A relative slow and relaxed half-day of travel. After breakfast, we headed directly to Cana,
site of the first miracle of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John (chapter 2),
about 30 minutes from our hotel in Tiberius.
Upon arrival, we milled in the courtyard before the small parish
church. Local buzz was all about the approaching visit of Pope Francis (May 25-26), as the poster above indicates. Inside the church, a group of pilgrims from
Argentina were celebrating Eucharist.
Our group settled down in the Divine Mercy chapel nearby.
Undoubtedly inspired by the location, we sat in the small
room as each couple, one after the other, came forward to renew their marriage
vows. It was short, quite sweet, and quite moving. Couples who have been together
for up to 55 years still had that wonderful sparkle of genuine affection,
loving regard for each other. Some had more than a touch of mischief in their eyes still. At the conclusion of the brief prayer
service, Fr. Larry invited couples whose spouses were at home, or who had died,
to come forward for a blessing as well.
From Cana, we made our way to Mount Tabor, site of the
Transfiguration of the Lord, an event recorded in the Synoptic gospels of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Mount , a geological anomaly called a monadnock, rises some
1600 feet above the sea-level plain below. It was a steep climb; consequently, we transferred from our large touring bus to smaller vans
for the final approach. After
negotiating a dozen sharp, hair-raising turns,
we arrived at the Mount. It was
well worth the minor inconvenience.
The hilltop ‘campus’ of the Mount includes an exceptionally
beautiful church, circa 1924, designed
by the Italian architect Antonio Barluzi.
Nearby excavations give evidence of the multiple settlements over the
past millennium. The Franciscan friars
have ‘custody’ of the shrine and live in a convento
on site, sharing space with Mondo X, a faith-based recovery program
originating in Italy.
With the kind assistance of Fray Gustavo, our sacristan,
Frs. Larry, Cesar, and I—along with Deacon Falk Gosdschan donned our albs
and beautiful gold vestments for the
Feast of the Transfiguration. This
particular feast is actually celebrated twice a year— August 6, as well as the
Second Sunday in Lent—a fact underscoring its significance as the manifestation
of the Lord in His Glory at the end of time.
Our entire group was able to sit in the sanctuary, which
added to the intimacy of the event for us.
Mount Tabor does not receive the volume of pilgrims that other, more
celebrated shrines do, so we essentially had the place to ourselves. Fr. Larry presided and I got to preach,
following Deacon Falk’s proclamation from Matthew 9.
I essentially spoke about our responsibility to allow God to
love us by lowering our defenses in
order to enable the Lord to enter our hearts and lives more deeply and
completely.
After Eucharist, we strolled toward the parking area, but
only with the greatest reluctance. There
was something so wonderfully appealing about the shrine. A feeling of tremendous peace and calm—in the
midst of a country which appears to be constantly on the alert for terrorist
actions or military intervention from abroad.
Lunch was at Kareem’s, a local restaurant in Cana. While the shwarma and falafel were delicious,
there was no question about the wine. No
alcoholic beverages served.
The rest of the day we were free—to rest, swim in the Sea of
Galilee right outside our door, or else catch up on sleep.
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