Today we depart  our home town connecting to our overnight flight to Tel  Aviv. We enjoy in-flight movies, dinner and breakfast aloft. 

We arrive in Tel Aviv where we are greeted by our full time guide. We transfer to our hotel for relaxation, dinner and overnight.  

We depart for Caesarea along the Mediterranean and visit the Roman and Crusader historical ruins. We continue to Mt. Carmel, where we visit the site of Elijah's confrontation with the priests of Baal. We drive on to Nazareth and walk through the local bazaars. We celebrate Mass at the Church of the Annunciation, where the Word became Flesh!  Our last stop today is the village of Cana, the site of  Jesus’ first miracle. Dinner and overnight at our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.  

This morning we take a wonderful boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to the seaside village of Kibbutz Ginosar to view the historic archaeological discovery “The Jesus Boat.”. On to Capernaum, where we see the remains of the village synagogue and the new church built atop St. Peter's house. Next, we drive to the Mount of Beatitudes and visit the Basilica in the beautiful gardens. We stop close by at Tabgha and the Franciscan Church of St. Peter's Primacy, where Jesus made His appearance after the resurrection, we also stop at the Benedictine Basilica of the Loaves and Fishes. We visit Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene. We celebrate Mass here. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.  

We start our day with a visit to Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration before continuing to the Jordan River, where we enjoy a special renew of our Baptismal promises and celebrate Mass. We continue south through the Jordan Valley visiting Jericho and view the Mount of Temptation.  Finally, we make our thrilling entry into Jerusalem, we pass by the traditional site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan, before arriving at our hotel for dinner and overnight. 

This morning, we drive to Bethlehem, House of Bread, to visit the Church of the Nativity that commemorates the birth of Christ. We visit the Manger, Crusader's Cloister, and the Grotto of St. Jerome, where we celebrate the Christmas Mass. We honor the Christians of the Holy Land by stopping at a local olive wood, jewelry and souvenir shop. We stop at Shepherd’s Field and the Milk Grotto – where the cloistered nuns pray 24 hours a day for World Peace. We visit Ein Karem, where Mary visited  Elizabeth to utter the words of the Magnificat. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.  

We start our day at the site of the Ascension and then we enter the Church of Pater Noster, where the disciples were taught the Our Father. We view the City of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives, then walk down the Easter Sunday hill to Dominus Flevit Chapel, and the Garden of Gethsemane, where we celebrate Mass. We continue to Mt. Zion and the tomb of King David, the Church of Dormition and pray in the Upper Room.  We enter the Old City to vist the Western (Wailing) Wall. We see the Cardo and the remains of Hezekiah's wall. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. 

After breakfast, we return to the Judean wilderness first visiting Masada by cable car. This was the mountaintop fortress of King Herod where from 70-73 AD, the Jewish defenders made the last stand of the Jewish revolt against Rome; we see the remains of storehouses, cisterns and a royal palace. We also visit the excavations at Qumran, the home of the Essenes connected with John the Baptist and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Weather permitting; we have an opportunity to swim in the salty, yet clear waters of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. On our return to Jerusalem, we pass by the traditional site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. 

This morning, we drive along the Kidron Valley stopping at St. Peter in Gallicantu (The Cock Crows), where Jesus was held in the house of the High Priest Caiaphas. We enter the Old City through the Lion's Gate, visiting St. Anne’s church- and venerating at the tomb of St. Anne- the mother of Mary. We also visit Pilate’s Judgment Hall, the Chapel of Flagellation, Lithostrotos , Arch of Ecce Homo and the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. We prayerfully walk the Stations of The Cross along the Via Dolorosa concluding at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we celebrate Mass. After lunch we continue to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum and pay homage to all who died. Dinner and overnight at our hotel

We travel to Abu Gosh, one of the traditional sites of Emmaus, where Jesus appeared on the road on the first Easter Sunday. We celebrate our last Mass together here before we continue to Jaffa, the city of Jonah, where Peter had his rooftop experience. We enjoy this quaintly restored area, visiting the Church of St. Peter. Afterwards we enjoy a farewell dinner with wine before we head to Ben Gurion Airport for our overnight flight home.

We arrive back in the USA today- with stories to share and memories to last a lifetime!  Our experience walking in the footsteps of Jesus and the early Christians brings new meaning to our Scripture readings and the celebration of Mass.