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 sent regular updates sharing their experiences throughout the pilgrimage. His 10th -- and final -- installment is below. The group returned home safely on Nov. 1.
The pilgrims are en route to their homes, but they are forever transformed. While in Magdala, the pilgrims visited The Encounter Chapel which had the above image behind the altar. Take a moment and review the image before reading the rest of this entry.
The image represents the story of the woman who had a blood disease for more than 10 years and no one could cure her. As Jesus walked by, she touched his cloak and she was healed. The woman's life was forever changed after her encounter with Jesus.
This pilgrimage took us down some familiar roads but also some roads we could not have imagined. As we journeyed, we traveled not only where Jesus walked, but we also traveled with Jesus. Some pilgrims walked alongside Jesus as the disciples did in this story. But many of us are like the woman, in that we encounter Jesus in our lowliness and in our humility. A pilgrim needs to do more than just walk alongside Jesus. We need to seek an encounter with Jesus.
After our return to Cleveland, each of us will continue our pilgrim journey home to the Father. It is up to us to decide if we will walk alongside Jesus or truly encounter him on our journey.