The eighteen seminarians who traveled to the Holy Land this year had been born in eight different countries: Cameroon, Iraq, Korea, Mexico, Peru, Poland, South Africa, and the United States. Making our way through Passport Control took a while! But, apart from that, our diversity also enabled us to interact more freely with many of the other pilgrim groups we encountered at the holy sites of the land of Jesus's birth. One Polish couple even wanted to adopt Tom Wasilewski! This mingling with and praying with brothers and sisters from all around the globe is just one of the many blessings of our annual pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome. One afternoon in our guest house outside of Jerusalem, about midway through our trip, I met with nine of the seminarians to ask them what had been so far the best and the most difficult parts of the trip. Most of the men identified as the highlight praying at the Empty Tomb of Christ, now the Chapel of the Resurrection in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. The most difficult, or least rewarding, seemed to be our day long trek into the Negev Desert. I shared with them, at that point, the story of the eight-day camping trip my pilgrim class took in the Sinai Desert, where we became very sympathetic with the grumbling of the Israelites. I guess I showed my age with that one. But I digress. What impresses me the most about our pilgrimage to the Holy Land is how it makes each of us confront the truth of the Resurrection in an immediate and personal way. We are able to see exactly what the apostles saw, an Empty Tomb. This sight and their personal encounter with the Risen Christ led them to heroic faith, the kind of faith that prompted them to embrace martyrdom rather than to betray their Lord. We do not face martyrdom as did our ancestors, but our age is in desperate need of men and women who are bold and courageous in their faith and relationship with Jesus Christ. Twenty of us had a unique opportunity to grow in our conviction and commitment to Christ. We are grateful the Annual Golf Classic and it's sponsors that made this pilgrimage possible.
