Kursi National Park and the "Miracle of the Swine"

MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

On the east bank of the Sea of Galilee is Kursi National Park.

Kursi National Park, Israel

The highway to get there is interesting in itself, if you know why there are so many tall trees planted along it's edges - to protect vehicles from view of the Golan Heights! 

Looking over the protective trees along the highway at the Golan Heights

Our guide, Hillel, said that as a boy he would come with his family to this area to vacation.  Spending time in bomb shelters was part of life in this area since it directly beneath the Golan Heights.   Unimaginable to my American mind!

We began our tour of the area with a Bible reading by Fr. T.  This was always such a wonderful way to start any visit to a site in Israel, it helped me so much to try to understand where I was and what had happened in this place.

Gospel mk 5:1-20

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea,
to the territory of the Gerasenes.
When he got out of the boat,
at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.
The man had been dwelling among the tombs,
and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain.
In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains,
but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed,
and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides
he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones.
Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and prostrated himself before him,
crying out in a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torment me!”
(He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”)
He asked him, “What is your name?”
He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.”
And he pleaded earnestly with him
not to drive them away from that territory.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside.
And they pleaded with him,
“Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.”
And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine.
The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea,
where they were drowned.
The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town
and throughout the countryside.
And people came out to see what had happened.
As they approached Jesus,
they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion,
sitting there clothed and in his right mind.
And they were seized with fear.
Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened
to the possessed man and to the swine.
Then they began to beg him to leave their district.
As he was getting into the boat,
the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him.
But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead,
“Go home to your family and announce to them
all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.”
Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis
what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

As we stood and listened to Father read, it dawned on us all where we were, and we all turned and looked up at the hill above the ruins.  It only took a few more minutes for us to realize that there was some sort of structure and a path to the top of the hill where the miracle took place!

Path to the "Miracle of the Swine" site in the foothills of the Golan Heights

About 1/2 our group took off up the hill to see the site.  I would not suggest this hike to everyone, I would call it a moderate climb.  Although the path is well-marked and starts out wide, it does get slimmer and more rocky towards the top. I thought it was a steep climb.  One website said the elevation was 900 feet but after lots and lots of searching, I can't find anything at all giving any information regarding this little hike.

"Miracle of the Swine" Hill

I made it to the top!

Byzantine Ruins on top the "Miracle of the Swine" Hill, Kursi National Park, Israel

Up on the hill of the "Miracle of the Swine" are the ruins of a chapel which has 3 layers of mosaics uncovered. This area was originally in a cave, but they excavated it - for the tourists?  Or maybe the monks did it centuries ago?  I don't know. 

Closeup of the Byzantine ruins

There are other ruins here also, including a stone bench for looking out over the Sea of Galilee.  

Looking out over the sea and knowing what happened here is amazing.  The weather was warm and so the climb had heated me up, but the breeze off the lake was refreshing.  Thinking about what it must have been like to see the entire herd of swine all of a sudden stampede down into the lake and drown must have been quite a sight!

This incident is mentioned in three Gospels:  Matthew 8:28-34,  Mark 5:1-14, and Luke 8:26-37.

We didn't have much time as this was an unscheduled stop on our tour, so we headed back down after a short reflection and visited the Byzantine Monastery which is built at the bottom of the hill.

Archaeological investigators identify this site as ancient "Kurshi", a center of idol worship in ancient times.  The ruins are of the Byzantine Monastery build in here in the fifth century AD to honor the miracle that happened at this site.

Prayer Hall of the Church in the Byzantine Monastery at Kursi

The ruins were only accidentally discovered in 1970 when they were doing road construction after the Six Day War!  Kursi only opened to the public in 1982.  It's hard to believe this marvelous site was hidden from pilgrims for all those years!

The floors used to contain beautiful mosaics of birds, fish and fruit, but previous visitors (hundreds of years ago, not modern tourists) have pulled them up.  Now you can see the plain tile outlining the holes in the floor where the pictures used to be.

Vandalized mosaic floors at Kursi

These remains are significant in that this is the largest known Byzantine Monastery in the Holy Land. 

The ruins include the anterior courtyard of the church, which originally had a 2-story tower in it.

The church has a Prayer Hall with an Apse at the front and long skinny auxiliary rooms running on either side.

One side had a Chapel with a Baptistery in it.  I had to borrow a picture of it from BibleWalks.com as neither Mom nor I got a picture of this.  I wanted to include it as they found a crypt below this floor with 30 skeletons of the monks inside!

BibleWalks.com photo of the Chapel at Kursi

The other side had an oil press in it, and another room behind which had shelves set up for candles.

Lastly, the entrance walk has a very cool old wall which fascinated me.

