Memories in the sieve our pilgrimage in the Holy Land

As Abraham Heschel used to stress, "the point is not that we do not know, rather that God does know. What matters is not our feeling close to God but our certainty and conviction of his being close to us. That was the conviction that radiated some kind of assurance as we reflected on what it means to walk through the footsteps of Christ. As we coped with our rope-line schedule for each day, we were taken aback to remember with gratitude what we had asked from God about our pilgrimage in the Holy Land.

We were fifty-eight (58) participants from California including the couple Romeo and Patti Esperanza, our tour directors from Seed Faith Foundation, who joined the group. Most of them were husbands and wives. A number of them were medical doctors and nurses with specific specializations. Others were employees in certain firms, self-employed and some were senior citizens. Brother Charlie Muscat and I acted as their spiritual directors. There were twenty-three (23) from San Jos, Cerritos (4), Vallejo (3), Saratoga (2), Milpitas (1), Rancho Palos Verdes (8), Hawthorne (2), Redwood City (1), Downey (2), Palos Verdes Estate (3), Long Beach (2), San Francisco (1), San Diego (2) and Glendale (2).

We arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel-Aviv at 19:25 A.M. 7 August Monday. We were met by our tour guide Tsippi Segal and the driver Adnon. They were both Jewish. They took us first to Jaffa, an ancient city, where we saw some archaeological excavations and overview of the beachfront of Tel Aviv. We celebrated mass at the church of Mary, Ark of the Covenant.

Then we went to the Renaissance Jerusalem Hotel where we were housed for our accommodations. It was a plush new hotel though with amenities that one can really enjoy and which makes one's stay comfortable.

The following day we went to the old city of Jerusalem. It is a complete contrast of Tel Aviv. Perhaps, Jerusalem is the only place in the world where people of different faiths such as Jewish, Christians and Muslims, live together, not necessarily in total harmony but, at least, in mutual co-existence. One example though, is the site where, according to our tradition, Jesus had His last supper with His apostles. The room is situated on the second floor of a building where the ground floor is a Jewish shrine of King David and the third floor is used by Muslims.

Jerusalem's history could be traced back 5,000 to 6,000 years

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