As we have come to the final day of the Catholic Press Association's tour of Israel, I can't help but have bittersweet feelings. We've visited so many amazing sites in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Nazareth and Jerusalem, but I know we've only seen a small sampling of the country.
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| Vad Vashem |
One of those amazing places was Yad Vashem, which we visited this morning. The Holocaust History Museum, which we toured, is just one part of a campus that includes memorials, a research center and a school. The museum is a long, triangular structure that leads visitors on a cross-crossing path through the horrors of the Holocaust using displays, personal artifacts and video testimonies of survivors. It was only after touring the museum that I realized the path slopes down toward the center of the museum, and gently rises again toward the end, symbolizing the hope of the Jewish people after the atrocities.
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| Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
It was disappointing to see the small, but controversial display critical of Pope Pius XII's role during World War II. Knowing the efforts of people such as Sister Margherita Marchione and Ron Rychlak, author of "Hitler, the War and the Pope," to bring to light the pontiff's efforts to save Jews, I hope one day the display will tell a different story. Still, that was just one part of a very powerful visit to the museum.
Next up was a visit to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Of course, we had visited Qumran, the site of the scrolls' discovery, so it was fascinating to see the actual scrolls and learn the rest of their history.
Thankfully, our guide, Nathan, gave us free time between the museums and dinner. I took that opportunity to reflect on all we have seen and to revisit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (left). A cold, rainy day kept many tourists away, so I was able to have some quiet time to pray. I am grateful I was able to spend some of my final hours in Jerusalem there.
Thank you for coming along on this Holy Land journey with me. Shalom.
