Church of the Annunciation, Great Upper Church

We got up today and got a quick “official” tour of the Church of the Annunciation. We’ll be back again in January, so this was just a brief introduction. While standing outside the church, our guide had me read a little reflection. I was reading loudly so that everyone could hear. In the middle, the reading brought words to my mouth which referred to Nazareth as a “backwater place filled with hicks”. I kind of had to stop for a second hoping that no one living in Nazareth heard was I just said.

Ruins of the Ancient City of Jericho

 We then loaded up the bus, bid goodbye to Nazareth for a few weeks, and headed south for Jericho. Unfortunately, the site of the ruins of the city of Jericho was closed because the workers are on strike. We did, however, get to take cable cars to the top of the Mt. of Temptation. This is the traditional site where Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. There is a monastery up there that I found very beautiful with many wonderful icons and an exquisite dome over the chapel. There’s one monk that lives up there and we were lucky that he was home. On our way out of Jericho we stopped by what is supposed to be the tree that Zacchaeus climbed in order to see Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). As ridiculous as that may sound, it turns out that the tree is indeed likely to be 2000 years old. There are however, other historical problems that seem to say that this is not the tree.

Monastery on the Mt. of Temptation

 
Rock Where Jesus was Tempted, Iconostasis and Dome in the Monastery Chapel

 Our final stop was at another monastery out in the desert like Mar Saba that we visited earlier. This one is dedicated to St. George and is in a truly incredible place. It’s in the middle of the desert on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (the Good Samaritan went this way) in a big gorge by a river. This location is said to be where St. Joachim received the revelation that his wife Anne, who was sterile, would conceive. The child was of course Mary. So, you could say that the annunciation of the Immaculate Conception took place here. This final stop concluded our 3 day tour and we headed back to Bethlehem to continue our Advent preparation. I find that I have much to aid my meditation thanks to this wonderful trip so connected with the Holy Family.

 
Road to Jericho and St. George Monastery

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The “Wedding Church” at Cana

Our first stop today was the city of Cana. It is actually very close to Nazareth and only took us about 15 minutes to get there. Here we visited the “Wedding Church” which commemorates the story told in John’s gospel where Jesus changed the water into wine (John 2:1-11). Many couples come here to be married or to renew their wedding vows. Our guide had in fact been married here. One of the more interesting things to see here is an ancient stone water jar from the 1^st century that was found here. It’s a lot bigger than you might envision and would have indeed held a lot of wine. Speaking of wine, they do in fact sell quite a bit of “Cana Wedding Wine” here. I tried some, but found it a little too sweet for my taste. I’m sure the wine Jesus made was better.

Stone Water Jar Found at Cana

Mt. Tabor, See the Church on Top?

 From Cana we headed to Mt. Tabor and the Church of the Transfiguration. It was here on Mt. Tabor that Jesus took Peter, James, and John and was transfigured before them (Matt 17:1-8). Fortunately we had a couple hours to spend here, including having Mass. Mt. Tabor is basically a big hill that is all by itself with plains below on all sides. To get to the top you have to take special taxis because it’s too steep for the busses. As we were going up I couldn’t help but think that Jesus obviously had something pretty important in mind to take the apostles all the way up to the top of this mountain. It’s not the kind of place you would just go for the heck of it. It’s difficult enough to get there in a taxi, yet alone to walk up. When you’re on top it is in fact a wonderful place to pray. We had a beautiful day and I enjoyed praying the luminous mysteries of the rosary, meditating with new insight on the mysteries of the Wedding at Cana and the Transfiguration.

    
Church of the Transfiguration

 Much like St. Peter I felt “It is good to be here” and did not want to leave. However, after lunch we reluctantly said goodbye to Mt. Tabor and headed on to our next stop. We made a brief stop in the city of Nain where Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-17) and then headed on to Megiddo. This is the famous Armageddon of Rev 16:16 (Har Megiddo = Hill of Megiddo). This city is in ruins now and has been the site of countless battles in history. The bible is full of references. Megiddo is what is known as a “tell,” meaning that one city has been built on top of the previous so many times as to make an artificial hill. Archeologists have determined that the tell of Megiddo has the ruins of 25 distinct rebuildings of the city. We saw an ancient pagan altar that was 7000 years old. King Solomon is responsible for one of the sets of walls around the town. I didn’t get any great religious insights at the place, but it was interesting to be there in such a famous and ancient place. Since the world did not end while we were at Megiddo we headed back to Nazareth for the night.

