As you read these lines, I will be on the "Mount Angel Seminary Bible Lands Study Tour" with my brother, Benedictine Brother Francis Weigand, and a group of laity, religious, priests, and seminarians. Since Brother Francis and I celebrated significant anniversaries last fall (his 25th anniversary of solemn monastic vows and my 25th anniversary as a bishop), we received a gift to make a pilgrimage together to the Holy Land. The tour includes biblical sites in Egypt, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.
Our two-and-one-half-week trip begins in Cairo, which represents 5,000 years of history and culture. In and around Cairo, we will visit the pyramids, a number of early Christian monasteries and present day churches. Among the holy places we will visit is the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built near the spot where the baby Moses was found in a basket among the river reeds by the daughter of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:1-10). Since the Holy Family lived in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14), we will pray at a number of ancient Christian sites made holy by the presence of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Traversing from Cairo through the desert to Goshen, we will visit at the Monastery of St. Anthony of the Desert, founder of Christian monasticism. From there we will make our way to Sinai, passing through Marah, where God enabled Moses miraculously to make the water drinkable for the Israelites (Ex 15:22-26) and where God fed the Israelites with manna (Ex 16:1-36).
Later, we will celebrate Mass on the top of Mount Sinai, visit the Chapel of the Ten Commandments and the Chapel of the Burning Bush. Our pilgrimage, thus, offers us excellent opportunities not only to walk where Jesus walked, but also to visit locations where holy men and women of the Old Testament lived and prayed.
Passing through Jordan, we will visit Machaerus, one of Herod's palaces, where St. John the Baptist was beheaded (Mark 6:14-29). We will celebrate Mass on Mount Nebo where Moses viewed from afar the Promised Land before dying. Later, we will visit Jericho and the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John (Mk 1:9).
Making our way into Israel on the way to Jerusalem, we will visit the Mount of Temptations, Qumran and Masada. We will spend five days in Jerusalem and have ample opportunity to celebrate Mass and pray at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Calvary, where Jesus died and rose from the dead. In addition, we will visit the Mount of Olives, Gethsemani, the Via Dolorosa. In nearby Bethlehem, we will pray at the Basilica of the Nativity. In Bethany, we will visit the Church of Mary, Martha and Lazarus and the tomb of Lazarus.
From Jerusalem, we will travel north to Galilee. At Mount Tabor, we will recall the transfiguration of Jesus. In Nazareth, we will celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation. As we proceed to the area of the Lake of Galilee, we will visit Saint Peter's house in Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, and Cesarea. A boat trip on the lake will recall the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus' calming of the sea, and Jesus' walking upon the water. I, especially, will be reliving Jesus' post-resurrection appearance at the Lake of Galilee, recounted in Chapter 21 of John's Gospel: "Peter, do you love me? Feed My Lambs" (from which my episcopal motto is taken).
I feel blessed to be able to make this pilgrimage. In January of 1975, my brother, my mother and I prayed at some of these same sites during a shorter visit of 10 days. My brother and I have long wanted to return. I will pray for all of you while in the Holy Land. In return, I ask for your prayers that the pilgrimage be grace-filled for all of the 55 participants and that all return spiritually renewed.
