Report on the WUCWO Preparation Study Tour/Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 25 February – 5 March 2009

After a disappointing start at Tullamarine International Airport on 24 March when the QF flight was delayed for nearly 2½ hours, the time I had to transfer from one terminal to another at London Heathrow was reduced to the minimum, consequently I just caught the flight to Tel Aviv but my luggage did not!  After travelling for 40 hours, it was not a good feeling to have no change of clothing!!  At Ben Gurion Airport I met President General Karen, Secretary General Gillian, Secretariat Secretary Liliane and Vice President North America Agnes and we were transported by mini-bus, accompanied by our lovely guide, Mary, and solicitous driver Hakop (Jacob –Jack) to Nazareth.  This was our base for 3 days, as we travelled out each day, and I was delighted to be re-united with my suitcase on the evening of the 2nd day.

The purpose of the Holy Land Study Tour was to:

1. Visit as many holy sites as possible in order to incorporate the most appropriate of them into the Spiritual aspect of the Assembly, and
2. Make contact with as many organisations/people who may be able to assist in the planning/preparation of the WUCWO Centenary General Assembly in Jerusalem in October 2010.

In the interests of brevity I will document the places visited, but make no specific comments about the sites, and I will – in brackets – document the scriptures pertaining to them. I will also, at the end of the report, name the persons met and the organisations involved.

I must add that Mary, our young guide, at every holy site, directed our spiritual journey with the appropriate New and Old Testament readings, and we offered prayers, sang in harmony together (Agnes has a melodious leader voice), and were extremely blessed to have Rev. Fr. Peter Vascoe OFM, as our Franciscan mentor.  Fr Vascoe, who has lived in Jerusalem for over 20 years, celebrated daily Mass for us in special places, and opened many doors unavailable to ordinary pilgrims.  We were singularly blessed in many ways.

Nazareth  [Matthew 3. 23; 14: 54-58]
Day 1. (Sunny)  Journeyed to Capernaum [Luke 4: 23-44] home of Jesus during His ministry. Visited the synagogue [Luke 4: 16-29] where He taught, drove to Tabgha [Luke 9: 10-17] – site of the multiplication of loaves and fishes – and up to the Mount of Beatitudes [Matthew 5: 1-12] to visit the site of the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 9 6-7: 29] where Our Lord preached to the people.  Visited St Peter’s Primary Chapel on the beach of the Lake of Galilee, containing the ‘Mensa Christi’ (Christ’s Table) – the huge flat rock believed to be where Christ prepared breakfast [John: 21]. )  Drove around the fruit growing shores of the Sea of Galilee, the place of His Ministry in Galilee [Luke 4: 14-9, 49; Matthew 4: 12-18, 35; John 6], lunched on fish (Talopaea) from that Sea, and enjoyed a scenic boat ride on it, where Our Lord walked upon the water.  Visited the Galilee Boat Museum. Drove to the Jordan River, viewed the Baptismal site [John 1: 19-34].

Day 2. (Rain started)  Drove up to the summit of Mt Tabor to visit the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus [Luke 9: 28-36; Matthew 17: 1-13] then went to Cana [John 2: 1-11] of Galilee where Our Lord performed his first miracle – turning water into wine at the wedding feast.  To Nazareth to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, the Cave of the Annunciation [Luke 1: 26-38], Joseph’s Workshop [Mark 6: 1-6; Matthew 13: 54-58; Luke 4: 16-30] and Mary’s Well [John 4: 4-42].   Our guide Mary knew the Franciscan Priest in charge of the Basilica, and he opened the locked underground excavations below it for us.  These are still being undertaken, and artefacts from centuries past still being unearthed, are quite breathtaking.

