Using a sun-dappled altar overlooking the Sea of Galilee, on Friday we St. John's pilgrims had our first of three Holy Eucharist services. Canon Iyad had brought pita and wine. After hearing Paul's exhortation to make of our lives "living sacrifices," we took turns saying how what we'd experienced by the halfway point of our pilgrimage had deepened and enriched our faith lives. Sitting in a circle on rocks, not far from a site associated with the Sermon on the Mount, we disclosed our renewed resolve to seek a closer walk with God and one another, to recognize our blessings, and to find more opportunities in our busy lives to be still and quiet -- as it was for us on that Galilean hillside with the wind in our ears and the sun weighing on our backs.
It was my second time celebrating Holy Eucharist in the Holy Land. There are no words! I had kept my green St. George's College stole in my luggage. After our hillside mass, pilgrim Shirlee, directress of the St. John's Altar Guild, offered to look after it until our final Eucharist next week. At the rate I've been losing things on this trip, that's probably best. I hasten to add that all pilgrims, including wife and daughter, are accounted for.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
No comments:
Post a Comment