There are lots of benches and picnic tables under shady trees scattered throughout this site, I guess because it is a National Park?  It is definitely a great place to stop and take a rest or even have a picnic if you have snacks/food with you!

(***if you should journey to the top of the hill, be sure to read my post about the vine of thorns growing from the rock above the site)

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 5

Celebrating St. Anne and the Immaculate Conception

During Advent, we meditate on the events that happened before our Savior, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.  The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is December 8th and just happened to fall on the Second Sunday of Advent this year.

This is a very confusing feast to most, Catholics included.

Here it is in a nutshell:  The Immaculate Conception does not have anything to do with the Annunciation and the conception of Jesus;  the Immaculate Conception is referring to the conception of Mary in the womb of Saint Anne.

Just as we would never put our most precious processions into any kind of filthy storage container, neither would God allow his Son to come to us by way of a sinful human.

Mary was not like us, she was not a human being like any other human in history.  She was the Mother of God.  His blood mingled with hers in her womb, he formed in the amniotic fluid of her body's making.  The idea that the Lord of the Universe would reside in an impure body is ludicrous.

We don't know much about Saint Anne and her husband Saint Joachim.   But tradition of our church calls them the Grandparents of Jesus.


There is a church dedicated to Saint Anne just inside St. Stephen's or the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem.  It is traditionally held that this is where the Virgin Mary was born and lived as a child with her parents Anne & Joachim. 

St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem

It stands inside a garden courtyard which also contains a lot of ruins (including the Pools of Bethesda) looking very tall and strong-looking; sturdy and magnificent compared to many other ancient buildings and structures in Israel. 

 

This is because it was not destroyed in 1192 during one of the many captures of the city, it was instead used as a Muslim school, so it was saved.

The garden of St. Anne's is an oasis from the narrow, crowded streets of Old Jerusalem on one side and the bustle and traffic of the modern city on the other.

Here we were given time to rest in the shade and take in the beauty of the flowers and surrounding architecture.  Fr. T read from scripture, but sadly, I cannot remember which passage he read to us.

It is a lovely, restful place (with clean bathrooms) and many benches in the shade.

I enjoyed spending time there, although I spent more time marveling at the flowers (see what I call "Israeli Kudzu" (bougainvillea) in the photo above).

This was a good place to refill water bottles and chat with the priest-caretakers of the site, The White Fathers.

The are Missionaries of Africa and are called the White Fathers due to the color of the habit they wear.

The Church of St Anne is the best-preserved Crusader church in Jerusalem. It marks the traditional site of the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents, Anne and Joachim, and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary.

We entered the Church through a gorgeous medieval-looking door and walked into the very high-ceiling Sanctuary.

Another pilgrim group was inside singing.  The Church of St. Anne is renowned for its remarkable acoustics and reverberating echoes. The voices of even a small choral group can sound like a large congregation in a vast cathedral.  Although the church was designed for Gregorian Chant, it is said that you can "play" it like a musical instrument with your human voice.

I was really looking forward to hearing Fr. T sing with his gorgeous voice, but he would only sing with the group.  (I have noticed off the altar, outside of participating in Mass, he seems very humble of his beautiful voice and won't usually sing.)

The high ceiling and construction did make everyone sound just beautiful and like there were many more people singing than actually were.  *btw - anyone can sing, but only religious songs are allowed!

It would have been fabulous to have Fr. T say Mass there!

After our song, we walked around the sanctuary.

Main Altar - St. Anne's Church in Jerusalem

In the back of the church was a lovely statue of St. Anne with little St. Mary.

 

Look how sweetly little Mary appears here.  And St. Anne looks over her with obvious love in her face, but I also see something else.  Protection?  Wisdom?  Knowledge?  Surely she understood that this little one was special and different from other children?

Like St. Anne, I am a Mother and a Grandmother.  How very special it is, how very blessed I am.

Lastly, we descended into the crypt which held the remains of the house of Anne & Joachim.

You can see the roof is the natural rock of the cave.

Inside is a painting which shows St. Anne and St. Joachim with newborn baby Mary.  The Greek initials on the top-left side is "ΜΡ ΘΥ".  ΜΡ is "Mary" in Greek and ΘΥ is "God-bearer".  

Also in the cave is an altar dedicated to Mary's birth behind an ornate gate.

This is a closeup of the icon behind the gate. 

I have searched the internet for several hours and cannot find any information regarding this version of this event.  There are lots of similar paintings out there, but so far I have not been able to find anything on this one. 

As we came up the stairs I could hear another group singing on the altar with some angelic harmonies that echoed beautifully throughout the room.  I could see the bright sunshine though the doorway and smell the fresh air blowing in.

 What a lovely place!  What an oasis of grace it must have been when Mary was growing up here! 

