Jerusalem 2019 (SPS Theology III)

I have a bit of a reflection to share today. This morning, we visited Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. We had the great privilege of being able to celebrate the Mass at the Grotto of the Manger, a small, intimate space where it is traditionally said the crib sat. Unfortunately, our hope for a […]

Several days ago we had the opportunity to have Mass in the Holy Sepulchre – where Jesus rose from the dead. It was beautiful to realize that the reason so many millions of people come here each year is precisely because Jesus isn’t here – it is the Resurrection, the historical fact that Jesus rose […]

Today, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, the place where Jesus experienced intense agony before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested by the guards on the night before his Passion and Death. After the Last Supper, in the night, he came here to pray. Jesus and his disciples were […]

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give […]

During the last couple of days we have had the opportunity to visit some extremely ancient sites: Tel Megiddo, Tel Hazor, and Tel Dan. “Tel” is a Hebrew word that means “hill,” and on these hills are cities that go back to the Bronze Age, around 4000 years ago (and even beyond), which is incredible. […]

Going to various Holy Sites, we’ve seen signs such as the one on the right: “Admission is only allowed for pilgrims or tourists.” One of our brothers thoughtfully pointed out the distinction between the two – a pilgrim is not the same as a tourist. This has become somewhat painfully obvious as we’ve been travelling […]

The last couple days have been incredible in our travels throughout the Holy Land. We had the great privilege of visiting Mount Tabor, Cana, and Nazareth, as we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. It was fitting that this wonderful feast occurred during our travels to these places, for we were able to witness how […]

The past several days we have been staying at one of the two Carmelite monasteries at the top of Mt. Carmel. While obviously associated with the religious order (of which my mom is a third-order member – hi mom!) Mt. Carmel is also of great importance in the Old Testament, being mentioned twenty-nine times. It […]