Day 3: Part 2

Hi Again, All...

We are tucked into our new home for the next three days atop the Mt. of Beatitudes.  It is deep into the early morning as I post this, and most are likely snoozing away.  We had a fun evening with dinner and a gathering for prayer and sharing of the day's event.  That gathering, which hopefully will occur every evening, was indeed a blessing as many of the pilgrims told about how they were blessed during the day.

I tried to post something after the evening was done, but was worn out and almost fell asleep at the wheel, so to speak.  A few hours rest is all I need, though, so here I sit as the electricity keeps going on and off for some unknown reason.  I trust that most won't even notice that as they slumber away.

After my first post for Day three, we checked out of our hotel and began the trip northward.  We stopped off at Caesarera and, among other things, visited an old Crusaders fort that had a moat that had never had water.  Ask your pilgrim to tell you about that.

After visiting this and some other sites there in Caesarea, we went on to Haifa where we celebrated Mass in the church built above Elijah's cave.  We had lunch with the Carmelite sisters and then we visited the breathtaking gardens of the Bahai religion. The pictures below are of Elijah's cave, the chapel, and the gardens.

One of the things I have learned about Fr. Peter is to never think thar our itenerary is chiseled in stone.  Many times it will change and so we just go with the flow, knowing that the change is always for the better.  In typical fashion, Fr. Peter changed the itenerary on us, and we went to the Jordan River (originally scheduled for next week) and renewed our baptismal promises.

In last night's gathering of the pilgrims for prayer and reflection, someone mentioned how great is was that we were able to do this early since it was a meaningful symbol to really begin our journey here by remembering the very beginning of our own faith walks---our baptisms.  The Jordan River is beatiful and peaceful, and we were there in the late afternoon.  Needless to say, our pilgrims were touched in a powerful way as we recalled our baptismal promises.

This is a good time to point out to all who are following this blog that you will not see pictures or videos during this trip of those special times of worship or prayer.  In a very meaningful way, Fr. Peter is clear in reminding us that those times are a time of prayer and encounter with the Lord.  So, as I said, we won't have pictures of, for example, the actual renewal of our promises.

That is it for the overview for the day.  Videos to come when I can get them edited.

Blessings to all.