Day 23
Dear Friends,
The hateful hamsin continued blowing dust everywhere this morning. Monsignor Monforton arrived safely last night and was up for the 7 a.m. Mass in the garden of the Mount of Beatitudes guesthouse. After Mass, we had a brief breakfast, said goodbye to the people we’d met and got on the bus by 8:15. With the light brown chalky skies, we pulled onto Highways 65, 77 and a few others and arrived in Haifa by 10. Our first stop was the Carmelite monastery of Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) which crowns the heights of Mount Carmel. We viewed the city from the lookout across from the monastery and snapped dozens of pictures before heading into the church and monastery for a good time of prayer.
In other years, we’ve been somewhat rushed, but because of our early start, we had a good bit of time to pray in the church, which has some wonderful artwork of some great Carmelite saints as well as the cave in which it is believed the Prophet Elijah hid from the wrath of Queen Jezebel.
After buying our scapulars, ice cream, postcards and whatnots, we headed down the spine of the mountain, past Haifa University, past a large Druze village (last year’s men will remember a tense time when we were caught in a demonstration against police action). We then drove to the monastery of Murukah which marks the place of the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal (they lost) from I Kings 18. Nice chapel and very friendly Hungarian Franciscan (from the same province as Fathers Barnabas and Angelus from Holy Cross Parish in Detroit).
After praying there a bit, we headed to a Druze restaurant nearby for schnitzel or felafel sandwiches – all of it very good. We then climbed back on our bus and drove to Herod’s great city of Caesarea Marittima, where St. Paul baptized Cornelius’ family and was later imprisoned before being taken to Rome (Acts 9 and 23-24).
The city has great ruins from our Lord’s time through the Crusader period. We remembered all of those who are persecuted for their faith and prayed for our benefactors and brothers at the seminary. Johnny then took us to a newer exhibit, with a short film on the history of the place. These films help make the sites come alive and this one was well done. We saw the ruins of Herod’s palace and the copy of the plaque found nearby which records a building built by Pontius Pilate, when he was governor.
A short ride later and we arrived here at the Blue Bay hotel on the Mediterranean for a day off.
Tomorrow, we’ll join the university students of Rome who are praying in reparation for the abuse and scandal in the Church of the past years. Thanks to Dr. Fastiggi’s e-mail telling us of the event, we’ll also spend the same time in Eucharistic adoration asking pardon and healing for all of those who abused or were abused.
Praying for you and your intentions,
– Father Trapp and the Sacred Heart pilgrims
