Holy Land April 2008

Thirty pilgrims arrived at Heathrow Airport at 2pm for a 5 o’clock flight that arrived at Amman at 12.15am.  The coach was waiting for us but whether it was sleepy or unemployed I dont know.  the journey to the sisters outside Amman should have been less than an hour but the stuttering coach could barely make it up the hill and half way down the motorway the driver turned round into a garage and had it replaced with another coach.  the sisters in true Arab style, stayed up for us and gave us a great welcome.  We got to bed at 3am – not the best start to a pilgrimage.  Worse was to follow!

Tuesday 15th

We had a late start with Morning Prayer at 9.15.  After an Arab breakfast of egg and yoghurt with zeta herbs the bus arrived to take us to the Baptism site on the west bank of the Jordan and we renewed our Baptism Promises on the side of the muddy trickle that was all that was left of the River after much of the water had been taken higher up the river for irrigation.  It was an eerry prospect making promises in the heat under an awning with an armed guard, but the spiritual significance didn’t go unnoticed.  the site was very overgrown and crying out for development.  The only religious sign so far was a recently built Orthodox Church, but the Priest was to shy to come and talk or sing to us.  However we did hear that the site was ripe for development and in the near future another six Christian Churches were to be built to accommodate the influx of pilgrims expected.  We did see the ruins of a very ancient Church before the river had moved together with the footings of a little chapel called the Chapel of the Garments where Jesus laid aside his garments before John Baptised him in the River Jordan.  the site had more authenticity about it that the tourist attraction just south of the Sea of Galilee.
 
We went on from the Jordan up to Mount Nebo from which Moses looked across the Jordan to Jericho and the Promised land.  Tradition says that Moses was buried somewhere on the mountain but his grave has never been discovered.  The Franciscans have down a lot of excavating on top of the mountain and discovered a number of Byzantine Churches with plenty of excellent mosaics.  Unfortunately, restoration work in progress prevented us for seeing much of them.  We had to be satisfied with photos and printed copies further down the mountain.  However the heat was too much for the coach, and it had to be replaced again – three coaches in twelve hours.  It too suffered from the after effect of the Jumbo earthquake in 747 which had done so much damage in the locality.  the Guide tried his best to keep us amused with Pamphilia jokes about the lion and the brainless gazelle.  We eventually got back to the Rosary Sisters for a votive Mass to the Holy Spirit to get us back on an even keel.

Wednesday 16th

We spent the day visiting schools in Jordan and were surprised by the lack of facilities in the schools and the low wages of Jordanians in general.  the school I visited was a Kindergarten school in Salt.  there were fifty children in the School but only five little girls because many families saw the need for education but could only afford to educate the boys, the girls had to stay at home and pick up what they could from home.  there were little or no educational visual aids in the class rooms and the teaching was very basic.

Thursday 17th

We set out for the Allenby Bridge and entry into Palestine but had to wait over two hours at the Customs Post being processed by Israeli Customs before entry.  Apparently my artificial hips were considered to be a secret weapon and had to be investigated!  then we drove to Bethlehem through another check-point in the Wall to the Rosary Sisters.  We were their first guests since last November, when we stayed with them. A former Novitiate with its own Church – very comfortable and spacious.

Friday 18th

We set out early for the Basilica of the Nativity.  Through the “eye of a needle” gateway, so constructed to stop the rich and powerful riding into Church on their camels.  Rami our guide explained the early history of the Basilica, how it had been fought over throughout many centuries and how the different Christian denominations had the safeguard their rights and privileges against one another.  We went down to the crypt to venerate the spot of our Saviour’s bith marked out by the fourteen point star.  We then went into the Catholic Church of St Catherine and down to the cave cell of St Jerome for Mass and heard about the years he spent in semi darkness translating the Vulgate version of the Bible from Greek into Latin.  He was looked after by a devoted St Paula and her daughter – one of the first Priest’s Housekeeper.  When we came back into the main Basilica with its perpetual Christmas decorations, there was a memorial service fgoing on for a Greek Orthodox family.  We stopped to see how different Greek Liturgy was to Latin.
 
We visited Bethlehem University to see how Christian and Muslim student get along studying together for their degrees and were pleasantly surprised at the attitudes and harmony clearly felt by all students and staff.  It was plain to see that the pursuit of education was more important than political gain.  the problem was, what are we educating them for when so many emigrate once they have their degrees?  Having had a delightful taste of the education in the Catering Department – the students entertained us to lunch, we went to have a look around the campus of the university and were shocked to see how the Settlements had virtually surrounded the University encroaching on Palestinian ground. In the afternoon we retreated to the Shepherds Fields to recover our eqamninity and sang a carol in the Bellusci chapel under the stars.  “While shepherds watched their flocks by night….”

Saturday 19th

We made an early start to get through the check points and onto the road to Jericho 347 metres below sea level.  The singing was low level but the Franciscan Garden out at the back was an oasis of green and bright colours.  the Fransican hospitality of dates and soft drinks prepared us for the Mount of Temptations and the searing heat, let alone the persistence of the souvenir sellers.  You have to admire their initiative, one even chased the coach up the mountain on his moped , in the hope that we might stop and buy something.  Lunch in the Inn of Temptation was a luscious self sevice, tempting you with all sorts of desert delicacies which did your waist band no good whatever.  In the afternoon we managed a visit to the home of Martha and Mary and the tomb of their brother Lazarus.

