Depart from Pearson International Airport, Toronto on your non-stop flight to Tel Aviv.  Dinner and breakfast served on the flight.

Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, meet your local guide and driver who will escort you to your hotel on the Mediterranean Coast.  Dinner and overnight in Netanya.

We depart via the coast to Caesarea Maritima, where St. Peter baptized the first Gentile convert (Cornelius) and where Paul was held prisoner by the Romans.  It was the center of the Roman governors including Pontius Pilates.  Visit the Roman and Crusader ruins, the Crusader City, the well preserved Theatre, the Harbour, and the Roman Aquaduct.  Heading towards Haifa through Carmel Mountains we will visit the Carmelite Monastery Stella Maris and Murhraqa located on the spot where the profit Elijah confronted the false priests of Ba’al.  Drive to Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first miracle at the request of his mother (John 2:1-11).  In Cana we will visit the Franciscan chapel for a renewal of wedding vows.  Continue to the Basilica of Annunciation in Nazareth (Mass) and visit Mary’s Well and the Church of the Angel Gabriel.  We arrive in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

This morning we begin with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee.  Our stop will be on the shore of Capernaum where Peter lived and where Jesus began his public ministry (Matth. 4:13), there he began teaching in its Synagogue, healed a man who had an unclean spirit and healed St. Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Luke 4:31-41) followed by a visit to the Mount of the Beatitudes to gain a panoramic vista of the Sea of Galilee and where one of Jesus’ famous teaching episodes Sermon on the Mount was given (Matthew 5-7).  (Mass) Then to Tabgha the fruitful garden where Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:30-46), we shall see the magnificent mosaic commemorating the miracle of the multiplication, we head to the nearby Chapel of St. Peter Primacy.  Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Galilee.

We start the day by going to the Jordan River to renew our baptismal vows in the River where Our Lord was baptized by John (Mark 1:9).  Continue to Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8).  We shall ascend by a smaller motor vehicle due to its narrow route and visit the Catholic Church for Mass.  We drive on passing the small town of Nain where Jesus raised the widow’s son (Luke 7:11-17).  We drive through the Jordan Valley and drive on up through the Jordan Wilderness pass to the town of Jericho, the most ancient city in the world.  We view Mt. Temptation the place where Jesus spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditation during the temptation of Satan.  We make our way through the Judean Hills towards the house of the Lord.  Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Jerusalem.

After breakfast we will head into the hill country to a city of Ein Karem, the birthplace of St. John the Baptist and visit the Church of the Visitation where the Blessed Virgin Mary visited the home of Zachariah and Elizabeth and proclaimed the ‘Magnificat’ (Luke 1:39-80).  We stop to visit the Shrine of the Book, the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jerusalem model during Jesus time.  In the afternoon we drive to the Shepherd’s Fields where the angels announced the birth of Jesus.  Then we visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.  We kneel in the Grotto, the birth place of our redeemer as we celebrate Mass.  We drive to Jerusalem passing Rachel’s Tomb en route.  Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

After breakfast we shall start our pilgrimage in Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives from which Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection.  We shall have an eye on history through a magistic view over Jerusalem, visit the Convent of Pater Noster where the Lord’s Prayer is displayed in 110 languages.  We will walk down the “Palm Sunday route” stopping at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and visit Gethsemane, the Rock of Agony where Jesus prayed His last prayer before his arrest.  We will visit the cave of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.  We will drive along the Kedron Valley where you will see the tombs of Avishalon, Zachariah and the Prophets.  Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

It is an inspiring, full day of meditation.  In the early morning we retrace the last steps of Jesus.  As we walk along the Fourteen Stations of the Via Dolorosa, praying the Stations of the Cross, we reflect on the greatness of His sacrifice as he bore the burden of our sins on the cross at Golgotha.  Finally we arrive at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Mass.  Return back towards St. Stephen Gate to visit St. Anne’s Church, the home of the Virgin Mary and her parents Saints Joachim and Anne.  We pass the Ecce Homo where Pilate proclaimed “Behold the man”; then the Wailing Wall, the most holy shrine for Jews.  Nearby is the Dome of the Rock of Temple Mount.  We exit at Mt. Zion.  At the Cenacle we visit the Upper Room of the Last Supper and King David’s Tomb.  Next we go to Dormition Abbey where we believe the Blessed Mary died.  We end the day at St. Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Him thrice.  Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Tue

We begin our day with a visit to Bethany where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, hometown of Martha and Mary.  Here we shall visit Lazarus’ tomb.  We visit the Orthodox Church, then the Inn of the Good Samaritan.  The desert east of Jerusalem is rich in Christian tradition.  Further east, just off the Roman road that Jesus walked, is Wadi Qelt, site of the Monastery of St. George.  We will drive to the Dead Sea to visit Qumran, site of the Dead Sea Scroll discovery.  We will then proceed to Masada the stronghold of the Jews in the war against the Romans.  Ascend to the fortress by cable car to visit the palaces of Herod the Great with its Roman baths and pools, then enjoy a swim (or rather a float!) in the mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea, renowned for its minerals and healing properties.  We have some time at leisure in Jerusalem.  Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Jerusalem.

Transfer to the airport, filled with cherished memories, for your return flight home

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