Florida Catholic | Reflections On A Holy Land pilgrimage

Reflections on a Holy Land pilgrimage

Published: 02.29.08

Msgr. Michael Reed, rector of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Pensacola and diocesan chancellor, took a group of 60 people on a Holy Land pilgrimage. They left on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 6, and returned Feb. 16. Before they traveled, the Florida Catholic asked several participants to describe their expectations of the pilgrimage. When they returned, the paper contacted the same people to learn if the trip had met those expectations.

DENISE O'TOOLE KELLY | FC FILE
The entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher lies just beyond the ninth Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa. The sprawling complex, whose control is divided among various Christian denominations, is built over the traditional sites of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

Cliff Wolf, St. Mary Parish in Fort Walton Beach

Pre-pilgrimage: “I’m going to walk in the steps of Jesus and apostles. I want to be able to touch the places that we read about every week in the Gospels and to have further understanding.”

Post-pilgrimage: “As we entered the places we had read about, I think I felt overwhelmed. There was a sense of awe. … It was an absolutely incredible experience. I always felt safe.”

Claudia Finn, St. Mary Parish Fort Walton Beach

Pre-pilgrimage: “The biggest draw is to be in places or near places where Jesus actually walked. … I want to experience even a very tiny speck of what (Jesus) experienced.”

Post-pilgrimage: “It was humbling, awesome, emotional and spiritual. The day I remember the most was when we went to the Holy Sepulcher. … We said the Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa. … I had an overwhelming sense of what Christ did for us.”

Mark Dufva, executive director of Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida and cathedral parishioner

Pre-pilgrimage: “It’s been difficult to pull away from everything going on. I was about to cancel. I thought, ‘The Lord wants (my wife and me) to be in Jerusalem.’ We’re going. We want to praise and worship God.”

Post-pilgrimage: “It’s difficult for me to come up with the right words to describe my experience there. Particularly when we had Mass at the Mount of Beatitudes, the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane and Mass at the Holy Sepulcher next to the tomb. How can words describe that? The true presence of God did exist. It was a true Holy Land pilgrimage. My challenge now is to reflect on what it means to me as a Christian and to tell the story of the Holy Land to others. We almost canceled. I don’t know how I could have ever thought that.”

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