We hopped off the bus at a random street in Nazareth and walked, with all our supplies and camping gear, to where we would spend the night. On our way we stopped at the doors of the Basilica of the Annunciation.
Here was the place of the Incarnation. Here, God became man. A tear ran down my cheek as we knelt before the doors of this huge Basilica.
I woke up early the next day, hoping to get some prayer time in the Basilica of the Annunciation and prep the talk I was going to give to our group. When I arrived, there was a Mass going on. I wandered a bit, walked in again and another Mass was taking place. By that point, I needed the rest room but could not find one, so I walked to the Orthodox church that was hosting us, only to find the two toilets we had were not working (likely due to the influx of forty people upon them in the last 12 hours!). Helping to get them fixed took most of my morning and then it was time for us to have Mass. Oh well, I tried. It’s all part of the pilgrimage - the emptying out, the roughness, the dying to self and how I want things to go. Entering prayerfully into the Mass was difficult as I found myself tempted to fall asleep.
After breakfast, I gave a short talk to the students to kick off the pilgrimage. I wasn’t fully prepared for it and relying heavily upon the Lord to speak. I was still in a place of poverty. There were three main points that came out of my mouth, more anointed than any of us realized at the time. The first of which I will share: saying “yes” to this pilgrimage. All the discomforts we were to experience was God hollowing out in our souls the capacity to receive Him (ref. St. Elizabeth of the Trinity).
Our Lady gave her “yes” not knowing what it entailed but trusting God to take care of her. She needed to renew her “yes” each day, for 33 years. She did not know what trials or struggles lay ahead, nor the joys and graces and fruits. It is quite like the perfect joy of St. Francis of Assisi, who was given the grace of virtue because of the trials he faced. Similarly, we have given our “yes” to this pilgrimage but we need to renew that each day, each moment. We don’t know what trials lay ahead but we trust God to take care of us.
After the talk, we had a short tour and then free time to explore. Some of us lost Fr. Anthony on the streets of Nazareth (he moves fast!) so I took those students to the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. Orthodox tradition holds that the well here is where Mary encountered the Angel Gabriel. Their tradition is that the angel Gabriel announced Mary's role in salvation history and she took off running in fear. A bit later, the angel appeared again to Mary (where the Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation is located) and she accepted. (True or not, it’s consoling to know I’m not the only one who runs from God at times.) I hastened back to the Basilica, sensing an invitation from the Lord to go and pray there.
- Sr. Lisa Marie Shatynski, T.O.R.
