Light breaking through the clouds over the Sea of Galilee The waters of my soulare delicately moving,sloshing against the edgesof my consciousness. I can feel Godmovingwithin me. Is His powerful hand,like a net,scooping up all that dirtiesand sullies? Is He riding a stormin a little fishing boat,sleeping on a cushion? Is He walking on the water,hand outstretched,Asking me to join Him? Or is He sittingon the rockof my identitygazing out on the waters,admiring what He has created? O my soul,behold your Creator.... Read more

Many people associate Christianity with Puritanism. If you are Christian then nudity and sex must make you uncomfortable. Not so. Christians believe God loves the human body – so much so that He created our bodies and took one upon Himself! The association of the soul with what is good in the human person and the body with what is bad is a common error in thinking that reared its ugly head in the late first century and is still present... Read more

God is perfect, lacking nothing. That is, God is distinguished from other beings on account of God’s complete actuality. – Thomas Aquinas I am perfect, I died to perfect you. You do not know what perfect is. Do not dwell on what you think are imperfections. When you do, you miss the great work I am doing in you. The world will not be perfect until the last day. When you see imperfection, even sin – Give glory to me,... Read more

Sign directing pilgrims to the Church  A priest I know recently told a story during one of his homilies. As it goes, he was in the Holy Land, inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, waiting to see the Tomb of Jesus and he overheard a conversation between two friends that went something like this: “So this is the tomb of Jesus?” one friend said to the other. “Ya,” the friend says, “but what I am wondering is where is... Read more

Dipping my toes in the Jordan River Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder                                                          – GK Chesterton Some of you know that I have allergies almost year round. One of the side effects of this problem is a decreased sense of smell. During the really bad months I can go weeks without getting a... Read more

The Jerusalem Cross – The four crosses represent  spreading the Gospel to the four corners of the world. If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand wither. – Psalm 137:5 Since it was established by King David 3,000 years ago, Jerusalem has been the center of the faith of the Jewish people. Because Christianity descends from Judaism, we inherit this reverence for the city of Jerusalem, particularly because it is the place that Jesus chose to lay down his life... Read more

Mount Moriah as it is today  The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just. – Psalm 19:10 When I was about nine or ten, I piously set out to try and read the entire Bible. I spent late nights with a flashlight in my bedroom closet carefully reading from the very beginning. Instead of being an exercise in piety, it turned out to be quite a traumatic event.... Read more

Painting of the risen Jesus in the Cave of Gethsemane Oh Jesus, watch over me always, especially today, or I shall betray you like Judas.                                       – St. Philip Neri Ever wonder why the Sanhedrin paid Judas a huge sum of money to simply lead their soldiers to a garden? And just how did Judas know exactly where to go in a garden... Read more

The Miraculous Catch of 153 Fish – Duccio, 14th century Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.   –  John 21:11 I am without notes for this blog post. So, I will write about my experience at the Sea of Galilee because it was this talk by Tim Gray, our amazing tour leader, to which I paid the least attention. The... Read more

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.“ At once they left their nets and followed him. – Matthew 4:18-20 Capernaum was only recently uncovered by archaeologist in 1838, so unlike most holy sites in the Holy Land, it is one of... Read more