A Pilgrimage and a Retreat
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Dear Friends – Over the last decade I have been blessed to visit the Holy Land many times for both extended study periods and for shorter pilgrimages. During the pilgrimages with large groups I have lamented the rapid pace at which we tour the many sites. I have realized that what I have wished for the groups I have led is more time in each space to explore, to pray, to be. During my extended stay in Jerusalem for the Fall Semester of 2014, I began formulating plans for a different kind of pilgrimage – one that would be more like a retreat. My starting point was, of course, the Gospels. I want to focus my time and energy on making the story of Jesus come alive in the land. It has been my experience that the Holy Land, which has been called “the 5th Gospel,” offers ample opportunity for a deeper understanding of the mission, ministry, and message of Jesus the Messiah.
As a Dominican, it was natural for me to look to the Holy Rosary as template for such a pilgrimage. Especially after the addition of the Luminous Mysteries, the Rosary offers a “road map” for deeper reflection on the life of Jesus and Mary. We Dominicans have used the mysteries of the Rosary, with their strong visual components, to teach the Bible for 8 Centuries. It occurred to me that mysteries of the Rosary have not only a visual component, but also a geography; and that geography affords us places and spaces for prayer and reflection. I am thrilled to offer “Praying the Holy Rosary in the Holy Land” a pilgrimage/retreat. This retreat will visit only sites associated with Jesus’ ministry – in the order in which they are prayed in the Rosary - in an attempt to connect physically with his experiences in this sacred land. We will visit fewer sites than many pilgrimages so that we can take more time for prayer reflection, and being in those we do visit. Come pray the Rosary with me in the places where the Mysteries happened – Watch the Mysteries come alive and allow them to enliven your faith. |
WE ARE CURRENTLY TAKING RESERVATIONS FOR THESE "PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY IN THE HOLY LAND" PILGRIMAGES.
Click for more information about a particular pilgrimage: |
The ruins of the house of Mary in the crypt of the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth
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Sculpture of the Blessed Mother and St. Elizabeth at the Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem, a small village in the hill country of Judea
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Fr. Bart touching "the Star of Bethlehem" a silver 14-point star adorning the spot of Jesus' birth in the Grotto of the Nativity beneath the Basilica of the Nativity
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"The Wedding Church" in the village of Cana in Galilee
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The Sea of Galilee at sunrise
Pilgrims on a Fishing Boat on the Sea of Galilee
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The High Altar of the Basilica of the Annunciation on Mount Tabor
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PILGRIMAGE INCLUDES:
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Fr. Bart leads pilgrims in prayer on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City
The Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives
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A Pilgrim kneels to reverence the stones of Golgotha that held the cross of Jesus
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The Entrance to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher
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"The Edicule" - the small church enclosing the Tomb of Jesus within the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher
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The Mosque of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives
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Crypt Church of the Dormition of the Blessed Mother on Mt. Zion
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