Author: Fr Matthew+

“Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.” Psalm 122:2 Today was another amazing whirlwind of history, archeology and a journey of faith steeped in cross cultural immersion. We started with a...

Mark Twain was disillusioned, bored and often disappointed by what he saw in the Holy Land. His book about being here, Innocents Abroad, was published in 1869. His preconceived notions about the size and...

Yes it’s true. The places of the past are ready to receive visitors with fast food. With modern convenience and crowd control worthy of Disney, we took a sky lift to the top. Geologists,...

We bathed in the Jordan River. Ok, most of us just dipped in up to our shins, but I testify that Mother Tina properly retaliated to some splashing hijinks that was started by yours...

There’s a fine line between a tourist and a pilgrim. That line is most blurred by the common use of cameras. A bus load of American pilgrims looks just like a gaggle of vactioners...

I first heard about this lake and Jesus’ ministry around it from my grandmother, or as I called her, Mungama. As a kid, she taught me to sing “Peter, James, and John on a...

I tasted fresh mustard seed from this wild, indigenous and prosperous ground cover here in Israel. I recalled how sharp and pungent it is. Is there something about being a Christian that is, or...

4,000 years old. The ancient city was just a hill, and only partly excavated. Not much to look at, so we only drove by. Our destination was the “Old City” right next door, closer...