Reflection: A perfect pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Daniel Conway writes:

The next time the Archdiocese of Indianapolis advertises a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, don’t hesitate. Don’t think about it, discuss it with family and friends, or pray about it at length. Say a quick prayer to the Holy Spirit and sign up—right away! If you delay, all the slots will be filled, and you’ll miss out on a perfect pilgrimage experience.

Don’t just take my word for it. Ask any of the diverse group of 50 people who accompanied Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin to the Holy Land last month. They’ll tell you that it was an awesome, inspiring, joyful, sometimes exhausting but always uplifting spiritual journey. In short, a perfect pilgrimage.

Nothing is perfect that involves sinful human beings. True enough. From a human perspective there were the minor irritations of international travel—but no flight delays or other interruptions.

And there was the anxiety caused by “civil unrest” in the region—but we experienced no difficulties as a result. Occasionally, strangers occupying close quarters on the bus or in the crowded spaces visited throughout the Holy Land can rub each other the wrong way. True enough, but this is all part of the perfect pilgrimage experience!

What makes a pilgrimage “perfect”?

 
Read the whole reflection here

(Natalie Hoefer will also be submitting news stories in the coming weeks regarding the pilgrimage; they will be posted here as the final items for the blog)

More Reflections on Lent and the Holy Land from Archbishop Tobin

From Archbishop Tobin's weekly column:

• Lent is a time to cast off indifference (February 27, 2015)
• Spend some quiet time in God’s closeness this Lenten season (March 6, 2015)

Photo DVD Available for Purchase

During the course of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Criterion reporter Natalie Hoefer took photos to document the trip. Many were featured on this blog.
 
Natalie sorted through them and we are offering a DVD disc of more than 1,000 photos from the pilgrimage for purchase. The disc is $10; once you have it you are free to reprint any of the photos (either at home or at a store, such as Walgreen's) for personal use.

Click here to go to our secure purchasing site
  

 

* Please note that this is a DVD and you must have a DVD drive on your computer to use it; it will not work on a CD drive nor will it work on a DVD player on your television.

Photo CD to be Made Available

For those who went on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, as well as those who followed it online or are otherwise interested, a photo CD containing the full-size photographs taken by our reporter, Natalie Hoefer, will be available for purchase in the near future.
 
Those who order one will then be free to re-print the photos where ever they wish to, or keep them digitally to share with family and friends.

Check back here next week for more information!

Archbishop Tobin on the Pilgrimage

This week, Archbishop Tobin writes a bit about the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in his weekly column:

"Earlier this week, I returned from a 12-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I can’t imagine a better way to prepare for the spiritual journey that is Lent. To be actually present in the land of Jesus, to pray where he prayed, and to experience firsthand all the holy places that the Gospels speak about so powerfully, is an experience that I wish every Christian could have.

"My fellow pilgrims and I were very conscious of the fact that we traveled to the Holy Land on behalf of all the people of our archdiocese, the Church in central and southern Indiana. We prayed for you, and we brought you with us (in spirit) every time we visited one of the Holy Land’s remarkable sacred spaces.

"Pilgrimages are as old as Judaism and Christianity (and many other religious traditions). St. Luke tells us that the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) made an annual pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem in observance of the Feast of the Passover."

Read the whole column here (also available in Spanish)

Columns on the Holy Land from John Fink

The editor emeritus of The Criterion, John Fink, has started a new series of weekly columns about the Holy Land.

Click below to read the first three installments of his column:

• A new series about Jesus and the land he made holy
• The land that flows with milk and honey
• Conditions in Palestine at the time of Christ

Day Twelve -- Itinerary and Prayer Intention

Today's Itinerary: "Today our Holy Land pilgrimage comes to an end as we transfer to the airport in Tel Aviv to catch our return flight home."

Today's Prayer Intention: For safe travel for the pilgrims and for all travelers.

(Be sure to check back with this blog later in the week for any additional content receive after the pilgrims settle home)