It has been a while since my last post and I have been meaning to post for sometime now. I am not sure the best way to go about sharing my experiences in the Holy Land, my time in Detroit with family and friends, my silent retreat, my brief visit to Honduras, and now my first week in El Salvador. I could probably spend several blog posts on each and only touch the surface, so my thought is that I will somehow mold these experiences under a few blogs – a time of transition. And who knows, as the Spirit moves within me, I may find myself in the future recalling some experiences of those mentioned above or even in my time in Jordan.
After finishing my semester in Jordan, I spent four days visiting parts of the Holy Land, mainly Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Despite the amount of tourists, the countless shops filling the narrow streets of Jerusalem’s Old City with men inviting you into their shops with the “best prices” and “authentic souvenirs,” I found my four days to be very spiritual and religious, which is what I had hoped for. Traveling alone, despite a few lonely moments, allowed me to see what I wanted to see and whenever I wanted to. Thus, I was very mobile which worked well to my advantage. I find it difficult to give full justice to the Holy Land and what I experienced as a Catholic pilgrim. In a sense, my time in the Holy Land was a pilgrimage – I visited historical sites of interest to the three major world religions and followed in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. My brief time in the Holy Land was rushed in some ways, as I attempted to see all that I possibly could, and too short because there is so much to see that I could use a few weeks rather than a few days to accomplish that, yet despite those two things I found myself deeply enjoying the time I could spend in the Holy Land, desiring more and more to return in the future (inshallah!).
Rather than listing and talking about every single site that I visited, I prefer to highlight three events/themes. 1. Hospitality in Bethlehem. On my first day in Jerusalem, I met a friend – a person who came to show me his family and what hospitality and Christianity really means. His name is Khalid, and we met as he was offering to drive me in his taxi up the Mount of Olives. Well, I did not want to pay for a ride up, but the walk was steep and he said he was heading up there anyway. So I entered his taxi and in about five minutes after getting to the top and talking briefly, he says he wants to take me to Bethlehem to see his brother, Khalil. Well, I have a hard time saying no. So of course, we went. And I look back and see that God played a major role in my saying “yes” to this experience. We spoke the entire way about Palestinians and their lives, their struggles, and the unfortunate circumstances occurring in the Holy Land. I met his brother, who owned a shop near Manger Square in Bethlehem – full of beautiful, handcrafted pieces of art made mostly of olive wood in their home. The two days that I was in Bethlehem, I spent most of my time with Khalil and his family at their shop where I was served breakfast, multiple servings of coffee and tea (a very Middle Eastern courtesy) throughout the day. Friends of Khalil’s would come by throughout the day and sit down beside us around the charcoal fire outside his shop, as the weather was pretty cold and latter began to rain. We spoke about everything – Christianity, Christmas, Palestinians, the conflict in the Holy Land, their hopes and dreams. I was brought into a community, a family, with only a desire to welcome me and accompany me as a fellow Christian.
3. In Jerusalem, on every Friday afternoon around 3 pm, the Franciscan Friars lead the Stations of the Cross and process down Via Dolorosa with pilgrims and tourists, culminating at the Tomb of Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. Prior to departing for Bethlehem on Friday, December 23rd, I participated in the procession of the Stations of the Cross with the Franciscans. It was such an incredible experience to imagine the 14 stations that Christ, through pain and misery, gave himself completely to God, and in doing this our sins were forgiven.
After this joyful, amazing, and at times lonely experience, I returned to the States after four months of living abroad. Now, I knew that time flies when you are abroad (thus, savor every moment), but I did not realize that the same would happen at home. My days were spent mostly visiting with family and friends, catching up with them, sharing my experiences, and hearing theirs. It was relaxing and nice to sleep in my own bed. But of course, I have this bug these days which does not allow me to stay at home in Dearborn Heights for more than a week (just kidding Mom and Dad!). So from January 2nd to the 8th, I was in St. Paul, MN for a silent retreat at the Jesuit Novitiate.
I am amazed at what silence can do. I found my prayer and spiritual life delving deeper and deeper as the time went by, and found myself discerning more and more about what it is that God has in store for me – and it looks good! I have found myself more and more growing in a deeper love and joy with who I am and where it is that I feel that God is calling me. And in addition to this, I have found that in the past 6 months I have developed a deeper relationship with God and with Christ and for that I cannot be more grateful.
As I returned from my silent retreat, I spent a few days at home, visiting with friends and family, visiting the High and spending a few evenings with the Jesuits at the High. After only a few weeks back in the States, I took off again. I guess there is a bug within me after all! I flew on Sunday to San Pedro Sula, Honduras where I spent three of the most amazing days with my Honduran family in El Ocotillo.
