I was so utterly filled up that from my time at the Basilica of the Annunciation that I exclaimed to one of the missionaries on the way back to our site, “If this was all that happened on this pilgrimage, it’d be okay. I could go home and still be satisfied.”
Little did I know.
News of the war had broken out earlier that day. Fr. Anthony had given me a heads up, but I told him I trusted his discernment. I did not know how serious it was, nor did he. He told the students after lunch. I encouraged them that this was all part of the pilgrimage.
We discerned to head up north as planned to see if we could still camp out at the shores of Galilee. We packed up camp and waited for what seemed like a very long time for the bus. In the mean-time, we filled up on a baklava-like-treat, called “kanafa,” from the bakery nearby.
On the way, we stopped at Cana, where the Wedding at Cana took place. We had some prayer time looking at a huge ancient ceremonial washing jar, similar to the ones Jesus used to turn water into wine (John 2:1-12). I prayed for the married couples I knew and pondered my own vocational journey.
Afterward, as we finished exploring the area, the first call from Tom, the director of the Austria Program, came through. He expressed his concerns over our safety and desired to know our plans for the week ahead. I heard fighter jets overhead as I passed the phone off to Fr. Anthony to let them talk. It was at this point that I recognized that matters were more serious. As I rounded up students from the gift shop and we began to think about what to do next.
- Sr. Lisa Marie Shatynski, T.O.R.
