Stephen C. Doyle - The Pilgrims New Guide to the Holy Land

A Michael Glazier Book published by The Liturgical Press

Cover design by David Manahan, O.S.B. Cover photos courtesy of COREL Photos.

Photo on page 86 by Hugh Witzmann, O.S.B.
Other photos from COREL Photos. Reprinted with permission.

The English translation of the General Intercession VI for Good Friday from The Sacramentary 1974, 1985, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

1999 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any retrieval system, without the written permission of The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN 56321. Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 0-8146-5955-1
ISBN 978-0-8146-8282-1 (e-Book)

PART I
Jerusalem, Jerusalem

PART II
Holy Places East of Jerusalem

PART III
Holy Places West of Jerusalem

PART IV
Holy Places South of Jerusalem

PART V
Holy Places North of Jerusalem

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the following: Fr. Walter Abbott, S.J., for quotes from the Documents of Vatican II; the Daughters of St. Paul for quotes from Paul VIs On Evangelization; Most Rev. J. Terry Steib, S.V.D., for his meditation on the church; Bruce Barton for There Are Two Seas; and the Poor Clares of Nazareth for the Prayer of Abandonment of Charles de Foucald. The hymns are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holders or their representatives.

It has been very gratifying to learn how many pilgrims have been able to change a tourist trip into a pilgrimage because of this book. I first wrote it precisely because of the tales of disappointment I heard from those who went to the Holy Land seeking a spiritual experience, only to have been sidetracked into shopping sprees, nationalistic forays, or a blitzkrieg of facts about Herodian walls, Bronze Age cisterns, Philistine pottery and Hasmonean reconstruction. Shopping, national pride, and archaeology will have a valid place in every pilgrimage.

However, there are major differences between going to the Holy Land as a pilgrim, and going there as a tourist, or even as a student of history or archaeology. One joins a pilgrimage from faith and for faith. This is not the same as a deepening of theological insight, or becoming more knowledgeable about the facts and beliefs of Christianity. The first Eucharistic Prayer speaks of Abraham, Our Father in faith. He is the ancestor of Jew, Moslem, and Christian; indeed, of all who call that land HOLY. Impelled by faith and seeking the face of God, he heard the voice of God. (In Hebrew to hear is the same word as to obey: shamah). Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your fathers house to a land that I will show you (Gen 12:1).

As a pilgrim in the Holy Land, you join Abraham, Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Paul, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, and Paul VI. They have made the yearning of Paul their own pilgrims prayer. Father, I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have let go of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ I continue my journey in hope that I may possess (him) since I have been taken hold of by (him) forgetting what lies behind but straining to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the heavenly prize which beckons, Gods call in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:8-14 passim). Therein lies the major difference between a tour and a pilgrimage.

For Christian pilgrims, Jesus is their companion to the places made holy by his life, and he is also the goal of the pilgrimage. Lukes Gospel depicts the Lords whole life as a journey to Jerusalem. The Letter to the Hebrews describes how, having completed his own earthly pilgrimage, he beckons those who are still on theirs: let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race (read pilgrimage) that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God (Heb 12:1-3).

This basic vision that distinguishes a pilgrim from a tourist is summed up in another passage by Paul: Since you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, sink your roots deep in him, build your faith upon him, and overflow with thanksgiving (Col 2:6).

This book tries to bring together those things that will facilitate that vision.

1. A brief introduction to each Holy Place is given. Detailed descriptions, facts, and details can be found in other guide books.

2. The Scripture passages appropriate to the location are provided. On the lecture circuit one of the most frequently asked questions is Which is the best translation of the Bible? I usually reply: The Revised New American Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, The New Jerusalem Bible, The Revised International Version, etc., etc. They are all good but none of them conveys completely and perfectly the meaning and nuance of the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. That is impossible, but the attempt must always be made anew. Notice that each of the versions made in the last half century is either new or revised in the last decade or so.

Rev. Kenneth Bailey, a great Christian and biblical scholar, and my neighbor at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute near Bethlehem, constantly reminds his audiences that the word of the Bible was made flesh in the East. To read it only from a Western perspective may well miss what God is saying to us through the human word. He further emphasizes that Jesus was a practitioner of the new theology. That presumes a knowledge of the old theology that Jesus tried and found wanting, and an openness to what may be his surprising and even shocking insights. Another of his counsels is that we should presume that many of the biblical texts have become too familiar to us so that we have lost their full impact and deepest meaning. Solution: step back and try to hear them from a new point of view.

In a similar vein, Pius XII in 1943 told us that to ascertain the meaning of Gods word, we must go back to the original languages, ascertain the intention of the author, and take into account the literary form. Following these suggestions, the biblical passages in this guide are my own translation. Fools walk in where angels fear to tread, and I am no angel. Yet, I dare to hope and pray that these translations (sometimes paraphrases) done for a new experience, in a new context, in a new culture may provide new insights that we will carry back to the familiarity of our own churches and translations of the word.

3. New to this edition are the insights gleaned from Documents of Vatican II, Paul VIs Decree on Evangelization, and prose and poetry that offer insights and foster the spirit of prayer.

4. Hymns. Only the words of hymns are provided, with the understanding that it is a rare group that will have a director of music, able to teach the ones that are not known. Hopefully most of the hymns chosen will be familiar. They are found in the special music section with an important exception. At the stations on the Via Dolorosa where juggling pages would be inconvenient, the words are included in the body of the text.