Dear People of God:
As I write this, we have one more full day in the Holy Land. On Wednesday morning, at 6, we will leave St. George’s College, where we have been staying, and head for the ancient part of Jerusalem, only about a 10 minute walk away. There, we will experience the pinnacle of our pilgrimage: The Via Dolorosa. Starting at the place where Jesus was condemned to death, we will then go to 13 other locations along the route our Lord took to the cross, ending at the place of his burial, over which the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been built. Of course, we at the Church of the Redeemer are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, but what will be unique about this is that we are experiencing them at least very close to the actual places where they occurred.
This pilgrimage has been an incredibly wonderful experience for all who have participated. We have visited the places of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, the changing of water into wine at Cana, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea, just to name some of the highlights. On Sunday, by the way, while we were traveling back to Jerusalem by bus in the afternoon, it occurred to me that it was morning at Redeemer, so we stopped for a moment and remembered our parish family as many of you were gathered for the Holy Eucharist.
Our pilgrimage to the holy Land has been a great blessing to the men who were able to take part. I am grateful to God for this opportunity. It has been a great time for renewing my faith and for learning more about the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I look forward to seeing you all in a few days as we gather once more on the Lord’s Day.
In Christ,
Fr. Fred+
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