Ruins at Megiddo

 After dinner, the Mother Superior of the convent invited us to tour the excavations that were taking place under their convent. We thought we’d find some pottery shards or something small and insignificant. Instead, we found some of the most incredible ruins from the Crusaders, the Byzantines, and even the first century. The most amazing thing by far was the rock cut tomb from the first century complete with the stone that rolls across it. There are ancient documents that even mention things that would seem to refer to this site under the convent. Archeologists come each year and it will be interesting to see what they continue to find. Before bed a number of us went back to the Church of the Annunciation and prayed a rosary in Mary’s house. I was again overwhelmed. There I was saying the words “Hail Mary” in the very place where Gabriel first uttered this prayer. This is just an amazing place. I also bought a special icon of the Holy Family here tonight that is all the more meaningful having come from this city so close to the Holy Family.

Church of the Annunciation, Mary’s House in Grotto

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Ruins of Herod’s Palace at Caesarea

Today we loaded up the bus bright and early and headed north for a 3 day tour of Galilee. We’ll be going back for 5 more days in January, so this was just a taste. Our first stop was the ruins of the ancient city of Caesarea. This place is right on the Mediterranean Sea and is absolutely beautiful. The city was one of the major port cities in the first century, with a harbor that could hold 200 ships. There are lots of ruins including a Roman theater, hippodrome, and aqueduct. Also located here is what is beginning to be a recurring theme of our field trips, a palace of King Herod the Great. It seems he had palaces everywhere. However, this time he actually lived here for a while (See Acts 12:19). From the religious side of things, this city has a very important history. It was here in Caesarea that St. Paul was held prisoner before being sent to Rome to stand trial. (See Acts 25).

The Ancient Port of Caesarea

 From Caesarea we continued up the coast to Mt. Carmel and the port city of Haifa. From the top of Mt. Carmel we had an absolutely gorgeous view of the Bay of Haifa and the surrounding town. You might recall here about this place on the news this summer as Lebanon was firing rockets into this town. Next, we visited the Carmelite monastery on top of Mt. Carmel and the church dedicated to Our Lady known as Stella Maris. Like most churches here in the Holy Land, the present church was built in modern times on top of a Crusader church which was built on top of a Byzantine church. It is from this spot that Elijah is said to have had the vision of the small cloud that grew into a storm which the Carmelites came to see as an image of Mary (1 Kings 18:42). Inside the church, under the sanctuary is the cave where Elijah hid from King Ahaz and Jezebel.

Stella Maris Carmelite Church on Mt. Carmel
Cave of Elijah Below

 It turns out that Mt. Carmel is not just a single pointy kind of mountain like you might envision, but a long ridge. So we followed the top of the mountain inland for a few miles to the highest point. Here there is also a Carmelite monastery that is located on the site where Elijah had his famous duel with the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40). We also had a very nice view of the surrounding country. We could see the very lush and green Jezreel Valley below, as well as Mt. Tabor in the distance where we will go tomorrow. After seeing the large desert around Bethlehem, it was a very nice change to see how green and beautiful the northern areas are. I can see why Jesus would have liked to live here.

View of Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel

 It was evening by this time, so we headed on to Nazareth where we would be staying for the next two nights. It turns out that the convent where we are staying is right next to the Church of the Annunciation. This church is again, a modern church, built over a Crusader church, built over a Byzantine church, and this time built over a first century home. All of the ruins are contained inside the new church and you can actually see all the different structures. The most important thing is the first century cave that was the home of Mary. It was here that the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. One thing that is frustrating about the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is that so much has been added to the cave where Jesus was born that it can be hard to envision it the way it was originally. In the Church of the Annunciation, however, you really feel like you’re walking into Mary’s house when you go there. I was so overwhelmed to be in this place that I couldn’t even enter the house right away. I just knelt down at the entrance and prayed the first joyful mystery of the rosary for a while. St. John’s Gospel beautifully tells us that “The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us.” This phrase is written in Latin on the front of the church. However, down in the grotto, under the altar that is in Mary’s house, you will find instead the quote, in Latin, “The Word Became Flesh HERE”. This was probably the most amazing experience of the entire pilgrimage so far. Unlike the grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem with all the people, it was quiet here in Nazareth and I was just completely taken over by the thought of Mary’s encounter with Gabriel in this very place. Right before my eyes was the exact location where God became Man. I could almost see the encounter taking place in front of me and found myself listening longingly for Mary’s humble reply to the angel. I can’t really describe it adequately in words. This is a special place. I could have stayed there for much longer, but we have another full day planned for tomorrow.

