Congregational Novitiate

Walking the same way Jesus was walking was a wonder where I could renew my faith and my desire to follow him . In every place I could imagine Jesus talking to people and how his words reached the hearts of  people who are hungry for an answer to their sufferings and their hopes. The messiah led me everywhere. So I found that,  Jesus is the one who  makes me strong. The walking to Kursi and the Mount of Beatitudes were the places that made me contemplate how Jesus spoke of love and miracles and I also realized I could meditate how he was persecuted because of his love for God and his kingdom. The ones who heard, were enchanted with that love. For me it was the first time to make a pilgrimage in the Land where Jesus walked. A dream that became touchable, the story of Jesus in walking. I saw the places where Jesus walked, preached the Kingdom of God. The places where this happend are far from from each other but Jesus had a goal, a determination. For me it was a great gift of God and the congregation to me who gave me this opportunity to be here on Holy Ground.

written by Rozeni

Sepphoris Its Hebrew name, Zippori or “Bird,” reflects its lofty location. The city commands a panoramic view of the lower Galilee, including the towns of Cana, five miles to the northeast, and Nazareth, four miles to the south. The historian Josephus called this city “the ornament of Galilee.” Sepphoris has been rightly called “the forgotten city.” Over the years, commentaries and geography texts give their attention to the nearby towns of Nazareth and Cana, while Sepphoris has been virtually ignored. This has been a great oversight. Sepphoris is one of those cities in Galilee which, although not mentioned in Scripture, played a crucial role in configuring the political, social, and economic context in which Jesus of Nazareth lived and ministered (from the Israel tour guide book 2013).

Walking and Reading the land of the Bible…Walking the Jesus trail from Nazareth to Sepphoris and from Sepphoris to Cana was an amazing experience. It was indeed touching the country as well as its culture, feeling and smelling the landscape was a moment of glorifying God. It was a great opportunity of recalling the stories in the Bible by our foot. Indeed the gospel stories became more meaningful as we thread the path were Jesus and disciples had walked 2000 years ago.

written by Arlyne

We arrived in Nazareth on Sunday evening. We stayed with the Sisters of Nazareth for two days and three nights.
Our first day in Nazareth we were so excited, we started our day with our mass in the Annunciation Church. It was a blessing to be there where Angel Gabriel visited Mary. I did not think about the time, I just wanted to be aware of God’s presence in each moment and I was able to enter to my inner self as a normal woman like Mary always listening to God’s word.
I was also very happy to find Mary’s images in the wall of the Basilica from the different countries especially from my country “Guatemala “when I saw it I was shouting with full of joy. After that we went to St Joseph Church, later we visited Mary’s house we arrived too early but sister Norika of Chemin Neuf Community welcomed us, she was very kind explaining to us and she invited us to the top of the building where we could find their church of unity that intended to have peace for the whole world. We also appreciated more the view of the whole Nazareth on the top of that building.
This day we visited seven places because those places are close to one another like the white mosque, Mary’s well and the Synagogue where Jesus used to preached. We had a very nice lunch in the Arabic Restaurant that gave us more energy to walk. Then, we decided to go to the place where we can read from the Gospel of Luke 4:16-30 where people wanted to throw Jesus of the cliff. The place is called the mount of Precipice, we prayed there and we remembered all the people especially  those people who have the courage to proclaim God’s words. In every place that we visited this day we had a moment of silence and reflection. We are also praying for our families, friends and for our congregation. This day is the Blessed day for everybody!

written by Alejandra

Day 1 Nazareth (Alejandra)
Nazareth is not cited in either the Old Testament or the Talmud. Josephus Flavius, a 1st Century Romano Jewish historian, referred to Sepphoris in his writing but made no mention of Nazareth. It must have been a small and unimportant place at the time. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” there were good geographical reasons for this question. Archaeological evidence indicates that it was a Jewish city during the time of Jesus and in that time the population more than 120-150 people. During excavations in Caesarea in 1962 a fragment of marble plaque was discovered with Hebrews Description which contained a list of priestly families, who has settled in Galilee during the late Roman era. Among them is mentioned a family in Nazareth and is the earliest reference to Nazareth in the Jewish epigraphy. So the designation of Jesus, the Natzorean, means in the first place that he was of Davidic lineage rather than came from Nazareth. “He will be called a Nazarene” (Mt 2:23) Should be taken to refer to Jesus as the netzer-shoot out of the tribe of David.

We woke up excited to go to Tabgha to stay there for 4 days so we packed our belongings and then we went to the mass at St. Joseph’s church at 6:30 a.m. then we had our breakfast at 7:00 a.m. Along the way we have had the opportunity to know every village where Jesus walked and proclaimed God’s kingdom. For some of us we knew the lake for first time and our heartbeat accelerated so much. It is quite amazing.

We visited St. Peter’s church in Tiberias, while we were there we sang a song: “Only let me hear you say those words again: come and follow me”, which let us to renew our own call and to confirm God’s presence and in all the promises contained in the Sacred Scriptures as Father Theodore said, so to commit ourselves to bring others in God’s presence in this century.

We were delighted with St. Peter’s fish as our nice lunch on the lakeshore. While we were waiting we shared our feelings about how blessed we are. Of course we did it in a nice restaurant but at the time of Jesus, they did it sitting in the sand, on the rocks, telling their happiness, sadness and so on.

After our nice lunch we decided to go to the First Century Boat and we boarded two taxis but each group went to different places so finally we met at Magdala Centre, where a kindly Mexican volunteer (Gustavo) guided us to the place, where they are doing archaeological excavations. There is a first century synagogue, a spirituality Centre, which is called “Duc in Altum”: “Put out into the deep”, and a chapel with no special symbol like cross or menorah in order to welcome every religion. Some of us were attracted by the Madgalena Institute for Women calling to mind the role of the woman in the gospel and in the society.

From that place we walked 1 kilometer more or less in order to take the bus. We had such a fantastic day. It is impossible to express our feeling having this opportunity.

In my personal experience it has been a great blessing because God has guided me to this Holy Land where I try to listen his words: “Come and follow me”, especially at this time of my life. How can I abandon myself in his hand? But this week has enriched my life and my spiritual journey and Jesus is much more alive to me so it is wonderful to confirm this: “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” Is. 49, 16. I am so glad to be part of the Sion family.

IN SION FIRMATA SUM

written by Clara