Mary's Day

What a beautiful day with Mary. We spent the whole day with her, visiting some very significant places of her life and our faith. As you follow, note that our itinerary has changed compared to the one posted previously. We began the day at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle. Today in Israel is the Sabbath for the many Jewish people of the area ( the country is only 1.5%Christian). There is little to no work on the Sabath. Cana was a short 15 minute drive. When we arrived we were able to bless and have the present couples renew their vows there ( remember Cana is the first place Jesus began his miracles). There is a strong sense of Mary's presence here.  Mothers are a strong influence in the Jewish culture. Mary tells the servants to " do whatever he tells you.". This miracle of changing water into wine would reveal for the first time his divinity. We blessed those present who have lost their spouses. We went down into the crypt where the wedding ceremony would have occurred. There was the remains of an old cleansing basin that perhaps Jesus would have used to wash his hands before the ceremony. After we spent time in prayer. We learned that there were 6 jars at the party which is an incomplete number and thus impure. 7 is a perfect number for the Jews. We find the 7 th jar at the cross as the chalice we partake of at Mass collects the blood of completion that Jesus comes to bring "it is finished."
From here we moved to Nazareth. This was the home of Mary, place of the immaculate conception and place where Jesus grew up. We began in Jesus' home. Wow! FYI, Jesus grew up in a cave and these caves were under ground. There were steps leading down into a round room with an elevated rock in the middle on which they ate meals. In the back of each cave was a lower level where the animals were kept ( as well as the oven for baking bread). Again Mary was very present here as well as Jesus and Joseph. It is clear that Mary was an extremely strong woman walking twice a day a half mile one way to get water at the well. The town of Nazareth was extremely compact only holding a max of 250 residents in the time of Jesus. The whole town seemed a measure of 6-8 acres large. From here we moved to the cathedral of the annunciation. My friends I cannot express the beauty of this place. Each major country from around the world has donated a mural througout the church. We celebrated mass in the cript ( under the cathedral, which is the largest in the middle east.... p.s. the United States donated the altar in the cathedral.). For our mass we celebrated right next to the spot where Mary said yes. This was truly a blessed and overwhelming experience to call down the same Holy Spirit who became flesh in Mary's womb to now become flesh in the Eucharist. Truly we were all humbled to the power of Mary's Yes. Her yes changed the world. We were encouraged that our yes each day can constantly change the world as we receive Jesus in our Yes to his will. The power of this place, this town was quite overwhelming for most everyone as we sat and prayed with the power of this Place. We enjoyed lunch and then visited Stella Maris which means " Star of the Sea.". This spot looks over the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.....wow. She looks over all vessels as they pass by for protection. It is also home of the cave where Elijah hid from jezabell. (1 kings 18). This church is on Mt Carmel which is the center of the Carmelite order for the world. Elijah is the patron saint of fertility and of the sick. Couples daily come to pray to get pregnant and are often granted their prayer. Also we saw many lame come in to pray in the cave and ask for healing. The whole group lit candles and offered up prayers for the petitions we have carried with us and those of you back home. We ended the day with a beautiful view of the Mediterranean sea and nice dinner to celebrate the 11 anniversary of Magnificate Travel. ( more to come). Geralyn is working her hardest to get the pictures up..stay tuned Fr Michael.