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Good morning Sea of Galilee! Always lovely to see the sunrise over the sea. It never looks the same twice. After a good breakfast, we headed to the Mount of Beatitudes for Mass. From there to the Syrian border where we discussed the political situation in the Middle East. Then Druze bread sandwiches, which is my favorite lunch of the whole trip. From there we went to Caesarea Philippi where I give my talk “Peter,

Some people may object to me, calling this land Israel, expecting me instead to call it Holy Land. It is, of course, the Holy Land, but it’s also the state of Israel since 1948. We landed in the airport in Tel Aviv, which is contained in the heart of the State of Israel. Anyway, our group arrived in good sted today with no luggage lost, and everybody in good humor. We drove up to Tiberias

At the end of a pilgrimage people love to share what they thought of the trip. It’s always fun with some humorous comments and heartfelt thanks. Janet gives her extended final exhortation, which resulted in an eruption of applause! You’ll also see Fr. Alfonso enjoying his new toy, the espergilium, way too much 🙂 It has been a humorous thing throughout the trip.

We walked the Via Dolorosa and then a very special Mass inside the tomb, with the door closed for just us. Amazing and you’ll like the video of it. We touched the top of Calvary and went to the Western Wall and saw some brand new art here at the Notre Dame. Powerful, very good! We are making a second video today which will come out tomorrow about farewells and comments and the people departing

Today is Ash Wednesday and we’re navigating the special requirements during a pilgrimage. Mass at the Notre Dame Center with ashes, then a drive to the Israel Museum to see the model of the city in the 1st century and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then we descend down 4,250 feet to the lowest place on the face of the Earth. That would be the Jordan River near the northern tip of the Dead