I took an early morning walk outside the city walls before breakfast. Well, ten minutes till 7:00 AM isn’t that early really. But the usual crowds had not yet emerged for the day. I came out the Jaffa Gate and spent time in prayer walking the wide spaces above the streets and shops. The sun…

After breakfast we walked out the Jaffa Gate (tour buses are not allowed in the old city) and caught our bus to Bethlehem. We crossed a security check point from Israel into the West Bank. Our first stop was the Shepherds’ Field, a shrine administered by the Franciscans, built over caves or grottoes where shepherds…

Today was our last day in Galilee. Our travel schedule didn’t allow me to post this morning. And it’s past midnight so technically I didn’t post anything all day. Nonetheless it was quite an eventful day. I finally did walk along the shore of the Sea of Galilee this morning before we boarded the bus.…

I guess disappointment only comes when you don’t meet your own expectations. So it’s best to have no expectations. We headed north along the shore of the Sea of Galilee into disputed territory, the Golan Heights, that Israel annexed in 1981, toward ancient Caesarea Philippi, now in ruins. The present town is Banias, almost to…

We visit two major places today. This morning we head to where the Jordan River feeds the Sea of Galilee, then up to Banias (ancient Caesarea Philippi) to Bethsaida, hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, and John … and Nathaniel? In the afternoon we head south to Migdal and celebrate mass at the Magdalene Center. Come…

We took in two other Tabgha sites close by Pilgerhaus–the Church of the Loaves and Fish, and the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. At the church named after the miracle, we read from the gospel the multiplication of loaves and fish, which can be found in all four gospels. The supposed site of…

We traveled north along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee to Kfar Nakhum / Capernaum, known as the town of Jesus. He was of course from Nazareth, but after Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist, Jesus came to Capernaum on the seaward road in Galilee which connects Damascus and Syria in the east to…

Today we travel to Kfar Nakhum / Capernaum to the home of St. Peter the Apostle on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. I’ve seen photos of excavations, and a structure that now stands on the site of the ancient home. We will celebrate Mass there at 9:00 AM, then a boat ride on…

Our first stop today was the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, less than an hour from Pilgerhaus. We spent the major portion of the day walking the sacred site. At the bronze doors of the basilica were bas reliefs depicting scripture passages and saints, some related to the place, others of people connected to…