from the archives

This is something I found on a disk from 2000.

 

 

For Peoria diocese pilgrims, Holy Land was a ‘living experience’

By Amy Riedell of The Catholic Post

 Tracing the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land and praying at the sites of His birth, ministry and death served as a study of the "fifth Gospel" for 11 pilgrims from the Diocese of Peoria.

"It just made the Scriptures come alive," said Gabriela Coronado, a member of St. Martin de Porres Parish in Peoria.  "You can see God's plan through this land -- how He's always blessed it."

The pilgrims, who are associated , with the Neocatechumenal Way, traveled to Israel with 100 members of the movement the same week of Pope John Paul ll's historic visit.

The group's spiritual guides referred to the Holy Land as the "fifth Gospel,” Coronado said, because "the whole place radiates God's mercy through the years."

The trip was "a true pilgrimage -- a spiritual journey,” according to Father Donald Roszkowski, pastor of St. Paul's Parish in Odell and Sacred Heart in Campus.

The pilgrims left for Israel on March 21 and arrived home in separate groups on March 29 or March 31.

Highlights of the trip included visits to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee and the Church of the Visitation, which marks the spot where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth.

On Friday, March 24, the group joined tens of thousands of pilgrims at a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul on the Mount of Beatitudes, the hill by the Sea of Galilee where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.

The other pilgrims on the trip were: Bob, Dorothy, Matt and Michelle Bousek, Clark and Gayle Johnson, Sharon Litchfield, Krystyna Lozowska and Tim Opperman.  The 10 lay people are all associated with the Neocatechurnenal Way group at St. Philomena's Parish in Peoria.  Father Roszkowski has assisted with the group since his ordination in 1997.

Members of the Neocatechumenal Way, a movement dedicated to catechesis and evangelization within the Catholic Church, are encouraged to accompany the pope at major events whenever possible.

In Israel, a team of clergy and laity associated with the Neocatechumenal Way led the pilgrims in catechesis and reflection to help them apply the spiritual significance of the holy sites to their lives.

At the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water, the pilgrims reflected on "how we are called to keep our eyes always on Christ and how He is always there to pick us up," Coronado said.

The pilgrims experienced Bethlehem as the town were Jesus was born and "a place where Jesus can be born in us;' she said.  And at Nazareth, where the angel Gabriel told Mary she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, the message was "God wants to do wonderful things for us and He's waiting for our 'yes,"' Coronado said.  The catechesis made the trip "a living experience,' she added, because "today God can give me this same grace" associated with the holy sites of 2,000 years ago.

For Father Roszkowski, the three major highlights of the pilgrimage were visits to Calvary, the Sea of Galilee, and the Upper Room, where the apostles gathered for the Last Supper and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  In the Upper Room, "people were singing the same song in six different languages, and we understood each other," Father Roszkowski said. "It was like our own little Pentecost."  Seeing Calvary, the hill where Jesus was crucified and died, "brought tears to my eyes," he said. "It touched my soul deeply."

At the Mass with Pope John Paul, the pilgrims had a good view from a hillside located to the side of the altar.  Although news accounts reported 50,000 people were gathered for the liturgy, Coronado heard an estimate of 80,000 that day.

"Hearing the vicar of Christ speak to us at the same place" where Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount was "incredible," Father Roszkowski said.  The "power and presence" of the pope made his homily all the more memorable, he added.

He really spoke to me," said Coronado.  His homily, she said, encouraged the pilgrims to "live the Beatitudes right now in the third rnillennium and be the disciples who preach the Gospel" to today's world.

The pope's message told the pilgrims "not to despair," said Krystyna Lozowska, a member of St. Philomena's Parish.  "Christ overcame sin and death.

The Holy Father, who despite his weakened physical appearance spoke with a strong voice, also spoke of the meaning found in suffering.  "There is no other way to eternal life but through the cross, Lozowska said.

As a result of the pilgrimage, Lozowska purchased a breviary so she can pray the Divine Office each day.  “I just want to read the Bible now,” she said.  “I’m more attentive at Mass, (because) I’ve been there and I’ve seen those places.”