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| 30/JULY/2010 10:24 AM
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PLANNING YOUR PILGRIMAGE |
11 days and 10 nights
(with Sinai) |
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Notre Dame can
arrange these itineraries for you through affiliated tour organizers.
Whether you want to come on your own, join a group or bring your own
group, contact us and we will put you in touch with the organizer closest
to you.
Holy Land and Sinai
in
Eleven Days and Ten NightsDay 1:
Home - Tel Aviv - Galilee
Begin your spiritual journey with an evening departure from your hometown,
on the overnight flight to Tel-Aviv.
Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport. Exit the
terminal and meet your guide. Transfer to your hotel in Nazareth or
Tiberias, with a stop on the way at Caesarea Maritima, if time permits
(this depends on your flight arrival time). Dinner and lodging at your
hotel.
Day 2: In Mary’s
Footsteps
This morning
we drive to Cana to visit the Church commemorating the place where Jesus
transformed water into wine.
Then on to
Nazareth to visit the Basilica of Annunciation (Holy Mass at the Basilica
of the Annunciation), Mary´s Well and the Synagogue. In the
afternoon, we travel on to Haifa and Carmel. Ascending the Carmel
Mountains we will visit the Stella Maris Convent, and the Prophet
Elijah´s Grotto, before returning for dinner and lodging at your
hotel.
Day 3: In Jesus’ and the
Disciples’ Footsteps
We
start the day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to
see St. Peter´s Memorial, St. Peter´s House and the Synagogue.
Then on to Mt. of Beatitudes where our
Lord gave the Sermon on the Mount. We proceed to Tabgha, the site of
multiplication of fish and loaves, returning to celebrate Holy Mass at St.
Peter’s Church in Capernaum.
In
the afternoon we drive to the Jordan River at the southern end of
the Sea of Galilee to renew our Baptismal Vows and finish the day with a
visit to Mt. Tabor and the church of the Transfiguration. Then we return
to the hotel for dinner and lodging.
Day 4:
From the Mount of Beatitudes to Mount Sinai
Before leaving the Sea of Galilee this
morning we celebrate Holy Mass on the Mount of Beatitudes.
Our Journey south takes us via the Jordan
Valley passing by the Dead Sea down to the Taba border crossing with
Egypt. After crossing the border, an Egyptian coach will take us on to
Saint Catherine in Sinai. Upon arrival we check into our hotel for dinner
and a few hours of rest in Sinai.
Day 5: Following the People of God towards the Promised
Land
Shortly after midnight
our coach will transfer us from the hotel to the foot of Mt. Sinai where
we start our climb to the top of the mountain.
On reaching the top of Mount Sinai we will be
blessed with a breath-taking view of the sunrise. After descending the
mountain we will visit St. Catherine Monastery and see the ‘Burning
Bush’, the church and the library. In the afternoon we drive back
north to the Taba border to return into Israel. There we will be met and
assisted on the journey to our hotel in Jerusalem, where we receive dinner
and overnight lodging.
Day 6: Bethlehem –
Ein Karem
This morning we
drive to Bethlehem to visit the place of our Lord’s birth in the
Basilica of the Nativity, where we will celebrate Mass. We will also see
the Chapel of St. Jerome , the Milk Grotto, and the Shepherds Fields.
In the afternoon we drive to the nearby
village of Ein Karem to visit the Church of St. John the Baptist and the
Church of the Visitation. If time permits we will stop to visit the Holy
Land Model, before returning to your hotel for dinner and lodging.
Day 7: Jerusalem, the Passion of
Jesus´ last hours
We
start the day with Holy Mass at the Holy Sepulchre.
After Mass we return to the hotel to have
breakfast, before leaving on foot to visit the Old City of Jerusalem.
We’ll start at the Temple area, where we will see the Western Wall,
the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and then St. Anne’s
Church and the Pools of Bethesda.
From
there we trace the final footsteps of Jesus along the Vía Dolorosa, from the Church of Flagellation,
the Ecce Homo Arch and on to the Holy Sepulchre. There we will visit
Calvary and the empty Tomb of our Lord, and the different sections of the
church.
We will have free time at the
church for prayers and reflection before going back to the hotel for
dinner and lodging.
Day 8: The Wilderness:
Bethany - Qumran - Dead Sea - Massada
Today we drive to Jericho, to visit the ancient
city, Elisha’s spring, the Sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed in
order to see Jesus, the new city, where we will have a view of the Mount
of Temptation. From here we drive to the Dead Sea area to see the
excavations of the Essene Monastery and the caves where the Dead Sea
Scrolls were hidden.
We continue on to
Masada and the Dead Sea coast, before returning to Jerusalem via Bethany,
the village of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, where we celebrate Holy Mass
and visit Lazarus’ Tomb.
Then on
to the hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and lodging.
Day
9: Mount of Olives – Mount Zion
After breakfast
we drive to the top of the Mt. of Olives to visit the Chapel of the
Ascension, the Church of Pater Noster where Jesus taught his disciples how
to pray, and then proceed down the Palm Sunday route to the Church of
Dominus Flevit, where our Lord wept over the city, and then to the
Garden of Gethsemane, where we will celebrate Holy Mass in the Church of
All Nations.
In the afternoon we go on
Mount Zion to visit the Church of the Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle, and the
Church of Saint Peter In Gallicantu. After this we return to our hotel for
dinner and lodging.
Day 10: Jerusalem, going
around
In the morning we
celebrate Holy Mass on Mount Calvary, after which we return to the hotel
for breakfast. Then we leave again to visit Mini Israel where you can see
miniature models of some of the sites you visited on this pilgrimage.
After this we will return to the hotel for
a special lunch meal.
Enjoy the
afternoon to revisit the Holy Sites and do some shopping, before returning
to the hotel for dinner and lodging.
Day
11: Tel Aviv - Home
Transfer to the airport for your return flight home.
Please note that
overnight lodging in these itineraries, whether in Galilee or Jerusalem,
is normally arranged in Christian hostels. Towards the end of the
pilgrimage there will be a special moment for the blessing of articles
bought in the Holy Land. You will be invited to watch the film ´The
Passion of Christ´ by Mel Gibson.
« Please keep in
mind... The Stations of the
Cross on the Via Dolorosa are located in some very narrow streets in the
market area of the Old City, which is normally full of people going about
their daily life. Don´t be disappointed by this, but remember that
the conditions must have been similar when our Lord passed on his way to
Golgotha, in the midst of the crowds. |
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| Church in Cana of Galilee |
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| Saint Catherine Monastery |
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