Grotto of the Annunciation, Mary’s House in Nazareth
“The Word Became Flesh HERE”

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Today I noticed that they are starting to “decorate” the city for Christmas. I’ll hold off on the pictures until they finish whatever they’re doing, but they are hanging lights in trees and such. I’ve even seen some Santa Clause statues. They very much try to make the westerners feel welcome for Christmas. We did actually get an artificial tree for our residence where we’re staying. So, I guess you’d say it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Bethlehem.

Tomorrow we are heading to Galilee for three days to visit Nazareth, Cana, Mt. Carmel and a few other places. I don’t know what the internet situation will be there, so you may not get an update until we get back on Tuesday. We’ll be going to Galilee for three more days later on, but it will be nice to able to visit the Church of the Annunciation in preparation for Christmas. This has been the greatest Advent ever. I should definitely feel prepared to celebrate our savior’s birth this year. It will be interesting to see how many more pilgrims will have arrived this week. They are hoping for a lot here and we will do our part in celebrating. Now, I’m off to dinner and I’m going to try to do better than the Blues Brothers this time. You are in my prayers.

It’s hard to believe that it was two weeks ago today that I left snowy Chicago for the little town of Bethlehem. I’m starting to kind of feel at home here now. We had a Jesuit come speak to us today about how a Christian could read the Qur’an. Our learning about Islam is a nice compliment to our study of Luke and spirituality. This is really a comprehensive pilgrimage. The weather so far has been beautiful, but they say that the “rainny season” is overdue. This is a desert here, so the locals are very much looking forward to rain, but I’d just asume that if it’s going to rain that it do it at night.

I see by the number of people that are coming to my site now that there are quite a lot of people following my pilgrimage. I’m so happy that people are enjoying my pictures and stories. You really have to be here to experience it, but I’m glad that maybe I can share a little bit with people back home. Let me know if there’s anything you’re interested in that you want me to write about or get a picture of.

View of Bethlehem from my Bedroom Window

Today was just an average class day. We had two classes in the morning and then our speaker on Islam came back for part two. I think we’re focusing on learning about Islam here in Bethlehem and then we’ll learn more about Judaism in Jerusalem. After the whirlwind day we had yesterday, it was good just to rest today and catch up on reading for class.

Field trip day! Today’s field trip took up the entire day and it was an awesome day! We loaded up our bus and headed to the Dead Sea area today. We passed through Jerusalem on our way and I saw the temple mount for the first time. We’ll be there next month and it will be awesome. Our first stop was at Qumran. You may recognize this name if you are familiar with the famous Dead Sea Scrolls that were found here in the late 1950’s. A shepherd boy was walking along and threw a rock into a cave in the side of a cliff. He was surprised to hear something break inside. Upon accessing the cave, large earthen vessels were found containing ancient scrolls. These turned out to be texts of the Bible from the time shortly after Jesus. The most famous scroll found was a complete copy of the Book of Isaiah. The importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for biblical scholarship is very important and I’ll let you research that on your own if you’re interested. At Qumran we were able to see the famous cave #4 where most of the scrolls were found. We also toured the ruins of the community of Jews who live here and wrote the scrolls. We believe that this was a community of Essenes who came out to the middle of nowhere by the Dead Sea to live sort of a monastic life. There is speculation that perhaps John the Baptist and even Jesus could have had connections with the Essenes. I’ll let you learn more on your own if you’re interested, but again I found myself walking around inside ruins that were 2000 years old and was amazed. If something in America is over 100 years old we put it under glass in a museum surrounded by some special gas or something. Here, I can walk right up to something 2000 years old, pick it up, play with it, and then throw it back on the ground to get rained on. It’s an old world over here, and there are plenty of ruins to go around.

