To begin with, a small group of us walked to the Benedictine Monastery next door for early morning Mass which was quiet, peaceful and reflective, and included some Taize chants, sung beautifully by the monks.
After breakfast we went to a museum down the road where we saw an ancient boat that had been excavated from the mud on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986 which dates back to the time of Jesus.
We then went out in a boat onto the Sea of Galilee itself - when we got out into the middle of the lake, they turned the engine off, we heard the reading of Jesus calming the storm on this very lake, then we had some time in silence to stop, reflect and just "be" in this special place. It was a very precious and graced moment.
We then travelled to the Mount of the Beatitudes where it is believed that Jesus gave his disciples and us the guidelines we should follow to be happy. After visiting the beautiful church which had a lovely view over the lake, we celebrated mass in the gardens. Father Pedro from our group gave a thoughtful homily about the importance of happiness, not only our own, but that of others. He said that in order to achieve this, we need to have a change of heart.
After lunch on the Mount, we travelled down the hill to Capernaum to see the remnants of the the old city where Jesus spent most of his active ministry. We saw what they believe to be the ruins of the house of St. Peter (where Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, as well as ruins of shops, houses and a synagogue. Above Peter's house was a modern church with the centre floor made of glass so you could see through to the ruins below.
We then went to Tabgha - the Church of the Loaves and fishes where it is said Jesus performed this miracle of feeding the 5000. This church was actually the Benedictine church where we had been to Mass this morning, only now it was flooded with tourists taking photos of the Byzantine mosaic floors.
Our last stop for the day was the church of the Primacy of Peter, right on the lakeshore, where they believe Jesus appeared to his disciples after the resurrection, ate fish with them, and had the well known conversation with Peter where he asked him three times - "Simon Peter, do you love me?". This is one of my favourite passages of scripture as Peter pledges his love and commitment to Jesus and negates the three times he denied him before he died.
All in all, it was a very special day with the boat trip on the lake being one of the many highlights of my journey so far. There is a real sense of the sacredness in this place - it is still relatively untouched, and it is easy to imagine and believe that, in these natural surroundings, we are looking at scenes that Jesus himself would have seen during his life. I am so very blessed to be here!
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