Connecting through a Common Call

 Today we visited a seminary down the road from where we’re staying. It is a place of study and formation for seminarians aspiring to become diocesan priests within the Neocatechumenal Way. The purpose of the visit was to foster connection and conversation between us, who are diverse but will wind up ministering in America, and the seminarians, who are also a diverse group of men but will minister in the Latin Patriarchate (diocese) of Jerusalem made up of Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.

        From the beginning of our time there, and throughout our tour and conversation, it was very evident that the theme of “connection” was important to the Rector, Fr. Francesco, and the seminarians there. A big part of their way of life was reverence and gratitude for the Jewish roots of Christianity: they feel connected to Judaism, especially here in the Holy Land.
        It was a blessing to have a tour of their facility and seminary. As members of the Neocatechumenal way, they focus on prayer, a mature faith, and living out the Baptismal call to the fullest. The biggest blessing was getting a chance to connect with them. Via some translators, we were able to get a feel for what it was like to be a seminarian living out the call of the Neocatechumenal Way in the specific context of the Holy Land.

        They shared with us their hopes of being able to spread the faith and evangelize within the charism of the Way. They also shared with us their challenges - most of them are foreigners, and even the ones from the area all agreed that being here in the Holy Land has its difficulties. While Mundelein Seminary and Redemptoris Mater Seminary are different, it was a great experience to connect on the common call of our Baptism and our call to the priesthood.

A Mystery of Pilgrimage

When the sun rose over the Mount of Olives this morning, it shone on a sleepy Jerusalem.  Only a few cars were traveling on the well kept, modern roads of the "New City" in Jerusalem.  But my eyes lingered only briefly on the new before seeking out the shapes of buildings in the "Old City", seeking buildings which by their prominence might speak of the glory they hide within. 

As we walked downhill to Mass at the Church of St. Anne, mother of Mary, the narrow streets grew increasingly busy, and the close shops obscured the flow of the land and quickly rendered our location a mystery.  Happy God-incidence left us walking the Via Dolorosa, the sorrowful path of Our Lord as he traveled from his place of condemnation before Pilate to Golgotha, now shrouded by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher like a stone burial cloth.   

Yet, as we walked it became clear that we were walking the Via Dolorosa in reverse; past the fourth station, then the third, then under the arch that marks where Pilate said, "Ecce Homo", that is, "Behold, the man", and finally past the first station to arrive in front of an unassuming limestone wall with a gate and an inscription above it, "Church of St. Anne." 

Here it is believed that St. Anne gave birth to Mary, who in turn gave birth to the God-Man.  And here one corner of the veil of mystery was lifted.  We had begun our Pilgrimage contemplating the birth of Jesus, then spent several weeks meditating on his ministry and life. And when we think we are ready to jump headfirst into the mystery Our Lord's passion, death and resurrection, He brings us back to an Immaculate beginning.  The second to last "Yes" in a long chain of "Yes-es".  Followed by the final "Yes" that the world was waiting for: new birth, new life, eternally. 

It was as though Jesus was saying, "You can walk the path I walked...but remember that my Mother came to comfort me and strengthen me as I dragged the heavy cross across cobbled streets and up the steep hill.  She is ready to comfort and strengthen you as you pick up your cross." 

Fittingly, we sang a solemn Salve before we left the birthplace of Mary; "Hail Queen, mother of mercy."  Then for the first time we began to walk the Via Dolorosa, our footsteps sounding confident as we traveled in the right direction. 

Ancient Treasure Hunting

On our way to Jerusalem, after our time around the Sea of Galilee, we visited Beit She'an National Park. This city was settled as early as the Chalcolithic era (about 6,000 years ago). Extensive excavation of a large mound in Beit She'an has revealed more than 20 layers of remains from ancient civilizations. Canaanite Temples pre-date Egyptian occupation of the region followed by Israelite rule and the Philistines during the Old Testament period. Beit She'an is also mentioned in the Bible several times and is best known as the site where King Saul and his sons were killed and hanged from the city walls (1 Sam 31: 10-12). The city remained a significant metropolis during the reign of King David and King Solomon.

Beit She'an became a flourishing multi-cultural Roman city, during the Roman occupation and one of 10 cities in the Decapolis (the only city west of the Jordan River). The city was destroyed after an earthquake in AD 749 and never truly regained its former glory.           

Excavations conducted between 1921 and 1933 by the University of Pennsylvania led to the rediscovery of this ancient city. The expedition exposed an early Arab dwelling quarter which covered the entire tel, a round church and dwelling quarter of the Byzantine Period on the mound's summit, and the remains of a monumental Roman temple. A large area excavated in the high, southern part of the tel, contained settlement strata dating from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

The many objects of artistic value and ritual vessels which were found in the temple and its vicinity represent, until today, one of the most valuable collections of such artifacts dating to the second millennium BC to be found in Canaan.

