Bishop Nelson Perez and 50 pilgrims from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland began a 10-day journey to the Holy Land on Oct. 23. The Catholic Community Foundation coordinated the trip and Deacon Dennis Conrad from St. Christopher Parish in Rocky River will be sending regular updates to share their experiences throughout the pilgrimage. His seventh installment is below.
Day 7 of the pilgrimage focused on the end of Jesus’ life here on earth, which was the beginning for Christianity. Our day started before sunrise, as the pilgrims prayed the Stations of the Cross following the route Jesus took almost 2,000 years ago. The stations end in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church encompasses Golgotha as well as the tomb of Jesus Christ. Mass was celebrated at the Calvary Chapel for the pilgrims.
The patriarch of Jerusalem hosted our pilgrims for a discussion on life for the Christians in the Holy Land.
Our next stop was up to the top of the Mount of Olives, where the pilgrims walked down the mount visiting the various religious sites. We started by visiting the Chapel of the Ascension, where the Gospel of Luke tells us Jesus ascended. Walking down the Mount of Olives, we next visited Pater Noster Church built on the site where Jesus taught the disciples how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer, in a multitude of languages, adorns the walls of the church and gardens. As we continued walking down, we stopped at Dominus Flaunt, which commemorates where Jesus wept for Jerusalem. At the bottom of the Mount of Olives, we visited the Garden of Gethsemane. This garden now contains the Church of All Nations, which is built over the “Rock of Agony,” where Jesus prayed alone on the night he was arrested. The garden also still contains olive trees, some of which are more than 2,000 years old and were there at the time of Jesus.
In the afternoon, the pilgrims returned to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Our first stop was the tomb of Jesus. The cliff around the tomb has been removed, leaving the tomb still encased in rock, while allowing the church to be built around it. The pilgrims also saw where St. Helena found the true cross of Christ, a piece of the column where Jesus was tied while he was whipped, the site of the crucifixion, and the slab where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial. As we know, this was not the end but rather the start of Christianity that still exists today.
As we visited these sites, the pilgrims were moved by the reality of it all. We see firsthand just what Jesus endured to save us. A pilgrimage is about being transformed to be more like Christ. As pilgrims, we are called to prayer for others, even when others do not. We are called to carry the burdens of others, both physically and spiritually. We carry these burdens even if their weight causes us to fall multiples times. We are called to have empathy for the suffering and pain of others, even to weep for them. We are called to sacrifice for others. All of these Jesus did for us and so much more.
Our pilgrimage is not just 10 days, but a lifetime. I am reminded of the words of Jesus who said, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” As pilgrims, each of us has been entrusted with more.