Closing Sessions of the Convivence (Domus Galilaeae, Part V)

During the five-day session at Domus Galilaeae, we bishops and other guests learned about the Neo-Catechumenal Way (NCW) theoretically and practically.

The liturgies, the music, the welcome, the food, the ambiance all were delightful, as may be deduced from these photographs:

Asian delegates from China, the Philippines pose with co-founder Kiko Arguello

Kiko explains graphically the stages of the catechumenal process for the baptized

Archbishop of Vienna Cardinal Schonborn was able to attend for a couple of days

An NCW orchestra from Spain made a surprise appearance on the last day

Kiko visits with several Canadian bishops in the dining-room

The closing liturgy presided by Cardinal O'Malley (in Spanish)

The Canadian delegation of bishops poses for a group photo

All the Canadians pose before the chapel's Last Judgment mural

Pilgrims to Jerusalem (Domus Galilaeae, Part IV)

To Jerusalem for the Lord's Day

"We celebrate Sunday because of the venerable Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we do so not only at Easter but also at each turning of the week": so wrote Pope Innocent I at the beginning of the fifth century, testifying to an already well established practice which had evolved from the early years after the Lord's Resurrection. Saint Basil speaks of "holy Sunday, honoured by the Lord's Resurrection, the first fruits of all the other days"; and Saint Augustine calls Sunday "a sacrament of Easter".

The intimate bond between Sunday and the Resurrection of the Lord is strongly emphasized by all the Churches of East and West. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches in particular, every Sunday is the anastàsimos hemèra, the day of Resurrection, and this is why it stands at the heart of all worship.

In the light of this constant and universal tradition, it is clear that, although the Lord's Day is rooted in the very work of creation and even more in the mystery of the biblical "rest" of God, it is nonetheless to the Resurrection of Christ that we must look in order to understand fully the Lord's Day. This is what the Christian Sunday does, leading the faithful each week to ponder and live the event of Easter, true source of the world's salvation. (John Paul II, Dies Domini, #19)

On Sunday, January 30, we lived out the memory of the Lord's Paschal Mystery by a short pilgrimage from Galilee to Jerusalem, visiting--after a comfort break in Jericho (cf. the camel above)--in the Holy City: the Greek Catholic Patriarchate, the Holy Sepulchre, the Notre Dame Centre (for lunch and an exposition on the Holy Shroud), the thee traditional site of the Upper Room where we celebrated the Eucharist. 

Though it was windy, rainy and damp our spirits were lifted high throughout the day!  Some pix:

 

Statuary available in Jericho

Arriving in Jerusalem

The entrance to the Holy Sepulchre

A Presentation on the Shroud

An extrapolation from the details of the Shroud

A welcome to the Holy Land by the Apostolic Nuncio

The Eucharist in the Upper Room

32e Salon du Livre de l'Outaouais - Praying in Capernaum, Nazareth (Domus Galilaeae, Part III)

Last evening, I attended the Salon du Livre de l'Outaouais in the Palais des Congres in Gatineau (February 24-27).

There were large crowds, with book-signing sessions and open-mic discussions of all sorts of topics, such as the subjects implied in the writings of the religious prize winners:

There was also a special presentation in honour of the 75th Anniversary of NOVAIS, publisher of missalettes, religious books, sacramental preparation programs, etc.

Archbishop Roger Ebacher and I were invited to take part in conferring prizes on the winners and to say a few words to mark the occasion.

 

* * * * * *

Capernaum: Centre of Jesus' Ministry

During the Neo-Catechumenal Way's seminar for bishops, we travelled on the third day to nearby Capernaum, the base town of Jesus' Galilean ministry, which operated out of the house of Simon Peter. 

Entrance to the archaeological site of Capernaum

The synagogue where Jesus healed the demoniac (Mark 1:21-28)

The archaeological remains next to Simon Peter's house, over which the octagonal church was built

Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop of Caracas, Venezula presided at this Mass celebrated in Spanish

Father Isidoro Tomasoni, smm, priest responsible for the Way in Canada

A Visit to the Grotto of the Annunciation in the Basilica in Nazareth, followed by a luncheon in a restaurant nearby, completed our pilgrim outing.

Some Canadian bishops at the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth (left to right: Bishops Jean-Louis Plouffe, Richard Grecco, Terrence Prendergast, Brian Dunn, William McGrattan)