Articles

Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee Today was a very exciting day. We began with a visit to one of my favorite biblical towns, the city of Capernaum. If there …

Port City of Akko Early this morning we said goodbye to Nazareth and began our exciting journey to our new home on the Sea of Galilee. However, we had a …

This morning we headed north of Nazareth to the ancient town of Zippori, or Sepphoras. This was a large town developing just north of Nazareth at the time of Jesus. …

Goodbye to our House in Bethlehem Today was basically devoted to traveling from Bethlehem to Nazareth. We went up the Jordan valley past where we had been previously in Jericho. …

Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Family. I must say that it is very easy to feel close to the Holy Family here in Bethlehem. Every time I see …

The last 24 hours here in Bethlehem have been very interesting. Beginning yesterday afternoon, I noticed that there were lots of people in the streets and they had even blocked …

It’s hard to believe, but our time in Bethlehem is coming to and end. We’re already starting to make plans for our departure. We’ve got a few parties planned before …

Well, the snow has melted. It did kind of make it feel more like Christmas briefly, but now it just feels cold. I’m ready for the sunny 60 degree weather …

Have you ever wondered how we came up with December 25th as the date of Jesus’ birthday? As I mentioned earlier, the Orthodox follow a different calendar and Christmas isn’t …

The Manger, Now with Baby Jesus Lying There Today is the feast of Stephen. I chose this great saint and first martyr of the Church to be my patron at …

Today, in the City of David, a savior has been born for you who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11) Today was a very special day in Bethlehem. Christmas began …

Melkite Church Where We Had Mass This Morning The sun is setting here in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve and there’s a great sense of anticipation. There were many people out …

This morning we did what you might call a service project that turned into an absolutely wonderful time for all of us. Today we hosted a Christmas party at a …

Today we had a rather unique opportunity to attend a special ecumenical gathering at Bethlehem University. The heads of the various religious denominations in England were in Bethlehem on pilgrimage …

We had class all morning and now this afternoon I have been writing all the wonderful reflections that you are reading here. I hope you like it. Now, I need …

Today was a free day. I spent quite a bit of time organizing all my pictures from Galilee and making them ready to publish so you all can see them. …

Church of the Annunciation, Great Upper Church We got up today and got a quick “official” tour of the Church of the Annunciation. We’ll be back again in January, so …

The “Wedding Church” at Cana Our first stop today was the city of Cana. It is actually very close to Nazareth and only took us about 15 minutes to get …

Ruins of Herod’s Palace at Caesarea Today we loaded up the bus bright and early and headed north for a 3 day tour of Galilee. We’ll be going back for …

Today I noticed that they are starting to “decorate” the city for Christmas. I’ll hold off on the pictures until they finish whatever they’re doing, but they are hanging lights …

It’s hard to believe that it was two weeks ago today that I left snowy Chicago for the little town of Bethlehem. I’m starting to kind of feel at home …

Today was just an average class day. We had two classes in the morning and then our speaker on Islam came back for part two. I think we’re focusing on …

Field trip day! Today’s field trip took up the entire day and it was an awesome day! We loaded up our bus and headed to the Dead Sea area today. …

Today was basically just a class day. In addition to our two morning classes on the Gospel of Luke and The Spiritual Pilgrim we had an afternoon session on Islam. …

Today we had another field trip. This morning we started out by visiting Solomon’s Pools. These are huge reservoirs near Bethlehem that were constructed to be a water supply for …

We had Mass this morning at the St. Catherine’s Catholic Church which is connected to the Church of the Nativity. This church functions as a parish church here in Bethlehem …

Today we had our “official” tour of the Church of the Nativity with a professional guide. As we walked to the church she pointed out the various places in the …

Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and we are having a day of prayer here just as we would back in the seminary. It’s a little different here …

The Monastery of Mar Saba After our regular morning classes today we took our first “field trip”. Our first destination was to a remote monastery founded by Mar Saba (Saint …

Today was a day devoted mainly to studying. We are really digging into the Gospel of Luke. I love learning about the Sacred Scripture. I’ve often heard it repeated that …

  The Location of the Manger Today was an absolutely amazing day. We started with Mass in the cave where Jesus was born. As I mentioned earlier, the original cave …

Entrance to the Church of the Nativity Today I spent the entire morning at the Church of the Nativity. What an amazing experience! Like millions of pilgrims before, I arrived …