As with our arrival in Bethlehem a month and a half ago, our first full day in Jerusalem was completely free. Of course, this time there was no need for us to recover from jet lag, so yesterday was a golden opportunity to head out and see all that this heavenly city has to offer. And as with Bethlehem, it was an opportunity that I absolutely, ( Read more... )

And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. On the night when I first arrived in the Holy Land, Psalm 122 had been going through my mind as the bus ascended from the coast up towards Jerusalem. But on that night, Jerusalem merely happened to be on the way to Bethlehem, our first destination. Eight days ago, we once again briefly ( Read more... )

It's my third night here on the beautiful western shore of the Sea of Galilee, and this is the first time I've had to wear my coat outside. There's just the tiniest hint of chill in the air, but it's more than worth it to take my laptop down to the edge of the water and write. The light breeze from the last two nights has disappeared, and the sea ( Read more... )

I'm sitting on a bench in the pleasant evening air right now, looking out at the Sea of Galilee. No breeze is blowing, and the waves are very gently lapping at the shore right in front of me. I can see scattered lights all around the edges of the lake, and a few more that appear to be floating up in the middle of the sky - but I know that those are ( Read more... )

Last night I walked out onto the roof of our building, and the scene was comical: Nine guys were all arrayed along one edge of the roof, their faces lit by the glow of their computer screens. It's the basic story of my life - every single guy here can access the wireless internet except me. Nobody can figure out why, but neither my laptop nor my ( Read more... )

There are many occasions during this pilgrimage in which our dress code seems inappropriate for what we're doing, and today that happened a couple of times. The dress code, which is in effect at all times (even during anything that might be construed as a "day off"), is business casual - dockers and a button-down collared shirt or sweater. Jeans or ( Read more... )

As far as I can tell, the internet is totally inaccessible here at the convent at which I'm staying for the next three days. So I'm just going to type this out, and then hopefully post it three days from now, the next time I can get online ( Read more... )

After having spent more than a month in relative comfort in the Betharram House in Bethlehem, we've reached a major breaking point in this pilgrimage. The first half has ended, and the second half began today. Everything from this point on will be different. It is at the same time more difficult and more exciting. Even as I sit here typing this, I' ( Read more... )

Last night at about 5:00, three of us were walking across Manger Square, towards the Church of the Nativity. Steven had heard from Fr. Joseph Siegal that his pilgrimage group was going to be stopping in at that church sometime yesterday. Now, this was significant to us for several reasons. First, it was a golden opportunity to see Fr. Siegal less ( Read more... )

One of the most embarrassing things that happens in all of Christendom always takes place here in Bethlehem, and it seems to happen every year around this time. For the purposes of this blog, it would be nice if I could sweep it under the rug, but since I was right here for the whole thing, I really can't go without mentioning it. I refer, of ( Read more... )