Asante, Gracias, Grazie, شكرا, תודה

I say “thank-you,” in Swahili, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and Arabic (the languages I encountered on my sabbatical) – to all who have followed me these last five months on my “Ascent to Mount Tabor” blog. It has truly been a graced experience. I have reached the summit, my goal, which was to deepen my love for Our Lord Jesus Christ as well as my commitment to being his priest. Thank-you for praying with me and for me every step of the way; I truly felt your prayers.

I have returned home and am taking some days to “decompress” – go through mail, do sabbatical reports, etc., before I resume regular parish duties next Tuesday. Special thanks to Fr. Jaspers and our great parish staff for taking such excellent care of the parish while I was away. I look forward to seeing all our wonderful parishioners and celebrating the Eucharist with you once again.

I plan to give a presentation on my sabbatical - Sunday, January 10, 2016 at 11:45 am; and again on Monday, January 11, 2016 at 7:00 pm. Both presentations will be in St. Joseph Hall. I hope you can come. Please invite anyone who may be interested. We plan to have culinary treats from each of the five countries I visited.

The final photo: Calvary – where the greatest act of love took place – Jesus gave his life for us. Thank-you, Jesus!

The Last Supper, the Agony, the Dormition of Mary

I spent two of my last days in Jerusalem praying near the site of the Last Supper, at Dormition Abbey.  This is the site of the Dormition of Mary, where the Blessed Virgin Mary lived after the death of Jesus. This is also the site of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Tradition says that she died here (her dormition), and then her body was transferred to a cemetery near Gethsemanee, where she was assumed into heaven.  I spent a day praying at the Garden of Gethsemanee - the "Agony in the Garden."

The "Upper Room" of the Last Supper

The Dormition of Mary

Pentecost

The Agony in the Garden

The Garden of Gethsemanee

The rock where Jesus prayed in his agony

Sculpture of the Agony

St. John the Baptist, the Visitation

Ein Karem today is a suburb of Jerusalem.  But in the days of Elizabeth and Zechariah, it was a small town in the hills a few miles from the temple in Jerusalem, where Zechariah served as a priest.  It is where St. John the Baptist was born and brought up by his parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah.  It is also the site of the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth.  I spent a beautiful, sunny day praying there at the two churches in close proximity - the Church of St. John the Baptist, and the Church of the Visitation.  I venerated the spot where St. John was born, and prayed in the church for our parish of St. John the Baptist and all of our parishioners.  Then I walked up the hill to the Church of the Visitation, past the well where Elizabeth met Mary.  I viewed my favorite sculpture of the Visitation - the one that served as the model for the sculpture of the Visitation in the St. John's Rectory courtyard, sculpted by Bethany Lee and donated by the funeral luncheon committee.  I prayed the Canticle of Zechariah, which was first uttered here, and is displayed in many languages in the church courtyard.  

Christmas to Easter - in two days!

As Bethlehem gets ready to celebrate the Birth of Jesus, a giant tree is put up in Manger Square.  I venerated the star that marks the spot where Jesus was born.  The Church of the Nativity is on one side of Manger Square, and on the opposite side is a mosque, pointing out the ubiquitous presence of the three religions existing in close proximity in this Holy Land: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There is no quiet place to pray in the Church of the Nativity, so I prayed next door in the Church of St. Catherine, the parish church of the local Catholics in Bethlehem.  Just two days later, I was privileged to be able to celebrate Holy Mass right inside the tomb of Jesus, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.  I could hardly get the words of the Mass out of my mouth I was so overcome with emotion - being in the place where Jesus rose from the dead!  Later, I viewed the split rock that seismographers have determined split in the earthquake at the moment that Jesus died on the cross.   

Mass at Our Lady of Fatima, Beit Sahour

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic

On pilgrimage in the Holy Land, I've met Christians from all over the world (except the USA).  At the Sea of Galilee, I met a family from Germany who invited me to visit with them a little-known cave, where Jesus went to be alone after feeding the multitude.  At Shepherds' Field near Bethlehem, I met a pilgrimage group from Nigeria who love to take photos!  On Sunday, I concelebrated the parish Mass at Our Lady of Fatima, the parish church in Beit Sahour near Bethlehem.  Also worshiping there were the bishop and pilgrimage group from the Diocese of Portsmouth, England.  After Mass, I was invited to Sunday dinner at the home of some parishioners.  At the Casa Nova in Jerusalem where I'm staying, I met pilgrims from Mexico.  Even though language, customs and food are different, we all share the same faith and are united as disciples of Jesus in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.  

The Sea of Galilee

Jesus calms the storm

When I arrived at the Sea of Galilee, the winds were strong and the sea was turbulent.  As night came on, the waves roared as there rose up a violent storm.  I could easily imagine the fear of the disciples as they were on that boat in a storm such as that.  Just as Jesus calmed the waters for them, the next morning the sea was calm and peaceful.  I am at a beautiful site right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at the Pilgerhaus, a pilgrimage house run by the German Church.  As I was arriving, a family group of German pilgrims asked me if I had celebrated Mass that day.  I already had, at Mount Tabor, but I said I'd be happy to celebrate Mass for them.  We had Mass together yesterday and will again today, before I depart for Bethlehem.  Yesterday I prayed at the site of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, and Peter's Primacy.

The Ascent

Today I "ascended" Mount Tabor.  I drove part of the way up, and walked part of the way.  The trek was more difficult than I anticipated - Jesus, Peter, John and James must have been in good shape! Pilgrims were scarce at the shrine, so I had the shrine and the outdoors area around it to myself for several hours; it was a powerful prayer time.  The view from the top is magnificent.  I was able to celebrate Mass in the Chapel of the Prophet Elijah.  The goal of my sabbatical has been reached, at least the apparent goal - Ascent to Mount Tabor.  I have now descended the mountain, and am on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.  But for the next two weeks I hope to stay on the mountain with Jesus, figuratively speaking, as I pray at the places where he lived, walked, suffered, died and rose from the dead.  "Lord, it is good to be here." (Mt 17:4)

The Word was made flesh - here

At the grotto in Nazareth where the Archangel Gabriel asked Mary if she would be the Mother of God, the words are inscribed, "Verbum Caro Hic Factum Est" - Here, the Word was made flesh.  I spent several hours at the sight of the Annunciation praying and contemplating this mystery.  Here are some photos of the Basilica of the Annunciation (as seen from my hotel room), and beautiful artworks of the Annunciation, St. Joseph, the Holy Family, the Betrothal of Mary & Joseph, and Mary appearing to St. James the Apostle in Spain (a mural donated by the Church in Spain) - a link to my El Camino experience.