Catholic Pilgrimage "Paths of Mercy " 10 Nights 11 days

Day 1 ARRIVE TEL AVIV

rrive Tel Aviv airport meet and assistance by Monarch-Israel Representative and transferred to your hotel in Tel Aviv for overnight.

Day 2 Caesarea – Carmel – Megiddo - TIBERIAS

Refreshed from a good night’s sleep and a full buffet breakfast, we will visit Joppa, the traditional home of Simon the Tanner (Acts 10:6) and the port city from which the prophet Jonah sailed to try and flee from God. Visit St. Peter’s Church.Then we pass through the fast-growing towns and farms of the Plain of Sharon in route to Caesarea Maritima a large port city built by Herod the Great to honor Roman Caesar Augustus. Herod built a port in the bay and erected all the cultural institutions found in every great Greco-Roman city - a theater, a hippodrome, and a luxurious bathhouse. Then to supply water to the city’s ever-growing population, he built an aqueduct system stretching from the springs of Mt. Carmel to Caesarea. The Book of Acts refers repeatedly to Caesarea as the city Peter visited (Acts 10).
We then proceed north to Mt. Carmel to visit Muhraka where Elijah the prophet “faced off” with the prophets of Ba’al (I Kings 18:20-40). Next, we head to Megiddo (I Kings 9:15-19) where archaeological digs have revealed 26 layers of civilization, including fortifications of King Solomon and a water tunnel of King Ahab. Megiddo provides a magnificent view of the fertile Jezreel Valley, the prophesied site of Armageddon, at the crossroads of the ancient Via Maris “freeway.” Then we head for our hotel in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight

MASS: ST. PETER’S CHURCH.

Day 3 Sea of Galilee – Jesus Ministries

Start our day taking a memorable private boat-ride on the Sea of Galilee on our way to visit the 2,000-year-old Ginnosar Boat (“the Jesus boat”) discovered in 1986. Nearby, we visit the New Testament fishing village of Magdala (Matthew 27:56, 61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1-19; Luke 8:2; 24:10).Continue to Tabgha, the traditional site of the multiplication of bread and fish (John 6:1-14) and then to Capernaum, with an ancient synagogue where Christ taught. enjoy a St. Peter’s Fish lunch on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.Aarrive at the Jordan River, where you’ll have the opportunity to renew your baptism. Visit the Church of the Primacy, which commemorates the naming of Peter as the foundation of the new Church (Matthew 16:18).Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

MASS: CHURCH OF THE PRIMACY.

Day.4 Sea of Galilee – Jesus Ministries - Caesarea Philippi

We will visit the Mount of Beatitudes, the traditional site where Jesus Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Next, we’re off to the ruins of the prehistoric settlement at Tel Dan, once a thriving Canaanite community and the northern limit of the Promised Land. It was here that King Jeroboam set up a pagan calf altar that brought disaster on Israel. See the famous Solomon’s Gate dating back to the days of King Solomon.Back on the bus we continue north to Caesarea Philippi (Banias Spring), where Peter confessed to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16). From this location we can see Mt. Hermon, often covered with snow year- round.
Return to Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

MASS: MT. OF BEATITUDES.

Day.5 Nazareth, Jerusalem

Drive to Mt. Tabor for a visit to the Church of the Transfiguration. Enjoy an outstanding view of the Jezreel Valley, where the battle of Deborah and the Midianites took place (Judges 5).Continue to Cana, best known as the place where, according to the Fourth Gospel, Jesus performed "the first of his signs," his first public miracle, turning a large quantity of water into wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1–11).In Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23), visit the Church of the Annunciation and St. Joseph’s Grotto.Then, visit Mt. Precipice (Luke 4:28-30), where Christ was taken “…to throw Him down the cliff." Take in the view of the Jezreel Valley (Armageddon), Mt. Tabor (The Mount of Transfiguration) and Mt. Gilboa (where Gideon chose his 300 brave men). Then climb the Judean hills to the most beautiful city in the world, JERUSALEM, for dinner and overnight.

MASS: NAZARETH, ST. JOSEPHE’s GROTTO.