Packing

Packing.  It’s been a somewhat common occurrence here during pilgrimage.  We will travel from place to place, set up shop from anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and at the end of our time, we have to pack everything up and move on to our next location.  Today is packing day for our time in Galilee, which means that we will be moving to our final place of residence in Jerusalem tomorrow.  And to be honest, I think I have gotten quite good at packing as a seminarian, especially during my time at Mundelein.  Between moving into Mundelein, Spanish Immersion, Parish Internship, Hospital Chaplaincy, and now pilgrimage, I have been all over the place, settling down for a bit, but knowing that my next move is always coming on the horizon.  But there are always a few noteworthy things to think about as you pack up your things and move on to your next home.

The first, of course, is procrastinating the packing that you should be doing.  The last night in a place often lends itself to having a good time, trying to soak up every last ounce of a particular place you have been staying at.  So some guys went out by the sea, some played some board games, and some (probably more prudently) just skipped this step of procrastination completely.  I played some board games and wrote this post.  But it is a way to take advantage of every last minute you are in a holy place, and not spend it inside a pretty normal room.

The second part is saying goodbyes.  Some said goodbye to their favorite holy sites in the surrounding area, like the Primacy of Peter or The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves, or some said goodbye to a favorite running route or prayer spot.  The kitchen staff that has been serving us said goodbye with a delicious cake.  One of my classmates in particular said goodbye to one of the sisters in the convent here, and more importantly, her two dogs that serve as friendly guard dogs for the property.  There are always mixed emotions as we say goodbye, especially because we have no clue when, or even if, we will find ourselves in these places again.  But we remember these people, places, and even dogs in our hearts and carry them with us throughout the rest of the pilgrimage.

And the last step to packing, after getting everything in your suitcase and doing a last minute room check, is to actually load the bus and leave.  Now I don’t want to steal from tomorrow’s post by commenting too much on this idea of leaving, but it is a necessary part of the pilgrimage.  As much as we may love a place, we are pilgrims on a journey, and our destination is not one of these particular locations we have visited.  And leaving can be scary, because that means there is a whole place to move in to and new things to figure out, such as how you will get settled in your new room with your roommate to where the chapel is to the new WiFi passwords.  This lack of stability can be a challenge at times, but there is always one thing that is stable on pilgrimage.  We stay in different places, travel with different Mundelein faculty members, eat different food.  But in every single place we have gone to, Jesus Christ has been there.  So while there may be some unrest as we leave a place we have gotten used to, and move into our last place of residence during this pilgrimage, we rely upon the stability of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.  And the best part is that we can’t forget to pack Him, as He is already there, preparing a place for us.

    

Know yourself, know the Lord

Today was another day spent at the Mount of Beatitudes. It also marked our first exam for the semester! After our first class studying the Prophets of the Old Testament, we took an exam on the beginning chapters of the Gospel of John. With the test completed in the morning, many of us had the afternoon free to catch up on reading, emails, phone calls or to visit the holy sites in the surrounding area.

A fair amount of us decided to return to and visit the Primacy of Peter in Tabgah, again, the region along the Sea of Galilee where Jesus appeared to his disciples in John 21 after his Resurrection. The nice thing about staying at the Mount of Beatitudes is that the Primacy of Peter is only about a half hour walk down the mountain. It was a common spot for guys to visit and pray today in particular since the Church today celebrates the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. According to the Liturgy of the Hours, “Since the fourth century, the feast of the Chair of Peter has been celebrated at Rome as a sign of the unity of the Church founded upon that apostle.” In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI described the chair, located in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, as "a symbol of the special mission of Peter and his Successors to tend Christ’s flock, keeping it united in faith and in charity." The Primacy of Peter then, the very place where Christ entrusted him his flock and instructed him to “feed my sheep”, could not have been a more fitting spot to spend the afternoon!

What makes Peter so great? Well certainly he wasn’t chosen out of the Apostles to be the Shepherd of Christ’s flock par excellence because he was perfect, the most elite, or the most qualified. During their first encounter, Peter himself admits to the Lord, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man!” Often Peter seems to say the wrong things, such as when he is rebuked by Jesus for trying to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem to suffer his Passion, or perhaps most evidently when he publicly denies Jesus not once but three times! So, what makes Peter so great? Why would the Lord choose him to be the “prototype” set before all the shepherds of the Church as St. Leo the Great once pronounced? 

I would like to offer two reasons for reflection. First, Peter knew himself. He knew that he was a sinner, that he was weak, that he didn’t always have it together, and that he was prone to making mistakes. Second, Peter knew the Lord! He ate with him, journeyed with him, listened to him, observed his example, and was chosen along with James and John to be with Jesus during some of the most intimate moments of Jesus’ ministry, from the Transfiguration to the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew the Lord so intimately, in fact, that at a most opportune time, by a grace given to him by God, Peter was able to recognize and profess Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the Living God! In the end, it didn’t matter how unqualified or qualified, imperfect or perfect Peter was. What mattered was that he knew himself and he knew Jesus, meaning, he knew that Jesus, prompted by merciful love, had the power to supply all that he himself lacked. What better candidate to Shepherd the flock of Christ!?

Peter is a good example for all of us in life. Surely all of us have struggles, we all experience failures and make mistakes, none of us are perfect.  Do we make this an occasion of despair as Peter was tempted to do or do we run to Jesus, believing that he is who he says he is, that he loves us, and that he has the power to supply all that we ourselves lack? As the famous saying goes, “God does not call the qualified but qualifies the called.”