Your spiritual pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on an overnight flight.

You will be welcomed to the Holy Land by our airport representative and transferred to your Netanya hotel to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the prophet. Stay at the seaside resort.

Visit the Roman aqueduct and theatre at Caesarea, a center of early Christianity (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned for two years (Acts 23:33). View Mount Carmel and recall Elijah’s dramatic victory over the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Celebrate Mass at a place to be selected.

Visit the Franciscan Wedding Church at Cana, the site of Jesus’ first miracle as He changed water into wine (John 2). Continue on to Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matthew 2:23) and celebrate Mass in the Basilica of the Annunciation. You will also see the House of the Holy Family, St. Joseph’s Workshop and St. Joseph’s Church (Luke 2:41- 52; Matt. 2:19-23). Stand atop Mount Precipice, where Luke describes how Jesus was rejected by those in the synagogue after He taught them. Filled with anger they “led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong” (Luke 4: 29). As you stand on Mount Tabor, contemplate what it must have been like for Saints Peter, James and John to behold the glory of the Transfigured Christ (Matt. 17:2).

Enjoy beautiful Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry, and visit the synagogue located on the site where Jesus taught (Matt. 4:13, 23). Sail across the Sea of Galilee and experience a special on-board worship service. Listen to Jesus’ words from His Sermon on the Mount at the Mount of Beatitudes (Matt. 5 -7) and celebrate Mass at the Church of the Beatitudes. At Tabgha, the traditional location of the feeding of the 5,000, explore the Church of the Loaves and Fish (Luke 9:10). Take a moment to reflect and pray in the Chapel of the Primacy, where Peter professed his devotion to the risen Christ (John 21). In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene, visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue.

On the far shore of the sea is Kursi, where Jesus cast out evil spirits from a demon-possessed man and sent them into a group of swine. The pigs ran violently down a steep hill and drowned in the sea (Mark 5: 1 -13). Pass through the Jordan River Valley. Visit the baptismal site of Qasr el Yehud, where tradition says Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Just off the Roman road that Jesus “walked”, is the Wadi Qelt gorge, the site of the Monastery of St. George. Finish the day in Jerusalem. Celebrate Mass at a place to be selected.

Visit Bethany, the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Here, Jesus visited on several occasions and raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Journey to Jericho (considered the oldest city in the world) to visit the ruins of the ancient city conquered by Joshua (Josh. 6:1). From Jericho, in the distance, you can see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1). Stop at a sycamore tree and remember Zacchaeus who climbed to see Jesus (Luke 18- 19). See the Mount of Temptation. Celebrate Mass in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before His crucifixion (Matt. 26:36- 44).

Celebrate the Mass of the Resurrection at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Take time to pray at the Western Wall, all that remains of Herod’s Temple. Sit on the Teaching Steps where Jesus once taught. Take a leisurely stroll down the Cardo, the main street of the Old City, where modern shops stand between ancient ones. View the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle of healing (John 5:1 -31), and sing a hymn in the Church of St. Anne, renowned for its beautiful acoustics. At Herod’s Antonia Fortress, see where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1 -11). Walk the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of the Cross.” On Mount Zion, see the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was imprisoned on the night of His arrest (Matt. 26:57- 65). Nearby is the Upper Room revered as the location of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12- 26). Conclude your day by visiting the Church of the Dormition of Mary.

In Bethlehem, visit the cave revered as the place where Jesus was born (Matt. 1: 18 - 25; Luke 2: 1- 7). Celebrate Mass in St. Catherine Church. Nearby, you’ll view Shepherds’ Field, where the Good News was first heard. Travel to Ein Karem, the village where John the Baptist was born and the Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth prior to our Lord’s birth (Luke 1:26- 40). Visit the Church of St. John, the birthplace of John the Baptist. Visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and be touched by its poignant images before returning to your hotel for dinner.