Anther remarkable day!

Hello everyone! Thank you for your prayers! I felt much better today. The cough and runny nose was much better. I had a good night of sleep last night as well - the best so far.
This morning we had a wake up call at 6:45 a.m. and then breakfast. Breakfast has been pretty much the same each day: bread, olives (three different kinds - two types of green and black - I like them all), scrambled eggs, meat that is like our hot dogs, sliced and warmed mushrooms, and boiled eggs. Oh, and I must not forget the coffee. The coffee is great here.
At breakfast we heard that the member of our pilgrimage who has been sick has a more serious condition than expected. She is being treated in the hospital at this time and is making a great recovery. Please continue to pray for her and her husband.
After breakfast we boarded the bus and went to the Cenacle Church. I mentioned yesterday that this is the place of the Upper Room. The very place where Jesus gave us the ordained priesthood and instituted the Holy Eucharist. I did not mention yesterday a few other very important events that took place in the Upper Room: the appearnce of Jesus to the Apostles (at least two times) after His resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles.
The first thing we did when we arrived at the site was to celebrate Holy Mass in a church next to the Upper Room. The celebrated the Holy Mass honoring the Eucharist. For the second day in a row I offered Holy Mass in thanksgiving for the great gift of the ordained priesthood as my primary intention. Today I also prayed for all bishops and priests. It was a wonderful experience to be with Our Lord in the very place where He instituted the priesthood and the Holy Eucharist! Our spiritual experiences are so often connected with our sensory experiences and it is really awesome to see, feel and be present in the place where Our Lord gave the Apostles and us these great gifts. However, it is important to remember that the very same Jesus, in whose steps we are following here in Jerusalem, is present in every Catholic tabernacle throughout the world! We can experience some of this whereever we are. Certainly experiencing these mysteries in the very place where they first took place offers graces and blessings I want to share and a kind of knowledge and insight that cannot be reproduced by another means.
After Holy Mass went to the visit the Upper Room. The Upper Room itself is controlled by the Israeli government. Interestingly, the same site also has a memorial to King David. Christians, Jews and Muslims (Muslims honor King David as one of the great prophets) gather at this site for prayer. Today the Israeli military had a strong presence at the site. Many soldiers were gathered there waiting for transportation to another site. There were also many Jews beautifully chanting a hymn or a prayer near the church. It was festive and crowded.
I could feel the holiness of that room when we visited the Upper Room. I read the Gospel account of Jesus appearing the disciples after His resurrection in the Upper Room. That also including the telling of the doubts of St. Thomas and then how Our Lord showed him great compassion by inviting him to put his finger in the nail marks and his hand into His side.
After the some time we went to another church on the same site dedicated to the dormition of Mary. Now, I thought we visited the place of the Mary's dormition a yesterday. However, that church of the dormition was dedicated to the place of Mary's tomb and bodily Assumption into Heaven. The church we visited today, which is located right next to the Upper Room, marks the spot where Mary fell 'asleep' or died. One tradition passed on states that as the death of Mary approached the remaining Apostles were called back to Jerusalem to be present. Thus the depiction in many murals of the presence of the Apostles for her dormition and Assumption.
I struck by the beauty of the upper church. All I wanted to do was pray, so I sat down in the church and began to pray. Before I knew 30 of the 45 minutes allotted for our visit to the church had passed by. With about 15 minutes to go before we were to get on the bus, I noticed that many people were going down some steps. I mentioned to a fellow pilgrim that I was thinking of looking at what was down stairs and I was told that 'you have to go down there'. I knew then it was something great. I went downstairs and in the middle of the room was the spot marked out where Mary died by a life size replication. It was amazing and very edifying. There were several side altars with various scenes and saint. One of the side altars showed Jesus taking Mary to Heaven - Mary depicted as an infant. It was remarkable! I thought later that I must have needed that time of prayer to prepare for what I would see in the crypt so that I could take it in! I wish I could put some of the pictures up on the blog, but I am not able to - I will share them when I get back.
