A Walk with Jesus
This article was written by Mount alumna Mary Jean Orlando ’87.
In March 2022, our pastor, Father Christopher Monturo, announced a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Italy to take place in January 2023. I knew it would be the chance of a lifetime to join this unforgettable journey and to be led by our pastor with three additional priests.
Our parish, Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Pompeii in Dobbs Ferry, was celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Our Lady of Pompeii in 2022. The anniversary events would culminate with the extension of the trip to Italy, especially in Pompeii.
Mass was celebrated every day during the pilgrimage at a different church.
44 of us plus four priests left January 15, 2023 as we began our travel to the Holy Land. Landing in Tel Aviv, we met our tour guide and bus driver. On the way to Netanya on the Mediterranean Sea, the sky, greeting us like an oil painting, was our welcome to Israel.
Visiting Nazareth the following day, we gathered for Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation, adorned with Marian Mosaics and a dome which marked the site of Mary’s home where she was told by the Archangel Gabriel she would bear God’s son.
Moving on to visit Cana in Galilee we could feel the wonder of the first public miracle Jesus performed, changing water into wine. Approaching this beautiful church with a white gothic exterior and decorative Byzantine mosaic was so striking. It was a special experience for the married couples in our group to renew their wedding vows here.
The next day our pilgrimage took us to the magnificent Sea of Galilee, not only my favorite site but the place I thought was so profound. Although Jesus grew up in Nazareth, He moved on to Capernaum when He began His years of ministry, which became known as the Town of Jesus. We visited the synagogue where He taught. The next site on our walk was Peter’s house. This fishing village commemorates the miracle Jesus performed in multiplying the loaves and fishes and healing the sick as we visited the Church of the Multiplication. A boat ride around the Sea of Galilee revived the memory of Jesus walking on the water, calming a storm and making Peter and Andrew fishers of men. Dancing the Hava Nagila was a joyous sailing experience!
A new day in Magdala, Mary Magdalene’s hometown, takes us to Mount Tabor and the Church of the Transfiguration. After a long winding upward ride on the bus, which seemed like a never-ending narrow path, we finally reached the top of the mountain. It was here that Jesus manifested His glory and divine state, His face radiant and clothes dazzling white as Jesus appeared to Peter, James, and John.
Later, our arrival at the Wailing Wall, also called the Western Wall, was an emotional and amazing experience. A pilgrimage site in Jerusalem, over 2000 years old, the limestone Wall is an extraordinary sight. The plaza was bustling with people, some pilgrimage groups like ours, others there with families and friends. Some were praying and dancing, which was related to a religious rite. The Wall is about 60 feet tall and 160 feet long, divided for women on one side and men on the other, with men having to wear something on their head. Every year visitors leave millions of handwritten prayers between the crevices of the Wall. As I approached the Wall, I was flanked by young girls placing their prayers into the stone, many of them crying as I set my prayers in the crevices. Father Christopher invited our parishioners not travelling with us to submit their intentions which he carried to Israel and placed into the Wailing Wall.
Another early start as the sun rises for a new day, we arrive in Bethlehem, an enlightening city and the birthplace of Jesus. Making a stop at Shepherd’s Field, we saw some caves that were characteristic of stables at that time. We came upon a little boy with his lamb, Rosa. Father Christopher and Father Fidelis could not resist picking up Rosa on their shoulders. We could see from Rosa’s expression and her tail spinning fast she was startled, but she didn’t mind being in a picture!
Travelling on to the Church of the Nativity, we would encounter an outstanding event in being able to see where Jesus was born. Joining a line to enter a low cave which the church is built over, we descended a narrow winding stairway of rather steep worn stone steps to the grotto leading to Jesus’ birthplace. The place where Jesus was born is marked by a l4-point silver star fixed firmly into the marble of the floor with the words engraved in Latin: “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.”
We moved on to the Church of the Visitation, Elizabeth and Zachariah’s home, the Church of John the Baptist, and the Cenacle or “Upper Room” where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper.
We started the next day with Mass at Bethpage Church, which celebrates the memory of Jesus coming into Jerusalem.
We rode to the top of the Mount of Olives and walked down the Palm Sunday path to the Garden of Gethsemane at the Church of All Nations where Jesus revealed His words of agony before His arrest and crucifixion. In the Garden are ancient olive trees, also those planted by Pope Paul VI in 1964 and by Pope Francis in 2014.
At the Israel Museum, awaiting us among the exhibitions, was ancient archaeology of Israel, especially a model of Jerusalem during the time of the Second Temple and the Shrine of the Book containing the Dead Sea Scrolls. Their collection also includes sculpture and other cultural art displays.
As the pilgrimage continued, day by day, we came to the Valley of the Shadow of Death, so named as it is a place of deserts and hollow craters which the sun does not reach. A phrase testified to this in Psalm 23 in the Bible.
Approaching the Jordan River, we prepare to renew our Baptismal Promises, recalling the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. The river’s significance imparts a feeling of hope and healing through this Holy Water.
We walked the Southern Steps, Jesus’ route to Jerusalem.
After Mass was celebrated in Jericho at Good Shepherd Chapel, we travelled on to Kalia Beach at the Dead Sea, another highlight on the pilgrimage. The high salt concentration of the water makes it fit for floating. A beautiful, sunny day, many of the pilgrims in our group donned their swimsuits and went swimming or just floated. I just wet my hands and relaxed for a while at the beach watching the activity.
Early in the morning, 5:00 a.m., on one of our last days in Israel, we walked the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross. Jesus tread this path on the way to Calvary, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After returning to the hotel for breakfast, we left again on the way to Calvary. Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We saw the Stone of Anointing where Jesus was laid in preparation for burial after being removed from the Crucifix.
On our last night in Israel, we enjoyed a wonderful farewell dinner at the Notre Dame Center overlooking Jerusalem. We all gave our thanks and appreciation to our great tour guide and bus driver.
The next day we prepared to board our flight to Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome. Our first stop on the pilgrimage with our guide was the Catacombs of St. Sebastian and we celebrated Mass at the Church of St. Sebastian.
The next day we celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, then visited the ancient Roman Forum and Colosseum.
Our pilgrimage experienced a blessed audience with Pope Francis, along with many other groups. People were there from all over the world. The Pope also blessed our religious articles.
The next morning, we travelled from Rome to Pompeii where we celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. We said the Rosary after Mass.
In the afternoon, we went on an excursion walking through the ruins of Pompeii.
The following day, our last before returning home, was spent in Rome celebrating Mass at the Tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica, touring the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, and Michelangelo’s incredible Pieta.
A lovely evening awaited our group as we enjoyed and appreciated a farewell dinner in anticipation of the close of the pilgrimage.
On January 28, 2023, our group departed from Rome for our return flight home.
Many thanks to our pastor, Father Christopher Monturo, who has led these pilgrimages before, without whom we would not have had this opportunity.
This pilgrimage was a very blessed, magnificent experience as the Bible came to life every day!