On October 27, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land head out to the Jordan Valley, accompanied by hundreds of pilgrims and local Christians, for their annual pilgrimage to Jesus’ baptismal site on the Jordan River.
The charming village of Ein Karem, situated on the western slopes of Jerusalem, is a popular destination for both pilgrims and locals alike, with its churches and monasteries, romantic cafes and restaurants, and green hills perfect for hiking.
I often hear Catholics talking about going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I must confess that something lightly irritates me about this terminology. It seems that whenever Catholics talk about visiting the land of the Bible, they almost invariably call it “the Holy Land” and rarely “Israel.”
Paddy Monaghan responds to the recent Jerusalem Patriarchs’ denunciation of Christian Zionism. Drawing on decades of Catholic renewal and the witness of evangelical Catholic leaders worldwide, Monaghan argues that biblical Zionism is not a political distortion but a faithful expression of historic Christian teaching on God’s enduring covenant with Israel.
From Herod’s stronghold heights, a Remnant watched, as Silva’s legion circled them in vain. Across the changing hues of water far below, they looked with memory at Moab’s hills, secure as even Moses could not be, for they were here in Judah’s field.
No film director’s dream, this Galilean town: an ordinary place. Do you think I put it down? Why, no! It is to ordinary men he came, to share their ordinary lives, that they might be his kith.
The Old City of Jaffa, located on the southern edge of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean coast, was known in ancient times as the gateway to the Land of Israel. With its 3,000 years of history, Old Jaffa is the world’s most ancient port.
In March 2000 Pope John Paul II visited Israel. During the visit a historic ceremony was held in the Hall of Remembrance in Yad Vashem expressing the wish for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.
The Church of St. Anne is known as the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is situated right next to the pool of Bethesda, a popular healing center in Roman times and the place where Jesus healed a paralytic as recorded in the Gospel of John.
Tradition identifies the deserted place where John the Baptist grew up as the hermitage of St. John in the Desert, also known as 'Ain el-Habis (spring of the hermit.) The site is located in the heart of the Judean hills, about 3 km from Ein Karem, St. John’s birthplace, which is itself just 7-8 km west of Jerusalem.
