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Throughout the country on this day people are remembering loved ones, friends, neighbors etc., who were lost in war, especially World War II, the Korean war, Vietnam and Afghanistan… But the people of St. Benedict, Kansas remember the miracles…. The residents of St. Benedict built St. Mary’s church in 1893… a church that’s plain on the outside and so gorgeous on the inside that it later was a finalist in the statewide contest to be one of the “8 wonders of Kansas”. But the mi

After our many deeply religious experiences, Leo couldn’t wait for us to head over to the original Temple site to see the Western Wall and to leave prayers in the Wailing Wall. On our way to the wall, we passed a Muslim Tower, where a man chanted in a sing-song-y voice, calling the Muslim people to prayer. We rounded a corner and headed over to the original Temple site to see the Western Wall and to leave prayers in the Wailing Wall. The walkway above the old temple area was

Our next stop was a place called Dormition Abbey, a Benedictine Abbey on Mount Zion. Situated just outside of the city walls and the old Zion gate, the church was built over the spot where the Virgin Mary lived after the death of Jesus. Leo said that the initial church was built in the 5 th century but was destroyed in 614, then rebuilt and destroyed several more times -- and in 1910 the Abbey was rebuilt and called The Sleep of the Virgin Mary. It was damaged again in 1948,

We drove along the water to an area called Tagbha, (pronounced tag-ba), to yet another church! This one Leo called the “church of the loaves and fishes” – which gave us a hint of why we were there. (The actual name of the Church is The Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. I like Leo’s name better…) While we were on our way, Leo told us that Israeli fishermen always cast their nets on the left side of the boat – never the right. Which is why, he said, it was so unusual for J

One of the very first people that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene. Mary had bravely made plans to go with a couple other of Jesus’ followers to go to the tomb and finish preparing him for burial, with the proper ointments and spices. The other ladies were very nervous about being stopped – or worse -- by the tomb guards, so Mary just ran ahead of them, bribed the guards at the city gates and arrived at the tomb alone, and finding it empty. She was

After our long walk back down the hill, we boarded the bus again and drove to a spot overlooking the city. Here a man with a camel was giving camel rides to tourists. Leo had promised us a treat – but this sure didn’t look easy! You had to use a stool to climb up onto a high wall (circular, with a tree in the middle) and then throw your leg over the seat of the camel to get on top. Then, ready or not, he stood up! We were all kind of holding back, so Father Turner went fi

He is Risen Indeed! Join me tomorrow to see where He goes….

To get to the church of the Holy Sepulcher, we walked all around at least one quarter of the Old City, on “streets’ that were cobble-stoned walkways lined with shops and houses along the way. Each street we took seemed to change our direction as we passed through stone arches (1) and out into the brilliant sunshine then back into dark streets… even passing through a gate that closes off the street of the old city at night. photo 1 As we got closer, we passed by the Mosque of

Today’s post is pretty long – with lots of pictures, but it is the only way to share the Stations with you, in the very spots where they occurred! We actually began our day differently – beginning the station at the end! At 8:00 am we were waiting in line at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – which holds the last 5 stations of the cross… and a whole lot more. Leo explained that because of the crowds, we wouldn’t be able to even get in here later today, so we’d st

As we were leaving the Garden to begin walking toward Caiaphas’ house – Leo pointed out its colorful roof and wide grounds. photo 1 He explained that we were taking the same path that the soldiers walked/dragged Jesus over, since they were delivering him to Caiaphas. When we reached a set of steps, Leo had us walk alongside them – he told us that they were sacred because Jesus walked down those very stone steps the night He was arrested. photo 2 The steps date back to the sec

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Our next stop was The Garden of Gethsemane, which is a totally walled garden. photo 1 We entered into the public garden, where a sign at the entrance starts with Jesus’ words and explains that this is the spot where Jesus asked his disciples if they couldn’t even pray with him for one hour. Leo said that he left his disciples there while he went up to the rock and prayed. photo 2 Inside a niche in the interior of the same wall was a pillar that marked the spot where Jesus was

About half-way down to the bus, Leo told us to turn around. He said that the first thing you see when you look at Jerusalem is the Dome of the Rock. This golden dome was built over (on?) Mount Moriah, right above the ground where the temple once stood. Leo told us it is considered by Israelites and Muslims alike to be the holiest site in the city. Muslims believe that it marks the spot of the ascension of Mohammed, and Abraham also came here, to Mount Moriah, to sacrifice I

The bus ride to Jerusalem wasn’t too far from where we were, but it was evening by the time we pulled up in front of the huge hotel. The Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem was more modern and the nicest of the three hotels we stayed in. We arrived to a nice surprise – once we passed the olive tree and entered the hotel, we were treated to fresh, cut bread, along with a bowl of herbs and olive oil. We dipped the bread into the oil, then the herbs as we were shown, and it was del

We woke to an absolutely beautiful sunrise on Lake Tiberius (Galilee). Picture taken from our side window. Once again we had to be packed to leave, but this time we were able to place our tagged bags outside of our rooms for someone else to retrieve while we headed down to breakfast. From there we went directly to the bus, which was already loaded with our bags. On our way to our next stop, we passed the town of Arimathea (as in Joseph of Arimathea). On its

Our final stop of the day was the last town on the lake, Capernaum. Also, the first town inside of Galilee from the border. It is on the Via Maris, which is the main road going south. It is known as The Town of Jesus, because Jesus stayed here a lot and travelled away and back again. Leo said he was able to do great things here and become known throughout the land from here because it was the first town from “the border”. (Capernaum was the first town on the main trade ro

By the time the bus was fixed, the rain had stopped, so we continued to Mount Tabor and the site of the transfiguration. We passed a Bedouin community/village which Leo pointed out to us was the area where Jesus had left the rest of his disciples and took “just the three up with Him”. Our bus struggled to get about two-thirds up the mountain. It was a serious climb to the parking lot! From there we jumped into vans that took us the rest of the way up. There was no process

Back on the road, we travelled north to the Tagbha area, to the Church of the Multiplication. Back in Jesus’ time it was called Heptagon (the Seven Springs), but is now Tagbha (which means the same thing). The image near the entrance to the church is in honor of Pope John Paul II, who visited the church during his papacy. Leo explained that this church is built on the site where Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish, and beneath the altar is an imag

Next we traveled further down the lake to a large dock, where we all boarded a wide boat and set sail out onto the Sea of Galilee. The boat’s crew played the American National Anthem and raised the American Flag right next to the flag of Israel, as we slowly sailed away from the dock. It was a deeply moving moment…. We paused in the middle of the Lake. At this point, Leo explained, we were on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee – which is actually much more like one of

When we arrived at the Church of the Beatitudes, we could see the Lake behind it. But one of the first things Leo pointed out was the mosaic-tiled plaza in front of the church itself. The massive area was totally tiled in blue, ocean-like swirls that incorporated little scenes from Jesus’ life and the Apostles, as well as scenes of different saints . Turning away from the church, we climbed a series of stairs to the outside chapel, on a hill above the church overlooking