Overview: Mount Tabor, Church of the Annunciation, more cats

“LSU Won!”

Those were the first words I read as I awoke this morning. I smiled and knew it was going to be a good day. And it was. But the Tigers victory wasn’t the high point of my morning. The high point was walking out of my hotel room and crossing the lawn to sit on the shore of the Sea of Galilee for some quiet prayer. I looked around, seeing the various cities sprinkled along the coast, considering the fact that Jesus walked this area for much of His ministry. I was struck by the prayers from the Breviary that seemed so apropos to the moment: “The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.” To rest upon this holy land - the Fifth Gospel as it is often described - encircling this Sea of Galilee was indeed a time of great peace. Already I am being changed by this marvelous yet ordinary place. I also chuckled to myself this morning as I had a St. Paul moment. He spoke of the thorn in the flesh as being given ‘lest I become too elated’ and lest I become too romantic about my time at the Sea of Galilee, I was given a random man in a Speedo walking out of the water. Jesus loved in a normal world, not a fairy tale one. It’s easy to think of the Holy Land as a fairy tale world because it’s always been so far away from me. But it is very real - there are cats, highway noise, people from all nations, traffic, and paved soccer courts.

And in that very real world - this world! - He came. This was the emphasis today. We began the day at Mount Tabor, where the transfiguration took place. We offered Mass there in a beautiful little chapel full of mosaics and stained glass. The symbols told the story and the reason for the place, and the value it has in the story of salvation. The Glory of the Lord was seen at His birth, then at the Tranfiguration, and lastly in the Eucharist. Fr. Chris Decker, our homilist, reminded us that the stand upon which a monstrance sits for Eucharistic Adoration is called a Tabor. It’s the elevated stand upon which the Lord shows us His glory. (No wonder the monstrance always seems like a bust light!) After a nice visit and reflections, we found we were a bit late and would be late for lunch … unless we hiked down the mountain instead of waiting for mini-busses. So off we went! 3 or so miles downhill and we were off to lunch in Nazareth.

In Nazareth we had a delicious Italian style lunch and headed over to the Church of the Annunciation. This church is relatively newly built and the architecture is sadly not what the place deserves. Nonetheless, there was much to rejoice in there. The courtyard surrounding the church was full of representations of Our Lady from all over the world. The outpouring of love by the children of Mary across the earth was a great reminder - we are one body, one family in Christ. The present church is built on the ruins of an ancient church, which was built atop the house where the Annunciation took place. A little cellar where Mary would often have been found was there and a little altar with the inscription which can only be true in one place is found: ‘Verbum caro hic factum est - The Word became flesh here.’ A humble, ordinary place in a simple little town. There He took on flesh; our flesh, yours and mine. So incredible and yet so very ordinary. And He continues to be present to us in so many ordinary things of daily life.

Which brings me to my last point: cats. I like cats. They’re amazing little creatures. They have been everywhere we have been so far this pilgrimage. Door greeters, ushers in church, escorts around the grounds, beggars, companions on the sidewalk. I have been trying to enjoy the little things of this trip as signs of the Lord’s love. This has been shown many times in these furry friends along the way. Now - sleep! And another grace-filled day tomorrow.