Independance Day Celebration

This year, the members of the Jaffa community, led by Father Apolinary, made an effort to mark Independence Day with a shared and unifying trip to the north, despite a general sense of uncertainty. Unfortunately, due to the war, we had to cancel the Stations of the Cross pilgrimage planned for the Lenten season. Precisely for this reason, we felt a small but meaningful joy that circumstances still allowed us to go out and celebrate on Independence Day.

As every year, we stayed at the "Casa Nova" guesthouse in Tiberias. After dinner, we gathered again for a prayer of Lectio Divina, a shared reflection on the Gospel passage of the day. In this way, we sought to begin the national holiday with spiritual nourishment that would accompany us along the journey.

The next morning began with prayer, the Lord’s Supper, in the ancient church at the site. Afterwards, we continued our program at the archaeological site of ancient Magdala. From there, we set out on foot to climb Mount Arbel, which lies very close to the Gospel Trail that passes through the area, and enjoyed the magnificent view over the Sea of Galilee.

We shared our festive meal in Magdala together with other priests who had arrived by different routes, and we had the opportunity to exchange experiences and deepen our connections through these intersecting paths and the warmth of shared food.

This is also an opportunity to thank all those who worked hard, both in preparing the food and organizing the logistics, and above all, our dear spiritual father, Father Apolinary. May God grant him much strength and joy in life.