There are a few missing pieces that won't be finalized until about August, so I put my best guesses in bold blue. Nevertheless, this is going to be a trip that is both exhilarating and exhausting. I have 4 more days off after the return and I think I'm going to need them.
This article is going to be focused on the travel aspect of the trip and how managing my time, packing and unpacking and adequate rest are going to be crucial.
The flight to Tel Aviv will take about 13 hours, give or take. There may or may not be a connecting flight. If there is, it is most likely New York City.
Estimated arrival in Tel Aviv will be somewhere between 3:00 - 7:00 PM local time (between 8:00 AM- Noon EST)
After customs etc, we will meet the group, check into the hotel and gather in the dining hall for dinner at about 7:00 PM. Assuming I wrap up dinner at about 8:00 PM, it could be more than 20 hours since I arrived at Dulles. I figure that I will need at least 4 hours of sleep on the plane to manage that without much difficulty.
A long day by motor coach from Tel Aviv to Migdal (about 100 miles) will be punctuated by about 3-5 miles walking at stops at 3 locations.
Caesara Martima
Cana
Nazareth
We arrive in our hotel by the Sea of Galilee. Dinner at 7 and then sleep.
The next day is started on a boat on the Sea of Galilee before setting out to Capernaum, The mount of beatitudes, Tabgha, Saint Peter's primacy and Magdala before returning to the hotel for dinner at 7:00 and overnight. 6 destinations in one day. I imagine there will be a lot of walking. Mass is included in the day.
We will now start the approx.100-mile trek southward after packing our bags to prepare to sleep in a different location again. Including Virginia and the plane, this will the 5th different place I have slept in 6 days. That's a lot of packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, in small windows of time. Organization will be critical. During our all-day trek to Jerusalem, we will make stops at Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration and the site of Jesus temptation in Jerico. Mass is included in the day.
Up early and out to:
The site of the birth of John the Baptist
The site of the Visitation.
The shepherd's field in Bethlehem
The site of the Nativity in Manger's square
back to the hotel for dinner and overnight. Mass is included in the day.
Today we drive through the wilderness where Jesus stayed for 40 days, go the site in Qumran where the dead sea scrolls were discovered and then swim in the Dead Sea before returning to the Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight. Mass is included in the day.
Our 4th night in the Notre Dame hotel in Jerusalem is preceded by Mass along with the following destinations.
The Mount of Olives
The shrine of the Lord's prayer
The site where Jesus wept for Jerusalem
The Garden of Gethsemane
The church of all nations, built over the 'Rock of Agony' on which Jesus prayed alone.
The western wall
The Upper room
The site of Mary's dormition.
Before our final night in Jerusalem, we will walk the actual Way of the Cross, celebrate Mass at the tomb of Jesus, the site of the crucifixion and resurrection, the pool at Bethsaida and the Western wall.
We will then pack up for a coach ride from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv where I will depart for my 2nd plane trip and will sleep in my 6th different location in just 11 days. By days end, I will have attended Mass at least 11 days in a row and walked 30-50 miles and traveled hundreds by plane and coach. We spend this night in Lisbon, Portugal.
Pack the bags yet again. We head north by bus to Fatima, stopping along the way at Santarem for Mass and veneration of a 13th century Eucharistic miracle, and at Aljustrel, the birthplace and home of the three shepherd children. Dinner and overnight in Fatima, making Mass 12 days in a row, visiting more than 30 sites and sleeping in 7 different places in only 12 days. Add in the travel time and the walking time and this is really going to something.
This day is totally dedicated to Fatima and we spend a 2nd night there. Mass in Fatima will be incredible.
Pack up again. On to Salamanca. We visit a Castle and other sites. Celebrating my 14th consecutive daily mass and spending the night in an 8th different location in 4 different countries in just 2 weeks. We will spend hours on the bus and probably hours walking too.
Pack up yet again, prepare to sleep in a 9th different place and go to a 15th daily mass with some bus riding and walking in between. We celebrate that Mass in Alba de Tormes at no less than the monastery of Saint Theresa of Avila. Then we travel to her hometown of Avila, home also of Saint John of Avila and Saint John of the Cross. Then we visit the magnificent city of Burgos and stay there for the night.
The suitcases are packed again as we head to another country- France. On the way, we will visit Loyola, the home of the founder of the Jesuit order, Saint Ignatius. After a long ride through the Pyrenees mountains, we arrive at Lourdes, France where we spent the next 3 nights.
A plane trip to Paris, then at least 13 hours to home.
The total- 17 nights spent in 5 countries and over the Atlantic, 17 daily masses, 8 hotels, 3 plane rides, dozens of bus and coach rides, probably 65 miles walking or more.
Why am I bringing this up?
The constant movement and activity is going to delay the processing of the spiritual significance of this trip. It may take months for me to fully digest it.
There are just too many sites of saints and sites of miracles, moving quickly through them, for my mind to be able to process it all at once. This is a lifetime packed into less than 3 weeks and the impact it is going to have on me is something I know words will not be able to convey.
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