I'll be in the Holy Land from January 17th until January 27th, leading a pilgrimage to the holy places, as I have done a number of times in the past. I never tire of visiting the Holy Land, praying where our Lord prayed and walking where the apostles walked with Him. Daily Mass will be celebrated according to the Anglican Use (of course!) in most of the important shrines and churches — Annunciation, Holy Nativity, Mount of the Beatitudes, Transfiguration, Gethsemane, Holy Sepulchre, and several other places. I hope it gives many of you pleasure to know such prayers as the Collect for Purity and the Prayer of Humble Access will be echoing off the walls of those magnificent places!
I will be giving special thanks for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and praying for the implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus in those places still waiting. I'll carry the intentions of all who are preparing to enter an Ordinariate in my heart.
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Father, I hope your group will also be making its way to Saint Peter in Gallicantu, where, as I'm sure you know, one goes down into the pit with Our Lord. It may sound strange, but this was one of the real highlights for me of our pilgrimage there in 2006. And when you are at Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, be sure to tell those crazy European pilgrims that in Texas we don't put our hands down into a hole in the ground, for fear that a rattler will bite it. Seriously, Godspeed and pray for us.
Go in peace and may your prayers, and those of your pilgrim group, resonate to the heavens. May those prayers be as incense in the presence of the Lord, on our behalf and that of all His Holy Catholic Church. Our prayers for your safe return to us have begun.
I pray for journey mercies to you and your fellow pilgrims, Father Phillips, and thanks for your prayers and your generosity towards those of us in the Traditional Anglican Communion.
Deborah
Father,
we pray for your save trip and wunderful pilgrimage.
Please remember us especially in Tabga, if you go there (I am sure you do), for its multiple meaning:
- the Petrine Primacy,
- the gift of the Eucharist,
- the feeding of the multitude, a real challenge here in Latin America.
Have a save trip!
Let me know if you're leading a tour in 2012. Had I know earlier, I would have asked to be with you this year.