knowing that you could be standing in the exact spot where Jesus performed one of his numerous miracles. Day 7: Qumran - Dead Sea Theme: Ancient Jewish life and beliefs Today will be our beach day at the Dead Sea, but first we will visit the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. The scrolls were an instrumental part of understanding the Jewish background of our Christian faith. After, we will return to the Dead Sea and spend the rest of the afternoon floating around in the Dead Sea, which actually is the lowest and saltiest place on earth (Ezekiel 47:11). The experience to learn from the Dead Sea scrolls offers so much insightful information on why our religion is the way it is thanks to Christianity’s Jewish background. We will rise early to partake in the Via Dolorosa or The Way of the Cross. We will start at the fortress, where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. It would end at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the place of Jesus’ death or resurrection (Luke 23:39-43). At the Holy Sepulcher we will celebrate mass. In the evening we will visit the Western Wall, which is the last remnant of the Jewish Temple destroyed in 70 A.D. Ending the trip at the place of Jesus' death and resurrection is truly a great place to end it. It reminds us of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for us, allowing us to experience eternal life. To start the day we will visit the Mount of Olives where we will then visit the Pater Noster Shrine where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. After that we will walk down the notorious Palm Sunday Road. We will continue to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the place where Jesus took his apostles to pray before his crucifixion. We will visit the All Nations Church, which is the site of the “Rock of Agony”. We will then visit Mount Zion. There we will see the dungeon where Jesus was imprisoned. We will also be able to see the site that Peter denied Jesus 3 times (John 18:27). Afterwards we will be able to visit the Upper Room, the place where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his