Day 3. (Still raining)  Depart Nazareth for Haifa. Ascended Mt Carmel, home of the prophets Elijah and Elisha [1 Kings: 18-19] continued along the Mediterranean Coast to Caesarea, capital of the ancient Roman Procurators of Judea, [Peter’s Confession, Matthew 16-20, Paul’s arrival, transfer and captivity, Acts 21: 8-14; 23: 12-26: 32.]  Visited the Roman Theatre and Crusader’s Moat.  The rain and wind was so severe we could not visit where St Paul was imprisoned, so we drove to the seaside port of Jaffa instead.  Journeyed to Jerusalem [Luke 19: 28-48] to stay at the Franciscan House ‘Casa Nova’ within the walls of Old Jerusalem, in the Christian Quarter.  Attended Vigil Mass, celebrated in Aramaic at the Franciscan Mother Church ‘St Saviour.’

Day 4. (Still raining)  Drove up the Mount of Olives [Mark 14: 22-26; Matthew 24: 3-14] to ‘Dominus Flevit’ where our Lord wept over Jerusalem [Luke 19: 41-44] then to the Church of All Nations within the Garden of Gethsemane [Luke 22: 39-46; Mark 14: 32-42; Matthew 26: 36-46].  Went to “Terra Santa” to meet Fr Vascoe, OFM, had a private Mass there celebrated by him, then lunched with the community of Franciscan seminarians from many countries around the world.  Journeyed through the New City of Jerusalem to Ein Karem, [Luke 1: 39-45] the birthplace of St John the Baptist, and visited the Daughters of Charity ‘Saint - Vincent Ain Karem’ the Home for the Mentally and Physically Handicapped.  (The Nuns have worked in the Middle East 150 years, in Israel since 1886, so they have a long history of service to the disadvantaged.)  We were privileged to be greeted by Sisters Susan and Norma, and to see the wonderfully compassionate and medically modern care being given there.  After that humbling visit, we climbed up the steep way that led to the beautiful Church of the Visitation where Our Lady proclaimed her famous “Magnificat” [Luke 1: 46-55] and afterwards visited Mary’s Tomb.

Day 5. (Still raining)  Fr Vascoe accompanied us till 3pm and made the pilgrimage ‘live’ for us. In the Old City of Jerusalem we visited the Pool of Bethesda [John 5] and the nearby Church of St Anne. Round the cobbled streets to the Via Dolorosa [Luke 23] to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where we were taken through doors and up onto the upper walk overlooking Golgotha [Luke 23: 33-56] and the tomb of Our Lord [Luke 24: 1-12].   Then on to Mt Zion to visit the Upper Room [John 13: 1-15; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-35; Exodus12: 1-8, 11-14] where a special Blessing and Laying on of Hands was given to each of us.  We then visited Dormiton Abbey where Fr Vascoe celebrated another private Mass for us, and gave another special blessing. 
Our last official appointment for the day was to the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre in order to inspect the facilities available for holding the General Assembly.  After that, we met with Sarah Bernstein, an Israeli American woman married to an American Rabbi. By word of mouth we discovered that the Shroud of Turin Exhibition, adjacent to the main venue was still open, so we were lucky enough to view it, and had the explanations in English, as well.

Day 6. (Weather improved)  A breakfast meeting with Margaret Karram, Focalore, after which we journeyed to Bethany [Luke 10: 38-42] to visit the site of the House of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, and the Tomb of Lazarus [John 11: 17-27, 32-45] which is situated within a Mosque.  On through the Judean Wilderness and to the Dead Sea, then on to Qumran, to see where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.  Then to Mount Zion, a visit to the St Peter in Gallicantu  (Cock Crow) Church, where St Peter denied Jesus three times [Matthew 26: 69-75] and where Our Lord was imprisoned in the underground dungeon after his condemnation by the Sanhedrin. Once again were blessed to have Fr Vascoe celebrate a private Mass for us.  Visit to the Western Wall (previously known as the ‘Wailing Wall’) of Solomon’s Temple. 

We then met with His Beatitude Fouad Twal the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who graciously received us for over half an hour.  He was enthusiastic about the proposed General Assembly, promised any assistance that WUCWO may request and graphically outlined the plight of Christians in the Holy Land.  He urged WUCWO women to come!

