A few short profound words

These are important words for ourselves and our children from Pope Francis.  They are words that will give us hope and direction in all of the circumstances that meet our life, the best of them, and the most difficult.  If you read this with your , and family, and talk about it, it will open up a widening world of love in your homes and prepare your children for the outside world that might look very different from their life. "Go and be my witnesses to the ends of the earth."  And -  Be ready to be blessed by many others!

I thought that this was quite profound...and this has been my experience.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-says-everyone-can-do-good-regardless-of-belief/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29&utm_term=daily+news#.UZ2x7KdH1-I.email

 

Testimonies, Sites, War Threats

Waking up this morning, middle of the night, to the chanting, call to prayer, by the Muslim groups here in Jerusalem. Each day has been filled to the brim with visiting sites or approximate areas where the miracles of Jesus took place, or major events in the Gospel. Yesterday we got to drink water from Jacob's well, and the day before we spent time in Bethlehem. We are now in Jerusalem now, and walking the way of the cross is on our calendar. On Friday we return to the States. Other highlights have been our times of prayer and time for reflections as a group. On the bus rides, many of the Pilgrims have shared their personal faith journeys, and these have been so inspiring. Sunday brought the news that Israel attacked Syria at some sites that held weaponry which threatened Israeli's safety. Syria claimed this an Act of War and promised to retaliate. Here we were, in the midst of it all. We thought at first that the airport was closed down and that we would be stuck in the middle of a war. But life here is going on as normal. No one here seemed to even notice.

First Few Days In Israel

Hi! We are staying in Nazareth! the City of 70 thousand is very different from the village of 500 or so when Christ lived here. It takes quite a bit of imagination. but the sky and the heat are the same and our boat trip across the Sea of Galilee today was quite memorable! we have an enthusiastic group, and we had some quite lively dancing on the boat. Someone suggested we dance the wonderful Jewish dance, and accompanied by music, we had a great time. Goodnight. We are all quite tired and need to be ready for our 6:30 breakfast and off to the sight of the Beatitudes.