Happy New Year! For us, the new Dawn arrives on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. A big transition today as we move from the north and Galilee south to Jerusalem.
We start our day on the Mount of Beatitudes for Mass. A lovely site looking out over the sea and recollecting the longest sermon of Jesus’s talks, Matthew 5–7. Here we pray the 3rd Luminous Mystery.
The boat awaits us for a short voyage to pretend we are the fishermen called by Jesus. I share my experience of fishing all night with two Jewish fisherman. After this, we eat Saint Peter‘s Fish, which is always a lot of fun, especially for the kids! We all the fish with the head on 🙂
After Haifa and Stella Maris, the home of the Carmelites, I share my conversion story as we drive south to Jerusalem. But in the Bible, it always says “up to Jerusalem”!
We arrive at the Dan Panorama Hotel within walking distance of the Old City and we settle in for five nights. After a good dinner, we all get to bed and prepare for Bethlehem tomorrow.