In the courtyard garden of St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem

The One Year Anniversary of My Trip to Israel

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel from Jesus Our Risen Savior Catholic Church, Spartanburg, SC and St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Lodi, NJ

Hello to all my Fellow Pilgrims!

It's hard to believe a year ago, I was blessed to be with all of you, taken on the most profound experience of my life - to visit the area where Our Lord and Savior lived and died. 

I can't thank my Mother, Rosemary, enough for the great gift of this trip.  I don't know about all of you, but it changed me.  I cannot go a single day without thinking about some event or building or view or place that we visited.  I find I can relate to the Bible like never before, I can picture a lot of the Gospels right where they happened.  It's almost overwhelming - wonderful & awe-inspiring at the same time!

At the time I was told of the trip, I began to try to keep a journal and although I attempted multiple versions, multiple times, I was not able to find a way or the time to write down all that I saw and did, my observations and thoughts, while we were in Israel.  But after I returned home, I finally began to write it down.  Not in chronological order, but liturgically.  

As the Gospels were read in church on Sunday, I would be inspired to write down my thoughts regarding the trip pertaining to that scripture reading.  Not every week, but first thing I knew, I had filled almost an entire book! 

My journaling has not been steady (I could not hardly write a single thing during Lent or the Easter season for some reason!??).  I have lots of memories that are incomplete and have not quite come together to date and which are only half-written.  And I feel like there is a lot more to come. But I have posted my impressions and completed thoughts to date here.  

If you are interested, you are welcome to go scan over them.  I didn't use anyone's real name, except the tour people.  

I would love, love, love for you to post your comments or reply to me regarding your memories of the places I have posted about!  Whether spiritual or not, just your impressions as you experienced it.  I'd love to hear them to see how your experience differed from mine!!!

In any case, I just wanted to let you all know that I think of you all often and will always hold a special place in my heart for all of you!!  As our year approaches Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks that all of you were there with me last year.  The trip was what it was because of each person involved.  It was wonderful and tiring and exciting and scary and happy and sad and profound and spiritual and frustrating and just the best ever in my opinion!  : ) 

I am praying for you all, always!

Love ~ Kathy

The Bread of Israel

LENT

Have I ever told you about the breads in Israel?

Oh they were so pretty!

At every meal in the hotel in Jerusalem, our bread had a unique and interesting shape. (Nothing like those pop-n-fresh rolls I feed my poor family!)

For all I know, it was the same exact bread each meal in a different shape, but I enjoyed it as if it was a different type of bread each day!

A lot of times, even if it was round, it was in a different swirl or twist from the previous day.

Once it was even in a triangle!

It was all very good, very tasty.

The only down-side was the kosher rules that went with it. No milk products at night with meat. (So that meant no butter. No ranch dressing either! LOL!) Nothing creamy at all.  (I did become a brand new lover of hummus, but that's another story!)

I found out on one of my favorite blogs, Creative Jewish Mom, that this is called Challah Bread and it does come in a multitude of shapes. She even has a post about making Challah Rolls for a Crowd!

So as Lent was coming up and I was thinking about what I was going to do to enhance mine and try to make my life more holy, the idea of giving up bread came to me.

WHAT? Get real!

But as the Holy Spirit generally does with me, if He wants something, then he just keeps "poking" me with it.

Making toast? *Poke.

Eating a cheeseburger? *Poke.

See a doughnut? *Poke.

Offered a cookie? *Poke.

SERIOUSLY?

Then as I started to consider it for real...could I do such a thing?

What about Fridays, I can't eat meat, so could I give up bread too?

We shall see, because I'm attempting it. I decided that it would be awesome. The only bread I will consume during Lent will be the Bread of Life.

I'm excited to begin!!!!

OMGosh Lord!  You've asked me for a gift.  Please help me to be up to the challenge and wrap it with a bow for you!  Amen.  

btw - my most favorite "bread" was the toast at one of my morning meals in Nazareth!   

Breakfast in the Land of "Milk & Honey"

I thought I was pretty cute having my meal of "milk and honey" as I sat in the 6th floor dinning room looking out over Nazareth's morning routine! 

(hehehe)  I enjoyed it very much!  : )

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - 

***Update:  So I made it through Lent.  Wow, that was HARD!  I knew it would be when I decided to give up bread, but it was actually much harder than I thought it would be....bread is EVERYWHERE!  I won't say I did a perfect job, but I did try very hard.  It was so meaningful each Sunday to take Communion.  I know it's not bread any longer, and it certainly doesn't look or taste like bread.  But I did find myself much more aware of the specialness of it each week.  I also had such a yearning for bread, chips, cake, sandwiches, a hamburger, doughnuts....the list is unending.  And I tried to align myself mentally to take that yearning for physical bread and make it a yearning for a deeper relationship with Jesus and his passion.  It was definitely a different Lent and one I'm sure I will repeat.