 Qumran with Famous Cave #4

From Qumran we went next to En Gedi. This place was made famous as the hideout of David when he was fleeing from Saul as told in 1 Samuel 24. David hid in a cave here and could have killed Saul when he entered the cave, but decided to spare his life. It was really neat to be in this area and see the great high cliffs and picture Saul in pursuit of David. It’s really kind of interesting to see the landscape in which all this played out. En Gedi remains an oasis to this day in the middle of a barren and rugged country. We hiked along a river to a spring and our guide pointed out some of the animals that the Bible mentions as being in this area, including the Ibex (wild goat) and Hyrax (translated gopher in our Bibles) which I thought were kind of cute (see all the pictures for examples). I really enjoy the meditation method on Sacred Scripture taught by St. Ignatius where you try to visualize the biblical story as vividly as possible. Now that I’ve been to this place, my image has changed a bit. Every time I would come to a cave, I would wonder if maybe that was the cave that David hid in. Who knows? It has to be here somewhere. It’s neat to envision the story taking place before your eyes. The climate is so dry here that not much has really changed over the years. It looks much the same as it did in the time of David. Check out the pictures and see if it matches how you envisioned this passage.

 The Oasis of En Gedi

On day 11 we visited the Herodian, the ruins of a palace of Herod the Great on top of a mountain near Bethlehem. It turns out that Herod had many palaces scattered about to serve as hiding places in times of trouble. Our next stop today was another one of these palaces. Whereas the Herodian is on top of what would be considered a big volcano-like hill, nothing could prepare me for what we found at this next palace. We had been skirting the lowlands in the valley all day with these huge cliffs to the west. As we approached our destination our guide pointed out what I would consider a mountain with a plateau on top. Herod’s palace, and indeed an entire village, was located on top. The place is called Masada. I’ve never seen anything like this. Here is this huge steep mountain with a flat top on which people actually built a small little city. It reminded me of something the Mayans would have done in Peru, except in a desert. We had to take a cable car to get to the top. The place was chosen for its strategic location. It was very difficult to get to the top and there was no way an army could mount an attack (or so it would seem…) (note the foreshadowing). It turns out that Herod was probably never even here to use his palace. He is actually buried at the Herodian where we were the other day and died before he ever had need of his palace here at Masada.

 Mountain of Masada, There’s a City on Top

View of Dead Sea from top of Masada

The real claim to fame of Masada comes from the 2nd century, about 136 AD, when the last of the Zealots (remember Simon the Zealot, the Apostle) sought refuge from the Romans on top of Masada. Because of the symbolic nature of this group as the last stronghold of the Jews, the Romans were going to spare no expense to put an end to them. They estimate that there were probably about 900 people living on top including women and children. In order to capture the fort, the Romans employed the standard technique of a siege. Believe it or not, they actually built a siege wall around the mountain. You can still see the wall and the various forts where the Romans camped. The siege lasted over two and a half years. I said before that you would think that no army could mount an attack on the top because of the steep sides, but the Romans had another idea. As unbelievable as building a wall around a mountain is, they actually decided to build a ramp from the valley floor to the top of the mountain. You have to see this to believe it, but that is what they did for two and a half years. Using wood and stone they built a ramp that rises almost a thousand feet at a nice gradual incline. You can still see the ruins of the ramp today and it is impressive. The Romans rolled a battering ram up the ramp and knocked down the wall. However there is huge twist in the story. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that when the Romans finally breeched the wall they encountered not a battle but only a couple women and children and 900 corpses from everyone else who had committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner. Each husband killed his wife and children and then ten men were chosen by lot to kill all the other men. Finally, one man was chosen to kill the other 9 and then himself. Some of the historical details are now questioned, but it is an amazing story. I had never heard of this story or of Masada before today, but there was apparently a famous movie made about it. I will have to look it up when I get home.