Sunday 20th

We were sent us on a long coach journey south to Bethseba to see the Hebrew Christian Priest from France. He was actually a Chaldean Christian who had worked for a number of years in Iran before having his visa cancelled and was now working among about a hundred hebrew converts and expatriates in a very Jewish city and keeping his head down.  He told us of a problem he had with Messianic Jews who mounted a leaflet campaign in the city and he got the hatemail.  His house church was called the witches house and he was called a wolf in the local paper.  It all worked out well in the end and he and his congregation were left in peace. Unfortunately due to a confusion over times, we did not meet any of the congregation.  Back in Bethlehem in the afternoon we went to see our friends, Issa and Aida from the local school and could understand how difficult it is when you mix politics and religion – besides being head teacher of the local Christian School Issa is also Deputy Mayor in the local Municipality – we were late back!

Monday 21st

We entered Jerusalem early and did an Orientation Course with Bernard in the old city starting with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  As it was the Jewish Feast of Passover, there was no transport allowed in Jerusalem so we had to walk everywhere, but it did mean that when we came to make the Stations of the Cross the Suuk – the street market,  was not so congested as we made our way up to Golgotha.  In the evening we had Mass in the Co Cathedral and our new pilgrims received their pilgrim shells from the Patriarch who had just flown in from Canada.  At the end of a very tiring day we went back to sleep in Bethlehem.

Tuesday 22nd

It was a very hectic day.  We were up before 6am and through the check-point in no time, ready to battle the crowds of pilgrims on top of the Mount of Olives.  Some good sights over Jerusalem with the Dome of the Rock dominating everything.  We had a beautiful Mass half way down at “Dominus Flevit” where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and then on down to the Garden of Olives, the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemene for a Meditation – all that before lunch at the Knights Palace.  If that wasn’t enough, in the afternoon we walked through the Armenian Quarter of the Old City to the Cenacle, with its lovely stained glass, and on to the Church of Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Christ.  Perhaps this is the only authentic part, with the steps up from the Kedron Valley where Jesus must surely have trod on his way to the House of Caiphas the High Priest.  We ended the hectic day with a visit to the Seminary for Vespers and Supper.  The students and Fr Rector were elated because they had just received their visas which enabled them to go home for Easter holdays for the first time in a year.

Wednesday 23rd

Feast of St George, we left behind the Battle of the Roses and spent the day travelling over the Allenby Bridge back to the Sisters at Amman and packing to come home the next day.

Holy Land 2009…

Next May, there will be an ecumenical parish pilgrimage to the Holy Land covering Galilee, Southern Palestine and Jerusalem. Further details to come.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Peter Coldham has written a very interesting piece on Archbishop Fulton Sheen – all about the man and the recommendation for his canonisation put forward by his American diocese.

ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN

Those who so much enjoyed watching the CaFe programmes last autumn which featured Archbishop Fulton Sheen presenting his lively exposition of Catholic belief, will wish to know that he has now been officially put forward by his American diocese with a recommendation for his canonisation.

The following is an abstract from the Catholic Herald article which appeared in the issue of 8th February this year

The first phase of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s cause for canonisation was completed last week as Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria nailed shut the wooden box containing the late archbishop’s writings and testimonials and sent them to the Vatican. . . . The faithful, including one hundred members of the Sheen family, crowded round the crate containing 6,500 pieces of information relating to the Archbishop’s life.

Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1895, Peter John Sheen was ordained at the age of 24 and so fresh-faced that when he arrived as a substitute priest he was told: “Get over to the church, the other altar boys are dressed already.” He became a public figure in the 1930s thanks to his America-wide radio show The Catholic Hour and, after the second world war, his television programme Life is Worth Living regularly reached a weekly audience of 30 million people. When he won an Emmy award in 1952 he said: “I feel it is time I paid tribute to my four writers – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.”

He was made Auxiliary Bishop of New York in 1961 and in 1969, fifty years after his ordination, he was appointed as titular Archbishop of Newport, Wales. He died in 1979, two months after Pope John Paul had embraced him at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York with the words: “You have written and spoken well of the Lord Jesus Christ: you are a loyal son of the Church.”

A more detailed appraisal of Fulton Sheen’s life and work has been written by Thomas Reeves, the author of several books including the definitive biography from which the following is taken.

“Many Catholics have a clearer understanding of Sheen, for more than a dozen of his books remain in print, several anthologies of his writings are for sale, and his television shows and tapes continue to be popular. The Eternal Word Television Network regularly features Sheen videotapes. Moreover, an effort is underway, formally inaugurated by the late Cardinal O’Connor of New York, to have the Archbishop canonized.

