While autumn has definitely begun in Jerusalem, hot extended summer weather awaited the day’s pilgrims at Capernaum.
The village of Peter, used to receiving hundreds of thousands pilgrims who come from all over the world to relive the events that took place here, had the joy on this October Saturday to welcome local pilgrims, Christians from Jerusalem and Nazareth. How many times on this trip did we hear Christians from Jerusalem say, “This is the first time I’ve been here!” A “here” that is only a two-hour car ride from Jerusalem. Even their pastor shared his surprise during the homily.
It was precisely to fill this need that the Custody of the Holy Land decided to add three holy places in the Galilee, hitherto a bit neglected, to its calendar of itinerant pilgrimages: Naim, Tabgha and Capernaum. From now on, we will be able to celebrate three memorials:
1. The announcement of the Holy Eucharist, the third Friday of Eastertide
2. The Solemnity of Saint Peter the Apostle, June 29th
3. The Solemnity of the Village of Capernaum, Jesus’ other home, the second Saturday of October
In the presence of the Custos of the Holy Land and many Franciscans who came from Jerusalem and the Galilee, the crowd assembled for an open-air Eucharist in the newly arranged open area between the convent and the church that overlooks Peter’s house.
Everyone then went in procession from the shore of the lake through all the remains of the village that were wonderfully shown off to advantage by archaeologists. Among the crowd, we could see the smiling Fra Stanislau Loffreda who, since the death of Fra Virgilio Corbo, had continued working alone on their joint project of bringing this gospel village to modern day eyes.
In preparing the liturgy, the Custody sought to emphasize three aspects of Jesus’ life in Capernaum: Jesus who preached and taught the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Jesus who called the first apostles, Jesus who heals all illness and forgives sin. These are the points that Fra Feras Hejazin, pastor of the Jerusalem parish, also emphasized in his homily. He invited each person in the assembly to become a missionary in his own turn, to discover, beyond the daily round of home, work, social security, etc., the quality of happiness offered by the Kingdom of God, which gently reproaches them for not having close enough relationships—they who live in the Holy Land—with the stones of this land that made of them living stones.
At the end of the celebration, the Custos blessed large baskets of fruit that were then distributed to everyone attending. This was intended as an act of praise to the Lord for this season of the year: the end of working the land, a thanksgiving for the fruits the land produced.
The day ended with a large dinner shared on the lakeshore, prepared by the Capernaum community and its new superior, Fra Arkadiusz Blecharczyk.
If these lines have awakened in you a desire for the village of Peter, do not hesitate to come and visit, either on the ground or through the website the Custody has created for it
http://www.capharnaum.custodia.org/
The village of Peter, used to receiving hundreds of thousands pilgrims who come from all over the world to relive the events that took place here, had the joy on this October Saturday to welcome local pilgrims, Christians from Jerusalem and Nazareth. How many times on this trip did we hear Christians from Jerusalem say, “This is the first time I’ve been here!” A “here” that is only a two-hour car ride from Jerusalem. Even their pastor shared his surprise during the homily.
It was precisely to fill this need that the Custody of the Holy Land decided to add three holy places in the Galilee, hitherto a bit neglected, to its calendar of itinerant pilgrimages: Naim, Tabgha and Capernaum. From now on, we will be able to celebrate three memorials:
1. The announcement of the Holy Eucharist, the third Friday of Eastertide
2. The Solemnity of Saint Peter the Apostle, June 29th
3. The Solemnity of the Village of Capernaum, Jesus’ other home, the second Saturday of October
In the presence of the Custos of the Holy Land and many Franciscans who came from Jerusalem and the Galilee, the crowd assembled for an open-air Eucharist in the newly arranged open area between the convent and the church that overlooks Peter’s house.
Everyone then went in procession from the shore of the lake through all the remains of the village that were wonderfully shown off to advantage by archaeologists. Among the crowd, we could see the smiling Fra Stanislau Loffreda who, since the death of Fra Virgilio Corbo, had continued working alone on their joint project of bringing this gospel village to modern day eyes.
In preparing the liturgy, the Custody sought to emphasize three aspects of Jesus’ life in Capernaum: Jesus who preached and taught the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Jesus who called the first apostles, Jesus who heals all illness and forgives sin. These are the points that Fra Feras Hejazin, pastor of the Jerusalem parish, also emphasized in his homily. He invited each person in the assembly to become a missionary in his own turn, to discover, beyond the daily round of home, work, social security, etc., the quality of happiness offered by the Kingdom of God, which gently reproaches them for not having close enough relationships—they who live in the Holy Land—with the stones of this land that made of them living stones.
At the end of the celebration, the Custos blessed large baskets of fruit that were then distributed to everyone attending. This was intended as an act of praise to the Lord for this season of the year: the end of working the land, a thanksgiving for the fruits the land produced.
The day ended with a large dinner shared on the lakeshore, prepared by the Capernaum community and its new superior, Fra Arkadiusz Blecharczyk.
If these lines have awakened in you a desire for the village of Peter, do not hesitate to come and visit, either on the ground or through the website the Custody has created for it
http://www.capharnaum.custodia.org/