I left the crypt very happy. When I walked out the church I noticed some of the pilgrims were still in the gift shop, so I decided to take a quick look myself (do not tell the tour coordinator:)
I found a beautifully hand stitched white stole with the symbols of fish, the Eucharist, the German Cross and the Jerusalem Cross (German Benedictines have custody of the Church of the Dormition). I decided to get it after praying briefly about it. Subjectively, I really felt a connection to that site and in a way I think Our Blessed Mother wants to keep that place in my heart in a special way.
Before I left, some very kind fellow pilgrims bought me a cappucino:) - it was very good! Thank you!
We then went by bus out of Jerusalem to Jericho. We stopped at the tradional site where Joshua and the Israelite soldiers stormed Jericho. At that site now is a large lift that takes people to near the top of Mt. Temptation (where Jesus was tempted by Satan after Jesus' 40 days and nights of fasting - you may remember that was baptized by John the Baptist before He was led into the desert. His baptism took place only a few miles from this spot). We had lunch there and had the opportunity to visit an Eastern Orthodox Monastery. Most of us did not visit the Monastery. It has been unseasonably hot the past few day and today was no exception. It was around 105 degrees today where we were. It was a very nice lunch. The restaraunt and lift are operated by Muslims. In case you are wondering, I did bring along green scapulars. Only one of the three or four Muslims I offered them to accepted them at that time. Otherwise, I have had good success.
We then boarded the bus to go the Qumran. That is site of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We watched a video and had a chance to look at the ruins of the Essene community that lived there. It is thought that John the Baptist lived there for about two years before he began preaching publicly and baptizing to prepare the way of the Lord.
It reminded of the some the monasteries I have visited - especially the Benedictine monasteries.
We then went by bus to the Dead Sea. This the sea that has a such a high salt and mineral content in the water that no life can be supported. Furthermore, people float on the top the water because of the bouyancy of the water. I decided to not go for a swim and instead I just went to the edge and felt it with my hand. The water is oily and has a strange feel to it. Many people rubbed mud on their arms and faces as it is thought to be beneficial for the health. It did not look so healthy:)! Maybe it is - I do not know.
We then went by bus to Bethany to visit the Tomb of Lazarus. This was really awesome! It was a great experience to hear the Gospel account of this real event and then to visit the Tomb from which Lazarus walked out.
A neat event took place when we went back to the bus after our visit to the Tomb of Lazarus. There was a man who had a camel one could take ride on for a nominal fee. We saw the camel when we got off the bus. The bishop asked me if I was going to take ride on the camel (I had teased him about doing that very thing on the way to Jericho). I said I would if he went first.
When we got back to the bus a pilgrim was just getting onto the camel. The same pilgrim then paid for me to take a ride - unbeknownst to me. I was a little apprehensive, but I got on the camel. When the camel stood up I nearly flew forward onto the camel's head and neck because the camel got up quickly with its hind feet first. It turned out to be much fun and I happily waved for the bishop to take his turn. I then playfully blessed the people watching from the bus. They had a good laugh:)!
Then, to make matters more interesting, the bishop got off the bus and got on the camel! Yes, I have pictures. What a great way to finish a wonderful day of being a pilgrim!
We had a wonderful dinner back at the hotel. One the pilgrims had a birthday today so her husband took the whole group to a nearby restaurant for special deserts and coffee! We sang happy birthday and had a great time. I think I am the last one up!
Tomorrow we will visit the Wailing Wall (too much on the schedule today so it was moved to tomorrow) and then celebrate Holy Mass at a church dedicated to St. Peter - if I remember correctly, the place where he denied knowing Jesus three times. We will also go to the place of the birth of John the Baptist.
Thank you for your prayers and I am praying for all of you at the holy sites. God bless you and your families!
In Christ through Mary,
Fr. Kasel