Galilee revisited

Now we have arrived in Jerusalem. I am planning to update this more often, since I will have free wireless internet access. You are all welcome to leave comments.

We had a very good week in Galilee, spending our time on "vacation". We stayed at a German place called the Pilgerhaus Tabgha. But it was really like a Pilgerhotel. Hooray Germany! Tabgha, incedentally, is the place that commemorates Jesus' multiplication of the five loaves and two fish to feed the multitude. There is a famous mosaic beneath the altar in the Church at Tabgha depicting five loaves and two fish. We believe that this is actually a symbol of the Eucharist, that all of the nations were fed by this feast.

Touring around the sea of Galilee had a great effect on me. One of the first place we went to was the ancient city of Capernaum. At the front gate is a large sign in English saying, "the town of Jesus. There are excavations of a synagogue as well as what is thought to be Peter's house. This would have been where Peter's mother-in-law was cured. Capernaum was the center of Jesus ministry. Now, I was quite amazed to arrive there and see a Church-on-stilits! The modern church sits upon large stone pillars so as to be suspended over St. Peter's house. It is striking, but not ineffective as a Church, especially when one reaches the inside.

There is also the Church of the Primacy of Peter. This is a favorite for Catholic groups especially. It is not based so much on archaeology but on faith. This Church commemorates Jesus' command to Peter, "feed my sheep", when he appeared to the apostles after the Resurrection. We also took a little boat ride out onto the Sea of Galilee. It was choppy water, but very pleasant.

After that day, weather became difficult. We took a bus ride up to the Golan Heights. This would be a region that appears Syrian on some maps. While it was raining in Galilee, snow was falling on the higher peaks of the Golan. We did manage to see one sight in the bad weather, Banias. This is a spring where the Greek pagans once honored the god Pan. We could see the ruins of where they would worship him at the cliffside. If I am not mistaken, these ruins coincided with Caesarea Phillippi. This was a Roman town which became important to the Christians. Later, we had our lunch at a very high place with the potential for a good view. Unfortunately, Mt. Hermon could not be seen on account of the foggy snow clouds. We only saw enough snow to realize that we were but in the foothills.

The following day was much better. We had Mass at the Mount of the Beatitudes. This is remembered as the place where Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. We had much time to pray there as well, and had no other sights to see that day. We had to walk back to Pilgerhaus however. So at about noon, as we were about to leave, our sunny day began to cloud over. I was very grateful for having packed an emergency poncho. I can say that I will never forget walking where Jesus walked!. From the pants down, my friends and I were soaked to the bone from the hard rain. This did not take away our joy though. The water flowed so that I learned actually to walk on water.

Sunday, was another dreary day. So I will not describe to you the places we did not visit due to our change in itinerary. Perhaps those, other people, who don't love archaeology were pleased at spending a day on the bus. We arrived at the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem with little or no mud on our shoes. Nonetheless, all wondered, during Sunday Mass, how the were going to get heaps of laundry done without getting charged an arm and a leg.

Blessings from Jerusalem.