Dead Sea Scrolls

One of the most memorable parts of this pilgrimage has been to visit the ruins of the Qumran community, where the Essenes (2nd century) lived. According to scholars, the Essenes were a community of priests who desired a strict, ascetic, and orthodox way of religious life within the Jewish faith. They lived from a community rule, observed silence, practiced various rituals for purification, and prayed and lived dedicating their life to God. Their work involved farming and copying religious texts onto scrolls. These scrolls are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Only in the 20th century were these scriptural texts discovered hidden in the Qumran caves.

The Dead Sea Scrolls is a major treasure for Israel and really the world. They are dated as the earliest documentation of the Biblical scriptures and are exact in Biblical texts that were found later.

SO! When we visited the Israel museum to visit the Shrine of the Book (where artifacts from the Qumran community and some Dead Sea Scrolls were displayed, including a facsimilie of a complete scroll on the Book of Isaiah!!), it truly enhanced the experience of seeing the texts. 

It was special because an entire community had dedicated themselves to copying the Word of God (where most likely it was used within a liturgical setting). Simultaneously, they were striving to live an authentic, holy life in community with others. An admirable endeavor, indeed.

There are lessons to be drawn from such an ancient community for today's contemporary societies -- how do we show reverence for God? how can the everyday person who participates within the liturgy or another liturgical celebration allow for the Word of God to truly engage and transform lives to live authentic Christian living? while most of the world is not living in an ascetic community, how do we engage with members of the Christian community, and what is our fraternal response to the non-Christian community? Such reflections will contribute to interior peace and joy, strengthen who we are as Christians, and can even improve relations between different cultural and religious groups, while still being distinct and not compromising in the Christian faith.

On Mount Tabor on the Feast of the Transfiguration

I finally learned why there are drums outside my window at 3AM. We are in the middle of Ramadan (a special time of fasting for Muslims), and the music, drums, and the crowd parade in the streets to ... yes, intentionally wake up everyone. It is not reckless people running a muck so early in the morning; but rather, the early sounds are intended to help Muslims arise and have a bite to eat before the day of fasting begins, which concludes in the evening.

Earlier today we attended Mass at the Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor on the Feast of the Transfiguration. It was so fabulous as the Mass was celebrated primarily in Arabic (the area we were in had a significant Christian, Arabic-speaking population), and secondarily Italian and Latin.

It was such a blessing to experience the Mass in the locale of which the Transfiguration took place and with the language of the area -- Arabic. Truly, so many aspects of the local culture's way of praise and worship came forth and was a gift to experience.

Our second trip took us to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth where we were able to visit the Grotto of which the Angel Gabriel delivered the message to holy Mother Mary. Close to the church, we visited St. Joseph's home/carpentry workshop.

We concluded with Haifa and focused on Stella Maris and the site of where the Carmelites began. The chapel encloses the Cave of Elijah -- where it is said he preached and prophesied to the people of Israel. At one point, I had the opportunity of having the Chapel to myself as all the tour groups were gone or in the souvenir shop. For thanksgiving for our journey that day, I sang the Salve Regina. It was my favorite part of the day to just rest, have silence, and then to pray.

First Friday of the Month in Jerusalem

Prior to every endeavor, God's grace is always sufficient. The more difficult the task ahead, I believe the more His grace will flow abundantly. And despite my nervous tendencies and various insecurities, past experience shows me that Providence is real and that all that is needed will be in place when it needs to be ... to accomplish what needs to get done.

I am on pilgrimage, and it is a blessing to be in Jerusalem, Israel. My family and I are together visiting the places where Jesus' ministries and miracles took place. There were so many obstacles to our journey prior to it even beginning, and yet it finally happened.

Is a pilgrimage just a trip? I'm inclined to believe not quite. For myself, I have come to understand the Christian pilgrimage as a journey explicitly and deliberately searching for God, engaging with prayer, and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to what Christ has in store for us. 

In many ways, all of life is a journey and for the most part -- a pilgrimage. I hope to be open to this experience and to just be present. I trust it will help strengthen me for the months ahead and pray whatever is received can inspire The Christa Apostolate (TCA).

Our morning started so beautifully with a high Mass at Calvary 730am. Most of today was spent in prayer at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre with the afternoon dedicated to processing with the Franciscans in the Stations of the Cross.

It was such a simple witness of the Christian faith amidst a religiously and culturally diverse part of the Old City. Additionally, it seemed even more significant in the sense that the quarter is heavily commercialized. The Stations are labeled with roman numerals; however, unless you're looking for the signs, it's not easy to tell something salvific and holy had taken place within the stone-cobble maze.

We began close to the Church of the Flagellation and processed through the Muslim Quarter into the Christian Quarter. It was a neat experience of praying through the streets in both Italian, English, and Latin, listening to the Stations, and reciting the responses.

The contrast was so stark between Christian and Muslim and yet there was a fluid understanding taking place -- that being, the Christians were going about our procession while the Muslims were selling goods or going to the market or just passing through. And everyone just existed going about what needed to be done and sharing the space.

The relationship between religious and ethno-cultural groups is complex. I hate to oversimplify or generalize; but in a somewhat microcosmic way, the procession and interaction with different peoples showed a mutual effort to maintain order and fluidity on both the part of Christian and Muslim. It was most admirable, indeed. Stepping further back, it is even more amazing that so many religious quarters have been able to live within close proximity of the other for centuries.

Part of my love for the devotional Stations is the penitential spirit found behind them. This has been very helpful in keeping my focus on Christ and reminding me why we are in Jerusalem and Who we are celebrating.

Overall, it has been a blessing to be in Israel, and we have received nothing but hospitality from everyone we have encountered. The only regretable moment of the day (of which I just could not help ...) was falling asleep in the worst possible place: the garden and basilica of Gethsemane. How can anyone not feel guilty given the Scriptures? The weather was really hot ...