“On Monday, April 3, the seniors on pilgrimage went from Galilee to Jerusalem where they spent the last few days of their trip. Upon arriving, they had a chance to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the church that contains the tomb of Jesus as well as the place of his crucifixion. Since we were able to arrive at the later hours when they were about ready to close, the students had quality time to pray there without a lot of distractions and crowds. Most of the students have mentioned that visiting this church was the highlight of their pilgrimage. Most of them had the opportunity to spend the night in prayer in that very church. A number of them said it was a life-changing experience and that they felt closer to God there than ever before.
The next morning, we had a chance to celebrate Mass at the site of the tomb of Our Lord. The rest of the day was spent visiting important sites in Jerusalem: the place where Mary was born and lived as a child, the place where Jesus taught his disciples the Our Father, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the site where the Jewish high priest lived. It was there that they put Jesus on trial and kept him prisoner until he was to go on trial before Pontius Pilate the next day. It was also there where Peter denied Jesus three times. We also prayed the Stations of the Cross following the actual path Jesus took when he was carrying his cross to where he was crucified.
We visited Bethlehem on Wednesday, April 5. The first stop was at Ein Karen. Here we visited the church commemorating the visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth and the birthplace of St. John the Baptist. After lunch, we visited the Church of the Nativity. The church was built over the cave where Jesus was born.
Our last day was packed full of fun activities. We started our day visiting the Cenacle, which is the place where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples. Ironically enough, we visited this place on Holy Thursday, the day which that event actually took place over two thousand years ago! We were blessed to not have anyone in the room while we were there. It gave us some quality prayer time there. We also visited Lazarus Tomb, the place where Jesus brought back Lazarus to life. Everyone had a chance to go into the tomb and let Jesus call them to new life after a moment of prayer.
After a brief visit to the Jordan River, the place where Jesus was baptized, we went to Jericho, the oldest city in the world, and were able to ride a camel and do some shopping. From Jericho, we went to the Dead Sea, where the students were able to float in the salty waters and coat themselves with the mud from the Dead Sea. We wrapped up our day with the Holy Thursday Mass at the Notre Dame Pilgrim Center.
This group of students were all grateful that they had a chance to go on this pilgrimage. It was so nice to have this opportunity for them after the three-year suspension due to COVID. It was impressive to see how they all took full advantage of the moments of prayer at each site they visited. They came seeking Jesus on this outing they definitely found him. They all admitted that this was a perfect way to wrap up their time at Everest before graduating. It gave them perspective on what truly matters in life.” -Fr. Thomas Salazar, LC
