From the desk of the Pastor, Fr. Mike...

 

Holy Land Pilgrimage with the Pastor:  November of 2011

 

I will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land that will begin Monday, November 7th, 2011, flying from San Francisco and will last ten days.  We will visit the sacred shrines of Caesarea, Solomon's Stables and Tiberius.  The tour will then take us across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, the home of St. Peter's on the lake shore.  We will visit the place where the miracles of the loaves of fishes took place and where Jesus taught the Mount of Beatitudes with a stop at Caesarea Philippi where Peter was made the head of the Church.  We will visit Cana and couples on the pilgrimage will have an opportunity to renew their marriages where the Lord attended the wedding feast, turning water into wine.  We will visit Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, with a stop at the Church of the Annunciation and step into the Jordan River to renew baptismal promises.

 

We will spend adequate time in Jerusalem, visiting the Old City, the Wailing Wall, Walking the Via Dolorosa, praying the Stations of the Cross, Mass in the Holy Sepulcher, walking through the Garden of Olives, a visit to Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.  We will visit the Dead Sea, the place of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Caves of Qumran, and one of the oldest cities in the world, Jericho. 

 

At each sacred shrine, whenever possible, we will celebrate Mass or have another prayer service or the Stations of the Cross in the Old City.  This is a prayer experience, to walk where Jesus walked and to grow in personal holiness.

 

Those who are interested (and we need 16 to do it) we will add a three day trip to Jordan that would take us to Madaba, Mt. Nebo, Amman, Petra (the ancient buildings in the side of a mountain) and back.  This is optional and would be an extra charge.

 

The Holy Land Pilgrimage begins and ends in San Francisco.  The cost is $2799 per person, which includes hotels, most meals (breakfast and dinner daily) a full time English speaking guide, all service charges and local taxes and automatic $100,000 flight insurance.  For those who want to extend the pilgrimage into Jordan, the extra cost would be $698.00 per person for the three days.

 

The parish website has a copy of the brochure, along with the form for those interested, otherwise come by or call the parish office for a brochure.

 

I did this pilgrimage in the Jubilee year of 2000 and it was a fantastic success!