I have to say that today was one of my favorite days. First we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes, which is beautiful even just for its location. It overlooks the ocean and has plenty of places to go pray where you can see the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee, by the way, is more like a Lake, and yet it is a big enough size to provide a good amount of fishing, especially for the villages and cities around the time of Jesus. We were able to pray there and I was able to pray a Rosary off in one of the outside chapels. I felt peace, and God's love, and especially a joy that I was able to be so privileged as to be here in Israel.
Then we went to Capernaum and also the house of Peter. This is where you see the picture, where I was able to go off and get close to the water. One thing I notice in the group is that because we are all of different denominations, most of the other Christians place very little importance on St. Peter and the Papacy.
The reality is related to an important question, 'If Jesus is who we say he is, don't you think he would have left someone in charge to make sure that we remained faithful to God?' It doesn't make any sense to me at least, to say or think that Jesus would not have entrusted his people to another person. This is the gift of our Catholic faith, that we believe that the one true vicar of Christ on Earth is the Pope. Notice that he is the Vicar and not Jesus Christ himself. In other words, the Pope is human , and yet protected by the Holy Spirit! So for me, it was beautiful to go to St. Peter's house, and thank God, that we know who is Christ's official representative, the Pope.
The rest of day was also very beautiful. We visited a wonderful church that had mosaics dating back to the 4th century. This was one of the simplest and most beautiful churches that we had visited, and I really wish we had stopped there and had Mass or at least more time to pray. I can't wait to show you all the pictures when I get back to Jerusalem on Friday.
Next, we went to visit something that was found within the last 10 years, a fishing boat that was found when the waters of the Sea of Galilee had been drying up. This boat had been stuck and preserved in the mud, and so when it was found, they only had a few days to preserve it, move it, and then coat it with protective chemicals. The find is quite spectacular, and get this, it is made from 12 different types of wood, and dates back to the time of Christ. Again, the pictures will tell more of a story later!
Finally, I swam in the Sea of Galilee and just enjoyed the beautifully fresh waters. It was so much fun even though I was a bit scared of getting bit by some of the fish that swim around there. They are a bit too friendly for my taste. Thank you for following my Blog! More to come!
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