Holy Land Pilgrimage Day 9 & 10

Our final day of touring on our Holy Land pilgrimage began at the Cenacle, also known as the Upper Room.  It honors the place of the Last Supper.  The building itself was also the location of a mosque and is all the place reverenced as the Tomb of David.  Today the place is a symbol of religious tolerencance and mutual respect.  How appropriate the at the place honoring the location of the institution of the Eucharist, there is a desire for oneness among the peoples who revere the place as holy.  I was honored to receive a beautiful chalice and patten from two of our pilgrims.  They presented it to me here at the first Eucharist.  Before departing we visited the place honored as the Tomb of the great king David.

From the Cenacle we took a few steps before entering the Monestary of the Dormition of Mary.  The upper church was cast with beautiful streaks of sunlight coming through the window.  It was in the lower church, however, that we felt closest to Our Blessed Mother.  The church represents the site of the home where Mary lived after the Resurrection of the Lord.  The depiction of her falling asleep at the time of her Assumption is quite peaceful.  There was also a beautiful mosaic depicting the Blessed Mother with the disciples at the Pentecost.  Before departing the chapel we honored our lady by singing the Hail Mary together.

We then walked a little further to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu.  The church takes its name from the Latin word "Gallicantu", meaning cock's-crow. This is in commemoration of Peter's triple rejection of Jesus "... before the cock crows twice."  Located on the spot believed to have been the home of Caiphas the High priest, we were able to go down into the cistern where Jesus was likely held prisoner on the night before his trial before Pilate.

Our next stop of the day was the Jewish museum, where we not only were able to see portions of the dead sea scrolls, we had the opportunity to spend time at the massive outdoor model of Jerusalem and the Temple at the time of Herod the Great and Jesus.  The model really helped us to comprehend all that we had seen and all the places we had walked over the last few days.  It also gave us a deep appreciation for the remarkable abilty of the people of 2,000 years who built this marvelous city.

We then headed to the location of our final mass of the pilgrimage, the Church of the Visitation.  The climb up the hill was quite arduous, but well worth it.  It was truly a beautiful church and a fitting location for us to celebrate our final mass, marking this special week of "Visitation," which we shared together.  

Before boarding the bus for our final pilgrimage destination we visited the church marking the place of the birth of John the Baptist

Despite some heavy traffic we were able to visit our final pilgrimage destination.  Located on the ruins of a Byzintine era church, we concluded our pilgrimage at the spot venerated as place where the two disciples encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.  I felt this to be a fitting location for us to conclude the pilgrimage as it is my favorite resurrection appearence.  The structure of our celebration of mass is easily recognizable in the story as it is told.  And lastly I think it is an beautiful example of companionship on the journey. This companionship is what we experienced on our road of pilgrimage.

Our severly delayed flight home gave us a chance to visit the old city once more.  And so we said good night and farewell to Jerusalem, the Galilee region, the nation of Israel and the Holy Land.  We are so grateful for this grace filled journey and long for its seeds to bare fruit in our lives.