Day 7.  (A better day)  A full day in Bethlehem {Micah 5: 2-4; Luke 2: 1-20] returning home through ‘the dividing wall.’ (No problems for tourists with foreign passports, but for the Israeli Palestinians and Christians living on the other side, it is another story!)  Visited the Nativity Church built by the Emperor Constantine in the 4th century. Toured the Manger, Grotto of St Jerome, the Milk Grotto (the Flight into Egypt) [Matthew 3: 13-15] where we were fortunate to witness the procession of the Enclosed Order of Nuns, Perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, from their Convent, to pray at the Grotto, as part of their daily devotion, and had Mass celebrated by Fr Vascoe at the beautiful Church of St Catherine.   We met with Caritas Jerusalem, visited the Franciscan School for Boys under the care of Sister Maria Grech, her teachers and assistants then went to the Holy Family Hospital. Lastly we had a brief opportunity to shop at a Christian Arab store and to purchase religious souvenirs.  As most are made from olivewood that must be declared to Customs on return to Australia, I made only token purchases.  However, when I declared them on my return, I had no problem in keeping them.

We started our days early and went non-stop, meeting before retiring to bed on two evenings to review what we had experienced, discuss Board matters and vote on the theme for the 2010 General Assembly.  This will be announced later.

Prior to leaving, we were hosted at dinner by Mr Moses Jarjoui, General Manager, and Mr Asaad Bahbah, Operations Manager, members of the Christian tour operator that will assist WUCWO for the General Assembly, and the more we listened throughout our time in the Holy Land, the more convinced we became that it is imperative that WUCWO women journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem.  (Safety in Israel for pilgrims is not an issue, walking on uneven cobblestones and up and down myriads of steps/stairs certainly maybe!)

It is important to affirm the Christians who live there.  They need our prayers, our personal presence and whatever financial support we can offer, to enable them to continue to exist in their homeland, so WUCWO women, as part of their lives and witness, need to be with our Christian sisters and their families in the land of Christ’s redemption.
 
The members of the Study/Planning Group are convinced that the initiative to hold the 2010 General Assembly in the Holy Land is an inspired choice, and this event will be a wonderfully spiritual beginning for the next ‘century’ of WUCWO endeavour.

Key personnel contacted:
Rev. Fr Peter Vascoe OFM, President, Franciscan Foundation For The Holy Land. [Remember: The Franciscans are the Official Custodians of the Holy Sites]
His Beatitude Faud Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Rev. Fr John Salerno LC (Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ), Director of Pontifical Institute Notre Dame of Jerusalem Centre. (This belongs to the Holy See)
Claudette Habesch, Secretary General, Caritas Jerusalem.
Sarah Bernstein, Jewish Women. ICIC.
Margaret Karram, Focalore.
Staff of Catholic Relief Services, (USA Catholic Relief Agency): Matt Davis, LeAnn C. Hager, Hanan Nasrallah and Khalil Ansara.
Sister Susan (USA) and Sister Norma (Philippines), both Daughters of Charity - St Vincent de Paul, who administer the Home for Mentally and Physically Handicapped, ‘Ain Karem’.
Dr. Robert H. Tabash, Holy Family Hospital, Bethlehem (Supported by the Sovereign Order of Malta)

Conclusion:
‘At the beginning of the twentieth century, Christians accounted for 25% of the population of the Holy Land – today they are under 2%.

Pope John Paul II, on his pilgrimage there at the turn of the millennium, stated “all the Catholic faithful must always be concerned about the Christian communities in the Holy Land, and must support them in their needs, so that the names of Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem will inspire in the spirit of today’s and tomorrow’s Christians, sentiments of gratitude for the ineffable mystery that took place there, and the news of salvation that, thanks to the first communities of believers, reached the whole world from that land.”

Pope Benedict XVI embraces the same compassionate appeal for Christians in the Holy Land as his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
[Franciscan Foundation For The Holy Land: Child Sponsorship Program Pamphlet]

CWLA women have an unprecedented opportunity to journey in pilgrimage with other WUCWO women from all around the world to the Holy Land in 2010. It will be a wonderful experience, so please start saving! 

Brenda Finlayson
19 March 2009 

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