Day.6 JERUSALEM

Drive 6 miles south of Jerusalem to Bethlehem (Micha 5:2 and Luke 2:1-4) to visit the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the Holy Land still in use. Construction of this church began in 327AD over the traditional birthplace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we continue through Boaz’s Fields to see Shepherds’ Field, where we will revisit the Christmas story with the angels and shepherds of Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-12). Return to Jerusalem, to Mt. Olives and visit the Chapel of the Ascension (Acts 1:6-11).Then, visit the Church of Pater Noster on the hill where Jesus was inspired with the Lord’s Prayer. The walls of the church are covered with the prayer written in over 85 languages (Matthew 6:9-13) Then, to the top of Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12) for an awe inspiring, panoramic view of the Old City. Walk the “Palm Sunday Walk” to the church called Dominus Flevit (“the Lord weeps”) (Luke 19:41-44). During construction in 1955, archaeologists uncovered artefacts dating back to the Canaanite period as well as tombs from both the Second Temple and Byzantine eras. Also unearthed were the remains of a lovely Byzantine shrine with an elaborate mosaic floor that was incorporated into the church. Continue walking down to the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36). Some of the oldest olive trees in the world are here. We will visit the Church of All Nations, which contains the stone where, according to tradition, Jesus prayed on the night of His betrayal). We will have some time for singing, reflection and prayer in a quite area of the Garden of Gethsemane. Since we know there will be big-time shoppers in our group, we have reserved some time in the afternoon to look for souvenir treasures. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

MASS: GETHSEMANE, Church of All Nations.

Day.7 Jerusalem

Depart the hotel after an early breakfast and enter the Old City and the Christian Quarter through St. Stephen’s Gate (Lions’ Gate). Here is the Pool of Bethesda (John 5) where Jesus healed the blind man and St. Anne's Church, an exceptional example of Crusader architecture, with outstanding acoustics. Visit the Monastery of the Sisters of Zion and see the Floor of the Lithostrotos, the Ecce Homo Arch - Behold the Man - (John 19:5; Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19) and the Church of the Flagellation (John 19:1; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15).Walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 325, Constantine’s mother Helen first requisitioned the area for a church. This 4th- century church was largely destroyed by the Turks in 1009 and partially restored in 1048. The impressive stone decorations adorning the facade date from crusader times. In its current form, the church preserves the crusader structure and is shared by six Christian denominations: Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syrian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic. The church enshrines a tomb that some traditions hold to be the place of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. Exit the Old City by the Dung Gate and return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

MASS: CHURCH OF THE FLAGELATION

Day.8 Jerusalem

Start the morning with a visit to Caiaphas Palace, also known as the Church of Peter Galicantus (John 18:12), and see the cistern where Jesus was held before he was taken to Pilate and the Roman Period steps he walked from the Kidron Valley. Continue to Mt. Zion to visit King David’s Tomb and the Last Supper Room (Luke 22:7-28).visit the City of David and see excavations which reveal the period of King David. If weather permits, we’ll walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel (optional) and visit the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus sent the blind man to be healed. Walk the newly opened Pilgrims Tunnel direct to the Old City. See the ancient Southern Steps and the Hulda Gates (II Kings 22:14) which originally led up to the Temple entrance, where Jesus is known to have taught and fought with the money changers. Walk to the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism and the only visible remains of Herod’s splendid Second Temple, where Jesus walked and taught. Visit the Western Wall Tunnel, huge arched spaces just north of the Western Wall, which link to a water tunnel cut through the rock to the north, apparently dug in the Hasmonean period (163 to 37 BC). Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

MASS: CHURCH OF PETER GALICANTUS

Day.9 MASSADA DEAD SEA

Drive east from Jerusalem to the lowest place on earth, the Dead Sea. Stop at a place called the Good Samaritan Inn to revisit the famous parable in Luke 10:25-37 and view some ancient mosaics. See Jericho from a short distance. See Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.Continue to Masada, a natural fortress with majestic ruins overlooking the Dead Sea. Take a cable car to the top of the plateau for a tour. Jewish zealots held the rock for several months in 73AD under siege by the 10th Roman legion. The Romans finally took the fortress by way of a massive attack ramp. The camps and other fortifications that encircle the mesa constitute the most complete Roman siege works to have survived to the present day. Then, drive to the Dead Sea for a float in the water (bring towel, bathing suit and flip flops).
Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

MASS: GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE .

Day.10 JERUSALEM

We begin the day with a visit to the Israel Museum to see an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a model of Jerusalem as it would have been in Jesus’ time. Then continue to Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Then, drive to Ein Karem, the birth place of John the Baptist, and visit the Church of St. John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25). Drive to the Church of the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56) and view the different versions of the Magnification. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

MASS: CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST at 3:00pm.

Day.11 Departure

Transfer to Ben Gurion airport for departure