Our first stop was Nazareth, where we visited the Church of the Annunciation, honoring when the archangel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she would bear God's Son. I had been really looking forward to visiting this place as I was born on the feast of the Annunciation and I was not disappointed! It was a beautiful church full of icons, stained glass windows and images of this sacred event. There were also a huge array of images of Mary donated by various countries.
We then went next door to the lovely church of St Joseph - which had some special stained glass windows depicting significant events in the life of St. Joseph.
Our next stop was the underground area below the Sisters of Nazareth convent, where they have uncovered an ancient tomb dating back to the first century, complete with a road stone in the doorway. Could this be the tomb of St. Joseph? If so, could the ruins of the house nearby be where Jesus grew up?
We then walked up to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation - which contains a well/spring. The Greek Orthodox believe that Gabriel appeared to Mary while she was collecting water at the well, rather than at her home. This church was full of paintings of stories from the life of Jesus as well as pictures of saints and prophets.
From here, we travelled to Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle - changing water into wine at the wedding feast. Here there is a lovely church with beautiful angels on the outside.
Our last stop was our accommodation place which is right on the shores of Lake Galilee, a place where Jesus spent much of his time, and a place relatively untouched since Jesus' time. We had a simple mass in a bush chapel by the shore, and it is amazing to believe that Jesus was once here preaching, teaching and spending time with his friends.
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