Shepherds and Cats

1/22/15

Hey everybody!

I hope everyone is doing well back home. I'm doing very well in the Holy Land. It has really been a blessed experience so far. This week we started classes. I have a spiritual direction course and an ecumenism course so far. Some other courses will begin later in the semester and when I return back to school for classes in April.

We visited the Shepherd's Field today and had Mass there in one of the caves. It was super neat!  To have Mass in the space where the Angel appeared to the shepherds and let them know about the Birth of the Savior was really cool.  Fun fact about having Masses in these various locations. The Mass used in those locations is the Mass for the location. So for the Gospel at the Shepherd's Field they use Luke 2:8 which is the story of the shepherds so you are able to be in the exact spot of what is being proclaimed in the Gospel!  After Mass we had some prayer time and time to explore the grounds. The distance too between the field and Bethlehem isn't really as long as I imagined it. I imagined that they saw a star and would take a while to arrive, but in reality it isn't that bad of a walk. Kinda cool to put it in perspective.

We went for lunch to a place called the Shepherd's Tent. It was awesome!  We had a ton of great food. There were different salads for the first course. It was hummus and other things to dip bread in. Then came the meat and potatoes course. Then a small dessert. Was quite filling and delicious. I admit, I miss Portillo's, but the food here is doing an OK job filling in. A unique part to the restaurant was that wild cats are allowed to walk around the restaurant. Now in America that would be a major health violation, but in the Holy Land these guests are acceptable. It was kinda cool just having a cat walk around your feet while eating lunch in a nice restaurant. Not something I can say I've experienced back home.

The weather here has been beautiful. It has been in the 60's and sunny. I'm not gunna lie, I'm happy to be missing the cold and snow. I've been lucky in my international travels. When it was super hot back home I was cool in the mountains in Guatemala, and now here in the Holy Land I'm warmer as it's cold back home.

Alright everyone, please know of my prayers. This weekend we will have Mass at the study of St. Jerome where he translated the Bible.  I hopefully will get a chance to see some more places and explore too. Talk to y'all soon!

-Chris

Merry Christmas! (1/18/15)

1/18/15


Hola Amigos!

Como estan?  Well I guess I shouldn't be using Spanish for my blog right now since I'm no longer blogging in Guatemala, but blogging from the Holy Land! We visit Bethlehem as part of the experience, and what a blessing it has been.  Today (January 18th this year) is Armenian Christmas Eve, so it is still Christmas time here!  One of the coolest things I have done so far is have Mass at the grotto at the Church of the Nativity.  In this grotto they have a star marking where it is believed Jesus was born and also a few feet from it the manger where it is held they placed Jesus after he was born.  The Mass was at the altar in the area where the manger was.  It was such a beautiful Mass.  The area can only hold about 20 people standing around it, but what a blessing!  As the priest elevated the host, it was so cool to be looking at Jesus in the Eucharist, and to know the very same Jesus lay there over 2,000 years ago.  That I kinda, in a sense, had a role of one of the Shepherds or Magi.  That I was at the manger truly adoring the Lord how they did.

The food here has been good so far.  We have had meat, fish, potatoes, hummus, cheese, and lots of bread, just to name a few!  A beautiful thing jumps into my mind about bread.  Bethlehem means "House of Bread."  How beautiful that at Mass, I'm receiving the Bread of Life in the House of Bread...that's cray cool!  The culture is very different here from the United States, but in a way does remind me of Guatemala.  This reminder is especially true with the street vendors and the shops.

Some of us came across a "Starbucks."  I put it in quotes, because it isn't Starbucks, but they took the name, the logo, and sell coffee.  It's not half bad!  In fact it was great sipping on a mocha watching the Armenian Christmas parade going to the Church of the Nativity.  Tomorrow begins a full week of classes and touring around.  Time is going to start to go by fast I'm sure while we're here, but it will continue to be a blessing as it has been already.

Please know of my prayers for all of you, and please know I feel very safe over here.  There has been nothing here to cause me real fear or anxiety.  I ask for your continued prayers for safety, and prayers as I prepare for ordination.  As you know, I will be ordained less than one week after I return home from the Holy Land!  I hope all of you will be there!  I'm not sure how often I will get to blog since the internet is pretty bad, but please know I will keep you informed as much as possible.  I also hope to upload photos on a flicker account again when I get the chance.  When that gets set up, I'll add a link.  OK everybody, talk to you soon!

~Chris Lankford