Abu Ghosh and Kiryat Yearim

Today marked our third morning at the guest house at Kiryat Yearim. A little background_Kiryat yearim marks the place where the Ark of the Covenant stayed before it was brought to Jerusalem. In the Old Testament the Ark of the Covenant marked the Holy dwelling place of God. In the New Testament Mary has become the new Ark of the Covenant because Jesus, in whom the fullness of deity dwells bodily Col 2:9, dwelt in her womb. Now, in the place where the old ark was, there is this convent of sisters who follow the example of the new Ark of the Covenant, Mary; where Mary is, there we can find Jesus. One example of the kindness of these sisters is that they have brought us peanut butter at breakfast time, a rarity in the East! Many of us have said a special thanks to God for this kindness.

Overall today was a little less busy than our typical days. The main focus of the day was reflection. It was the Lord's Day and so we went to mass, ate a nice lunch, and spent the afternoon in prayer and discussion.

We had Holy mass at a beautiful Benedictine Church where the liturgy was in French and Latin. Though we did not understand everything, we felt right at home because the Holy mass is the same whether in English or French, in America or in Israel. The Benedictine monks and nuns lead the chanting which sounded like what I imagine heaven will sound like when all of the saints are praising God. There were pilgrims from France at the mass with us, and it was a beautiful sign of the unity of our faith. Looking back now, it is only because each of us has come to know Jesus that we were together in this Church praying to our heavenly Father, in a foreign land. This experience of the universal Church is one of the most beautiful experiences that I have had since coming to the Holy Land.

To our benefactors, be assured of our prayers and please continue praying for us: that we will be better disciples of Jesus because of this pilgrimage.

God love you!

Philip Klaas