In November 2016, a group of travelors set off on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In this group were 33 friends, acquaintances, fellow church members, some family members and a few strangers. For many Christians this is the trip of a lifetime...traveling to where our Lord lived and walked. We were reminded at the outset that there is a difference in traveling as a pilgrim and a tourist. I've spent the last few days reviewing the many photos I took while on this pilgrimage and reflecting on what is happening this Holy week in preparation for Easter. When I set out on this journey, I knew very little about the places where Jesus walked. Each time I have traveled abroad I've had a sense that the things I get to do and see are unique and that whatever I see or do I'm blessed to see as I have probably never before seen what I'm going to see and I may never get to see those things again in my lifetime.
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| Just outside the site of Jesus' Baptismal in Jordan |
Prior to this trip I had never before traveled where I did not plan personally every detail. I chose to make this pilgrimage with members of my parish family from St Patrick's in Kathleen, Georgia. A few had traveled before to the Holy Land but not many. Again I had no expectations other than a desire to travel with my husband and friends and better come to know Jesus. So what struck me first? The thought of Jesus and his followers living and walking in the vast desert. He could have chosen anytime to arrive on this earth and any place. Yet he chose to come when there were none of todays comforts cars, air conditioning or comfortable shoes. I can't image walking in sandals in this desolation.
A few years after becoming a member of St Patrick's I went on a 3 day Cursillo weekend. This weekend facilitates a personal encounter with Christ. It was a profound experience both personally and in the larger realm of friendship and Christian community. Many of those on this pilgrimage had likewise experienced Cursillo. We were familiar with gathering together and sharing our faith experiences so at the end of many days we spoke of those experiences each day that touched our hearts. In the bible Jesus travels with a group of friends and shares his life. As he journeyed toward his passion and death, he was in the company of his closest friends. He shared his last meal on earth with them and they journeyed with him to Gesthemene where he agonized over the suffering that was to come.
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| Simon do you Love me |
Jerusalem was the last stop on our pilgrimage. Over the course of our journey, we celebrated mass almost every day. Each place we had mass we reflected on what had transpired at each place. Our mass readings reflected the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee and the birth and death of Christ in Bethlehem and Calvary. Here we not only read and reflected on the scriptures but we were there. Imagine singing Christmas carols near the field where the Shepherds were tending their sheep? This trip brought me back to something that had truly given meaning to my faith life. Our music director and friend gave her beautiful voice to each and every celebration. My heart reconnected with the love of music that had been so central growing up both in my Catholic faith and through my mother's Methodist faith as well.
As Holy Thursday draws closer my thoughts turn to Jesus last evening on earth with his friends yet alone in the Garden of Gesthemene. I did expect that this place would affect me profoundly. It did and of course my fellow pilgrims as well. We had a beautiful day for experiencing this beautiful place where our Lord spent his last hours prior to his arrest. We can scarcely imagine what love he had for each of us that he would give his life for us. Oddly enough at this point in the pilgrimage I had developed some intestinal symptoms that would be with me on and off for the rest of the trip. I remember sitting close to the ground and feeling some discomfort from inside. This morning as I was listening to Matthew Kelly Best Lent Ever and listening to him speak of being a pilgrim and accepting whatever happens on the journey and being open to it. I knew my symptoms paled in comparison to what our Lord experienced that evening shortly before he was deserted by his friends yet it was suffering on some level and I could remember that Jesus accepted the cup he had been given by his Father.
By the last full day of our pilgrimage I was worn out and tired of the stomach symptoms. I almost decided to stay in the hotel. I changed my mind however and drug myself on the bus for our last day. Just as Mary had so long ago we traveled to the Hill country where our Blessed Mother Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Had I not soldiered on I would have missed a beautiful day where I would reflect on the joy of friendship and experience the last day in the Holy Land with all my fellow pilgrims and friends. As I write this post, I'm missing my friends. Many are. We are sheltering in place due to Covid 19. We are praying for one another and hoping to continue walking with each other on this pilgrimage of life. As Christians however we must be ready to surrender and say Lord not my will but yours.