In preparing [his biography] I discovered a brilliant, charismatic, and holy man who has been underestimated by historians, largely overlooked by the contemporary mass media, and forgotten by too many Catholics. Indeed, I came to the conclusion that Fulton J. Sheen was the most important Catholic of twentieth century America. His father was a modestly prosperous farmer, his mother a hard-working and popular farm wife and mother of four boys. The Sheen children were gifted with high intelligence and for most of his life Fulton would work a nineteen hour day, seven days a week. Fulton excelled in his school work from the start, and was an extremely popular youngster. Rather short (five foot seven) and slim, he was unable to compete effectively in athletics and so poured his energy into becoming a skilled debater. His beautiful speaking voice, penetrating eyes, pleasing personality, and outstanding academic preparation proved effective in competitions. From his earliest years, there seemed to be a consensus of opinion in the family that he would become a priest and he was ordained in 1917.
After a brief and successful stint in a slum church in Peoria (a test given by his bishop to see if he would be obedient), Sheen became an instructor at Catholic University. He was teaching philosophy and theology from 1926 until 1950. While proving to be a popular professor, Sheen’s interests were primarily off-campus. After writing two scholarly books, he began publishing a lengthy list of more or less popular books and articles that would earn him honours and praise throughout the country. In 1928, he went on The Catholic Hour, a nationally broadcast radio program. He quickly became the program’s most popular preacher and for more than two decades was asked to preach during Lent and at Holy Days.

Francis Cardinal Spellman of New York, one of the most powerful figures in the Church, took Sheen under his wing after World War II, and in 1948 invited him to join a world-wide tour and assume the bulk of the journey’s preaching duties. The two men greatly appreciated each other’s talents and in 1950 Spellman arranged for him to head the American branch of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the Church’s principal source of missionary funds. The appointment came with a mitre, and in 1951, he was consecrated in Rome. He flung himself into his new duties, revealing his great skill as a fund-raiser. He continued to produce books, articles, and newspaper columns at an astonishing rate, and accepted invitations to preach throughout the country and across the world. Sheen’s personal success at winning converts attracted national attention. Unmentioned in the press were the thousands of average Americans who came into the Church because of Sheen’s efforts.

When, in 1951, the Archdiocese of New York decided to enter the world of television, Sheen was a natural choice to appear on screen. The initial half-hour lectures were broadcast on the tiny Dumont Network, opposite big budget programs by comedian Milton Berle, known as “Mr. Television,” and singer-actor Frank Sinatra. No one gave Sheen a chance to compete effectively. Soon, however, he took the country by storm, winning an Emmy, appearing on the cover of Time magazine, and entering the “most admired” list of Americans. In its second year, Life Is Worth Living moved to the ABC Network and had a sponsor, the Admiral Corporation.

Sheen’s talks, delivered in the full regalia of a bishop, were masterful. He worked on each presentation for 35 hours, delivering it in Italian and French to clarify his thoughts before going on television. He at no time used notes or cue cards, and always ended on time. The set was a study with a desk, a few chairs, and some books; the only prop was a blackboard and a four-foot statue of Madonna and Child on a pedestal was clearly visible. Sheen’s humour, charm, intelligence, and considerable acting skill radiated throughout the Live Is Worth Living series, captivating millions eager to hear Christian (only indirectly Catholic) answers to life’s common problems.

For all of his concerns about worldly issues, Sheen was above all someone who fervently believed that God is love, that miracles happen, and that the Catholic Church best taught the divinely revealed truths about life and death. Still, he was not a plaster saint. Vanity was a constant problem for him, and he knew it. He lived and dressed well and enjoyed the publicity he received in the media and the applause of adoring crowds. Perhaps more serious was an offence that was not discovered until twenty years after his death: while a young teacher at Catholic University, in order to expedite his academic career, he invented a second doctorate for himself. Sheen could also be difficult at times when his authority was challenged. In the early 1950s, he and Cardinal Spellman, a very proud man, engaged in a bitter feud largely over the dispersal of Society funds. The struggle led to a private audience before Pius XII, who sided with Sheen. In a rage, Spellman terminated Sheen’s television series, made him a local outcast, and drove him from the Archdiocese. In 1966, Sheen became the Bishop of Rochester, U.S.A. He was an active participant in the Vatican II sessions in Rome and thoroughly endorsed the reforms that followed. During the last decade of his life, while battling serious heart disease, he continued at a breathtaking pace to travel, speak, and write. During the course of his more than 50-year career in the Church, he wrote 66 books and countless articles. No other Catholic figure of the century could match his literary productivity. In October 1979 when he met John Paul II in the sanctuary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral thunderous applause greeted their embrace. The Pope told the 84-year-old Archbishop that he had been a loyal son of the Church. Nothing could have been more pleasing than to hear this from the Pope himself before he died on 9 December 1970 in his chapel before the Blessed Sacrament.”

The very engaging talks by Fulton Sheen which we had the privilege of hearing in the parish last year should form a fitting curtain-raiser to the next series of Ca Fe programmes starting on Thursday 1st May which will feature many internationally known contributors such as Delia Smith (of cookery fame), Cardinal Arinze, Archbishop Coleridge (presenter of a previous series of Ca Fe talks), Nicky Gumbell of Alpha fame, and Lord Alton. Diary bookings to be made now!