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by Philip Klass

Hello again from the Kiryat Yearim guest house in the Holy Land. This blog entry will be a bit longer because today was full of so many great stops. And, I think I have to write a bit longer to fulfill justice. In the morning we traveled to Bethany where Jesus would often go to spend the night after long days. His friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived in Bethany. We had Holy mass at a beautiful Church in Bethany. In the gospel for the day Lazarus had just recently died. When Martha is asked about Lazarus by Jesus, Martha says that she knows Lazarus will rise at the final resurrection. Jesus says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life, do you believe this? This is a good question for us to reflect on. Do we believe that Jesus has the power to raise us from the dead? Do we believe that Jesus can and wants to give us eternal life? Do we believe that following Him is the only way to live authentically, to live according to the truth about who we are and what we have been made for? Do we believe that Jesus wants to forgive our sins and that if we confess them he will wipe them away? These are crucial questions for us to reflect upon as disciples of Jesus. Lord, help us to believe. Increase our faith in you and help our unbelief.

After mass we had the opportunity to go into the tomb of Lazarus. To enter the tomb we had to duck down low and go down a flight of steep stairs with a low ceiling cut into the rock. At the bottom of the stairs was a small flat space. There was an opening through the wall in this space which we could duck down and enter into; this was the space where Lazarus' body was laid. Since it was small only a few of us could fit in at a time. The few of us who were in the tomb sang the Our Father together. As I crouched and climbed my way back out of the tomb I imagined Jesus' voice loudly calling, Lazarus, come out.

Before getting back on the bus a few of us paid a local man for a quick camel ride! This was quite fun, and funny. I couldn't believe how high off the ground you are when sitting on the back of a camel. Much of the pilgrimage has experiences like this. At one moment we are in a sacred place where Jesus Christ, the Son of God was. We are praying earnestly and seeking to enter into the place where we are at. Then, at the next moment we may be joking outside at a food stand and drinking a small cup of cappuccino. I guess that this just reminds me that Jesus was really, truly human. It's easy to think of him as a kind of super man, and forget that he was just like us in all things but sin. He ate, he laughed, and he got tired.

Next, we went into the desert and stopped at an Greek Orthodox monastery there which was built into the cliff-sides of a ravine. We spoke with an old priest who said that Jesus' tomb is the only empty tomb in the world. For this reason we should have faith in our own resurrection, and this faith should give us joy and make us smile.

After this, we stopped at the Jordan River. This river was crossed by the Jews in order to enter the Promised Land. This is also the river where John preached repentance of sins, and most importantly where Jesus was baptized. At this river God affirmed that Jesus is his beloved son. We waded into the river, sang some hymns, and renewed our baptismal vows. This was awesome!

Next we got onto a road that leads from Jerusalem to Jericho. This is the road which Jesus spoke of when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 11:25-37).

While on this road we passed Mount Nebo where Moses stood atop the mountain and overlooked the land which had been promised by God to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 34). After a quick lunch we stopped at the site of Qumran near the Dead Sea. Qumran is the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in caves in the mid-twentieth century. These scrolls are some of the oldest texts we have of the bible which were copied by an ascetical Jewish community living in the desert. These scrolls date back to 600 BC! Our last stop of the day was the Dead Sea itself. We changed into suits and floated in the sea for about an hour. The Sea is 33% salt, compared to a typical ocean which has 4% salt. You literally could not sink. You could lie on your back, on your stomach, or sit and hold your feet out of the water and you would still float. We had a great time.

I want to again thank our benefactors who have so generously allowed us to have this great opportunity to be pilgrims in the Holy Land. We are praying for you and ask for your continued prayers, that we will be better disciples of Jesus Christ because of this experience.

God bless you!

Philip

Philip Klass

Philip Klass is a first-year Theology seminarian from the Diocese of Madison.

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Sacred Heart Major Seminary is a Christ-centered Catholic community of faith and higher learning committed to forming leaders who will proclaim the good news of Christ to the people of our time. As a leading center of the New Evangelization, Sacred Heart serves the needs of the Archdiocese of Detroit and contributes to the mission of the universal Church.