Today, October 19, as we honor the North American Martyrs who gave their lives for Jesus, we 36 pilgrims from Detroit just celebrated a 6:00 am Mass in the Tomb in the place where Jesus gave His life for us. Calvary and the Tomb are all under one roof since the Crusaders built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (around 1200 AD). Holy Mass in the Tomb of Jesus is an almost unparalleled experience, as we almost feel the resurrection, especially since just the day before we descended 28 steps into the Tomb of Lazarus to be reminded of our mortality and that only Jesus is the “Resurrection and the Life.” (John 11:25)
We are praying for you back home. Please pray for us. Everything feels normal, except few people are here. While that is good for us pilgrims, it hurts the Holy Land. We have never felt unsafe—even for a moment. And God keeps gracing us with blessings and even miracles of one sort or another—meeting people we know, running into a bishop or priest of Jerusalem I or someone knows, other pilgrims from Detroit, finding a lost phone in the nick of time, deep anointing during Confession the Garden of Gethsemane or Mass on Calvary or in the Basilica of the Nativity (Christmas Mass), praying in the places of the Mysteries of the Rosary, etc. After our final morning here in Jerusalem, we head to Nazareth and Galilee for the final leg of our pilgrimage.
Importantly, we’ve been able to help the poor of Bethlehem, poor Catholics in Palestine/Israel and Jordan, donate to bishops and priests and pastors, help Bethlehem University (a De LaSalle School)—being the first group in 2 years to take part in their “Ambassador Program” for visitors and pilgrims—help the local economy (a hotel opened just for us), and more. Thank YOU for your donations—we are giving them all away to help people here who struggle for their livelihood. More than political activism that so often leads to hate of neighbor instead of love of neighbor, I believe Christians should start and be more rooted in the sacramental bonds of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church—and help each other Christian-to-Christian, priest-to-priest, friar-to-friar, bishop-to-bishop, and church-to-church. This ecclesial way is more the Gospel and biblical way and it bears more and more lasting fruit.
May God bless you, and may the Risen Jesus be Lord of our lives and may the Immaculata intercede for our country to grow in the bonds of charity and be rooted in God’s truth.
To communicate with me, please call/text me at (313) 727-9784 or email me abunacalcio1982@gmail.com. Holy Mother of God and the Saints of Jerusalem, pray for us!
In Jesus, Mary & Joseph,
Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM
Spiritual Director of Terra Sancta Ministries