Ruins of Roman Ramp to Top of Masada

Our final stop was one of no religious significance at all, but was a lot of fun. We finished up the day by going swimming in the Dead Sea. I say swimming, but I use the term loosely. Floating is probably better. As you may be aware, the mineral content of the Dead Sea is so high (26% I think) that you cannot sink. It is the strangest thing. You walk out a little way and then just sit down and you float. I could stand straight up without touching the bottom and you just float there. It actually makes it kind of hard to really swim because you can’t keep enough of your body in the water. You keep popping out. It’s much warmer at the Dead Sea and we had close to 80 degrees all day. The water however was kind of cold, but it was worth it. It’s an experience you can only get in the Dead Sea. The reason for the high mineral content is that all of the water in the region, including the Jordan River, runs into the Dead Sea, but there is no outlet. It is the lowest point on earth. So, the water is constantly evaporating, but none of the salt ever leaves. As you walk out into the water, the bottom is actually covered with large salt crystals. Don’t get any of the water in your eye though because it burns really bad. As an added bonus today, we also got to watch Israeli fighter jets buzzing by us every so often. They were coming really low over the Dead Sea while we were swimming and made a lot of noise. It was like an air show. We floated for about an hour and then headed for home. These field trip days are just wonderful, but you sure do feel like you’ve had a full day when it’s over. I need some rest now.

 Me “Swimming” in the Dead Sea

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Today was basically just a class day. In addition to our two morning classes on the Gospel of Luke and The Spiritual Pilgrim we had an afternoon session on Islam. We had a Muslim come talk to us who specializes in explaining Islam to Christians. It was an extremely informative presentation. I’m learning so much about Islam since I’ve been here. One thing that you can’t miss if you come to Bethlehem is the “Call to Prayer” that is sounded over loudspeakers five times a day from all the Mosques. One of the pillars of Islam is that they pray prescribed prayers five times a day. If you’ve ever seen a Mosque, they have tall towers on them called minarets. In previous times a specially designated person, called a Muezzin, would climb to the top of this tower and chant an invitation to let people know it was time for prayer. This is not unlike the use of bell towers for us Christians to call people to prayer. In some ways, it’s like the angelus. However, in modern times the Muezzin has been replaced by a recording that is broadcast loud enough to be heard for miles and this does, in my opinion, make it way more annoying than the sounding of bells. As kind of a funny story, after being woken up at 4:30 each morning for the first couple nights, one person in our group jokingly exclaimed in frustration, “We have got to convert these people!” In fairness, even the Muslim who did our presentation said that he thought the pre-dawn call to prayer is rather insensitive to the Christians in the area. I do have to say though that I’m not really so bothered by the call to prayer. I actually kind of like the idea. Every time I hear it, I know that they are praising God for everyone to hear. If you think about it, we are constantly bombarded with noise in our Western culture. Here, the noise is just proclaiming how great God is and that it’s time for prayer. When the call to prayer wakes me up at 4:30, it’s a good time to pray the Office of Readings. After all, Christians have been praying five times a day in the Liturgy of the Hours long before the Muslims started. I bet they got the idea from us (and we probably stole it from the hours of offering in the temple). After singing some verses from the Qur’an, the Muezzin sings the following call to prayer

God is great; God is great (Allah Akbar!);
I attest that there is not (another God), except God;
I attest that Mohammad is the chosen of God;
Arise! (Come) to prayer;
Arise! (Come) to salvation (at Dawn – prayer is better than sleep)
God is great! God is great!
There is not (another God), except God.

That doesn’t really sound so bad now does it? Admittedly, it can sound like quite a cacophony when every Mosque in the city is playing this as loud as they can at the same time. However, when I remember that they are just yelling how great God is, then it kind of makes me feel good.

Allah Akbar! God is Great!

 The Mosque of Omar at Manger Square

Today we had another field trip. This morning we started out by visiting Solomon’s Pools. These are huge reservoirs near Bethlehem that were constructed to be a water supply for Jerusalem. The aqueduct that ran for miles and miles is still visible in places. We saw what our guide told us was the “small” one of the three pools and it was huge. Picture a swimming pool the size of a football field and 50 feet deep.

 One of Solomon’s Pools

From there we went on to the famous city of Hebron. It was here that David was crowned king. However, the town is most famous for being the burial place of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You can read in the book of Genesis how Abraham bargained to buy a cave at Hebron to bury his wife Sarah. He was later buried there as well as Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah (Rachel is buried on the way to Bethlehem). Joseph is also buried there. King Herod the Great built a large complex on top of the cave sometime shortly before the birth of Jesus. The stones are original and identical to the construction of the wall of the temple still visible in Jerusalem. The stone work is amazing. Some of these stones are just huge. The smallest one weighs 50 tons and yet they’re all stacked up on top of each other and have stayed there unbothered for 2000 years.

