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OLF
Homily - 01/10/2000After recovering from the jetlag and the experiences I've had in the World Youth Day, I can finally find some words to say about it.
I'd have to say that I was both nervous and excited about this pilgrimage. I was reading up about the Holy Land on the plane. Yep, I had an awareness of the customs, places that we were going to, but being there was way different from reading about it. I've never been on a pilgrimage before, and even though I'm taking my annual leave to be “holidaying” in Israel, but this was far from a holiday.
A pilgrimage is meant to be a personal spiritual experience. In ancient times, pilgrims would travel from all parts of the globe to make their way to their sacred origins, via sail, horses or even foot. They faced many dangers and even had the possibility of never returning. Well, although the possibility of death has somewhat diminished, faith remains a key element in a pilgrimage. Preparation is essential, though I didn’t feel I was prepared enough spiritually for the journey. Also generosity, adaptability, flexibility and positive attitude also contributed to a successful pilgrimage. I think the adaptability bit was bit of a laugh, because of a little prayer that we kept reminding ourselves about every time something didn’t go right.
The group that I am journeying with was a selection of people from the Sydney Archdiocese Some of us were representing our parishes, some of us were going for personal spirituality, and some of us were going for a holiday. Our two chaplains were Bishop David Cremin from St Michael's Hurstville and Fr. Martin Maunsell from Bankstown Parish. Our pilgrimage leaders were Marita and Lisa, from Catholic Youth Services, who had a big hand in preparing us. If it weren't for them we probably wouldn't have made it so successfully.
Our group has been preparing for the World Youth Day and Holy Land since October the previous year. This has involved prayer sessions and team building nights, where we share our intentions and hopes and dreams and that.. It's also a real help to know these people before we went, so that we wouldn't be in the dark about whom we were going with.
So how much of the Holy Land could we see in six days? Jesus’ ministry was conducted mainly in and around Jerusalem and around the Sea of Galilee, which our pilgrimage focused on. Our pilgrimage started in Bethlehem, where we crashed for the two nights while we visited most of the sites that were within Jerusalem and Bethlehem. One story which signalled the start of our bible walk was that the morning we came into Bethlehem - about 3:30am or so - the first hotel we got to was fully booked. By that time, I was wondering if we really had to stay in a manger or something.
Some of the sites to see in Jerusalem are the Shepherd’s field where the shepherd’s received news of the Christ from an angel, Church of the Nativity, the Mount of Olives, the New Mount Zion and the cenacle where the Last Supper was held. On the second day we ventured into the inner Jerusalem to see the wailing wall, Golden Dome Mosque and walk the stations of the cross via Dolorosa. The Church of Nativity was well decorated and I prayed for the parish in the grotto of Nativity underneath, the location where Jesus was said to be born. Next door to the Church of Nativity was St Catherine’s Cathedral, which is where we had a group mass with all the Australian WYD pilgrims in the region at the time.
I guess the exact locations of places we visited may not be correct, but that’s not the point. The important thing is that we are remembering Jesus, and the location of his actions are not far away. It’s a shame that we only had two days in Jerusalem, as I feel there wasn’t enough time to sit down and let it all sink in. Next time I come back there, I’ll give myself more time to see Jerusalem, because there is so much to see and reflect upon.
One aspect of the pilgrimage which I found quite refreshing is that we said mass everyday. On our first day we were fortunate enough to have mass with the Perth Diocese in the Dominus Flevit, the place where Jesus wept for Jerusalem. If there was a time to reflect and pray on the experiences we’ve had, it was there. Another one of our activities was that we were divided into smaller share groups to discuss the things we’ve seen, and any concerns that we had about the progress of the pilgrimage. Also in the journey we sung chants in the churches with great acoustics. Later on we also had reconciliation on top of the mountains.
The highlight in Jerusalem has to be the Stations of the Cross via Dolorosa. We were given a cross of our own to carry through the narrow streets to each station. The streets were bussling with people watching us, and cars honking at us to move out of the way. Sometimes the roads were so narrow there was hardly a way through. The Holy Sepulchre houses the last four stations of the cross, where Calvary and the tomb of Jesus was said to be. What struck me about this place is its ecumenical heritage, where Armenian, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic share the church. To be honest, the experience of the Stations didn’t hit me at first. I was struggling with the fact that the Holy Sepulchre did not have an impact on at all. Looking back on it now, the memories gradually grew on me, and I think the lack of preparation has led me down this path. However, as I read the passion narratives now, I do have a strong feeling for the suffering that Jesus went through.
The Sea of Galilee took the other four days in our Holy Land pilgrimage. Jesus lived his childhood and also served most of his ministry in this area. Some of the sites we visited were Capernaum, Nazareth, Cana, the Jordan River, Mount Carmel, Mount Tabor (of the transfiguration), and of course the Sea of Galilee itself. This part of the pilgrimage was a lot less strenuous as Jerusalem because there was less sites to see and more free time. We stayed in a kibbutz, which I thought was like a simple working farm. It looked more like a four star motel equipped with a swimming pool.
Nazareth is just a little west of the Sea of Galilee, and is quite a busy city. Maybe that’s because there’s a McDonald’s and Burger King there, but the prices are a bit hefty. The main attraction for us was the Basilica of Annunciation. The basilica looking more like a fortress is divided into two floors, with the bottom floor being the most significant. At the far end of the church is a large circular pit, leading down to the Chapel of the Angel. At the front of the pit is the grotto of annunciation, where the location of Jesus’ home is said to be. The design of the church was deliberately made bare to signify the simple lifestyle of His childhood, and to contrast with the upstairs floor. The top floor is a complete contrast, representative of the divine aspect of Jesus’ life, and the vision the virgin Mary received. In honour of that there is a picture of the blessed virgin as interpreted by many countries, including Australia.
Outside the Basilica is the Church of Nutrition, which is the location of Joseph’s carpentry, where he was informed in a vision about the birth of Christ. Over there our guide informed us of Joseph’s work in constructing arches for building windows. Can you imagine Jesus being a construction worker!
The highlight of this region would have to be up on the mountains. Mt Tabor took a while to ascend, even with taxis driving at 70km/h around turns. It’s a great escape from the business below with nobody to disturb us, and great views to remind us of the beauty of nature. It also keeps you fit to walk up here. I wonder how fit Jesus was to be always climbing mountains to do things. I feel more sorry for his disciples.
Oh, and how could I forget the most entertaining attraction, swimming in the dead sea! Rather, we could only float on the dead sea, as swimming might put our eyes in danger of being stung by the 33% salinity of the water. The sea also has some therapeutic properties on you skin. A mud bath was also a great attraction there, but not in appearance of course.
The Holy Land for me has been the most enjoyable and relaxing experience of the World Youth Day pilgrimage. I hope I’ve given you at least a small idea of what is was like to be there. The beauty about seeing the Holy Land is that later on as I open the bible and read the Gospel, I can read it knowing the conditions He went through, and what he means in terms of the society He was living in and its environment. Being there was not simply an inspiration to read the bible. It adds a whole new dimension to His story, a more down-to-earth feel. A lot of people have said this pilgrimage is all about finding and meeting Jesus. And in being there I feel a lot closer to Him, now that I know about him more. And it just so happens that the theme of the World Youth Day is from John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”. I think the Holy Land is an excellent preparation for that.