Israel – 2019

About a year back, I was very fortunate to be a recipient of the BJ Hickey Scholarship which enabled me to go to the Holy Land for Easter 2019 to experience the journey of a lifetime. It all started when a good friend of mine from the University of Notre Dame told me about this scholarship. I was amazed by the experience and so decided to apply for the scholarship.

The scholarship was used to study the Gospel of John at the Centre for Biblical Formation – Notre Dame de Sion at Ecce Homo in the heart of the Jerusalem. Students in the class were from a host of countries including Australia, Canada, India, Ethiopia, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain and Poland. Apart from the Gospel of John, there were talks on Jewish and Palestinian Culture, History of the Region and Local Traditions.

The scholarship was used to study the Gospel of John at the Centre for Biblical Formation – Notre Dame de Sion at Ecce Homo in the heart of the Jerusalem. Students in the class were from a host of countries including Australia, Canada, India, Ethiopia, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain and Poland. Apart from the Gospel of John, there were talks on Jewish and Palestinian Culture, History of the Region and Local Traditions.

The church of the Holy Sepulchre has a lot of significance and is one of the Holiest sites for Christians. Every night, the church is locked, but about 20 pilgrims are allowed to spend the night locked in the Church. I was one of the lucky ones on Easter Sunday 2019. It was calm and peaceful. At the stroke of mid-night, various Christian groups which look after different parts within the church begin prayers which run till about 4am in the morning when the church is again re-opened to the public.

Galilee was my favorite part of the Holy Land. Snow capped mountains can be seen in the distance which feed the River Jordan which in turn flows into the Sea of Galilee and subsequently the dead sea whose shores form the lowest point of land on the earth’s surface at roughly 400m below sea level. The spectacular Boat Chapel in Magdala is not to be missed. We had been on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and spent some time in prayer and silence.

I made a few friends at Ecce Homo as almost everyone there were volunteers. One of my friends was from Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestine. He decided to take a few of us and show us his hometown. Palestine was a totally different experience. The people of Palestine were very warm and welcoming. However a stark contrast could be seen between Jewish and Palestinian areas.

Our Holy Week coincided with the Jewish Passover or Pesach. I was invited to a Jewish Family’s house to celebrate the Jewish Pesach with a traditional meal know as the “Seder” which involved the removal of leavened products from the house, having matzo for bread, bitter herbs, wine, lamb and telling stories of the Israelites departure from Egypt about 3000 years ago and into the promise land. We were given an English copy of the Haggadah to give us an idea about the sequence of the Seder.

All in all, the Holy Land has been exceptional. I would sincerely like to thank Emeritus Archbishop Hickey and Dr Marco for giving me this incredible opportunity and I would strongly encourage you to visit the Holy Land and experience all it has to offer.