Herod the Great’s Tomb of the Patriarchs

Inside, the site is divided into a Muslim half and a Jewish half. We were very fortunate in that we got to visit both sides. Our guide had never been allowed into Jewish side before. On the Jewish side are the graves of Jacob and Leah, Abraham and Sarah, and Joseph. On the Muslim side is a very beautiful Mosque with the graves of Isaac and Rebecca and also has access to Abraham and Sarah. This was my first time in a Mosque. This is the fourth holiest Mosque in the world for the Muslims, so this was a good first Mosque for me to visit. I guess I should clarify that when I referred to the “graves” above. I really mean grave markers or cenotaphs. The actual graves are very deep in the earth below the building in the original cave that Abraham bought. Medieval pilgrims were able to descend a set of stairs down to the cave, but access has been cut off. There is a hole in the Mosque that supposedly leads down to the cave, but there was no light to see. As with most the places in the holy land, you can never be exactly sure that you’re at the precise spot, but that’s really not the point. Even if this isn’t the actual cave, and I just assume that it is in fact the actual cave mentioned in the Bible, you still know that it has to be right around here. Abraham was definitely here in this area. The scientist in me really wants to go down to the cave below and find the actual graves, but it is enough to trust that it is there. The purpose is still served. These were real people! They have to be buried somewhere and it might as well be here. You really come to see that the earth is only so big and you’re as close as you could ever hope to get to touching history.

 The Abraham Mosque (Cenotaph of Rebecca on Left, Isaac on Right)

I’ve always loved the stories of the Old Testament and it was an amazing feeling to be able to pray there in what is possibly the world’s most famous hall of fame. I was reminded of the fact that Abraham is buried here in a land that was not his home. He too was a pilgrim who left Ur when God called him and set out on a journey. As I passed by each cenotaph the stories of the Bible flashed before my mind and I was conscious of the fact that these famous people of faith lived real lives in a real place. As much as you think you get what that means when you’re at home, it’s just different here. I’ve never doubted the existence of the patriarchs or their stories, but being here at their final resting place really made them seem real to me. As I prayed today, my thoughts turned to heaven. As exciting as it was to enter the tombs of these giants in faith, I can’t wait to meet them in person in heaven. When you think that Abraham’s body has been lying in the cave for thousands of years, the short span of my own life, however long it may be, reminds me that it won’t be too long and I’ll get my wish. Until then, I remain a pilgrim on earth presently in the Holy Land like the patriarchs once were.

The Cenotaph of Abraham

On our way back from Hebron we stopped at a place known as the Herodian, named after Herod the Great. This is a big mountain that looks like a volcano. In the middle are the ruins of one of King Herod’s palaces. It was a big climb to the top and we came out through a hidden network of secret caves used for hiding and clandestine attacks. It was a very impressive looking structure, but the view from the top was equally impressive. Once again, just walking around in something 2000 years old and touching everything is an experience I’m still getting used to. Until next time.

Runis of King Herod’s Palace

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We had Mass this morning at the St. Catherine’s Catholic Church which is connected to the Church of the Nativity. This church functions as a parish church here in Bethlehem and so the Mass was in Arabic. I was hoping for some Latin at some point so I could pray along, but the only words I could recognize were the Kyrie and Hosanna. After Mass the priest met with us to talk about the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. The Franciscan order has been taking care of all the holy Christian shrines ever since the time of Francis. It seems that his peaceful nature made him acceptable to both Christians and Muslims. After this talk I went down to the cave of the nativity and spend about 2 hours just sitting by the manger and praying. It’s such a luxury to be able to have time to do that here. We’re not tourists that have to run on to “see” the next thing right away. For a while it was just me down in the cave praying. We’re starting to see other pilgrims starting to arrive now so I imagine things are going to start to get busier. All the merchants and shop keepers are really counting on many people coming for Christmas. The whole economy here is dependent on tourism and recent times have been tough. I pray that many pilgrims will come.

St. Catherine’s Catholic Church