In the Footsteps of Christ: Holy Land Pilgrimage November 2019

By Benjamin Takavarasha

A pilgrimage to the Holy Land, is, as anyone who has been would tell you, an illuming and

many ways an indescribable event to someone who hasn’t been, leaving as it does an

indelible mark on pilgrims, whether as first time or repeat pilgrims, and the afterglow can

stay with one long after the pilgrim returns deriving from a deeper and experiential

knowledge of God. As a case in point on the latter, the late Fr Ignatius Zvarevashe SJ was

moved to write a book on his Holy Land experience after just one visit, his book in Shona

published in 2012 entitled: Zvandakaona kunyika Tsvene (Dudziro yakadzika yeBhaibheri)

[What I witnessed in the Holy Land – a deep unpacking of the Gospel narrative]

I was part of this pilgrimage having travelled with the main group from London to join with

the pilgrims travelling from Zimbabwe and one from South Africa. For me this was my

second and consecutive Holy Land pilgrimage and with the same Pilgrimage Tour group,

Image Travel.

But this was a Holy Land pilgrimage with a difference, not just by comparison with the

parallel pilgrimage the previous year or by many other Zimbabwean pilgrimages I had heard

of or reported on over the years: Firstly it was the size, 96 pilgrims, 25 flying from

Zimbabwe, 1 from South Africa, 70 travelling from the UK including 2 who had joined them

from Australia. Such was the size of the group that it necessitated the use of two coaches and

two guides to travel from our hotel to holy sites, potentially a logistical conundrum that I

personally had feared for prior to the pilgrimage. But thankfully, and credit to the organises,

it all went relatively well.

Secondly, the pilgrimage was led by two bishops, undoubtedly for the first time for a

Zimbabwean pilgrimage, Bishop Rudolf Nyandoro of Gokwe and Bishop Raymond

Mupandasekwa CSsR of Chinhoyi, incidentally ordained as bishops within a year of each

other, and light-heartedly dubbed ‘baby bishops’, the latter of course only relative to the

current and previous bishops in Zimbabwean Catholic history (my previous bishop in my

former diocese of Brentwood in England, now Bishop Emeritus Thomas McMahon, was

ordained as bishop at 36). The two bishops took turns to lead us at Masses where they were

supported by two priests, Fr James Allen of Chinhoyi and Fr Casper S Mukabva CSsR, who

is based in London. There were four religious sisters: Sr Wadzanayi Makonese, Sr Generosa

Foroma, both of Masvingo, Sr Esther Chinyani of Chinhoyi and Sr Martin Chikosha of the

archdiocese of Harare.

The two bishops 90-year old Jaison Gavure by the Sea of Galilee

Most Zimbabwean Holy Land pilgrimages tend to be one denomination which is quite

understandable. On the contrary, while this pilgrimage was predominantly Catholic, it was

somewhat ecumenical in having a few from other denominations, and of those I knew before

or managed to establish by chance, there were at least four other denominations, namely RCZ

(formerly Dutch Reformed), Methodist, Anglican and AFM, who between them from my

observations never appeared out of place, participation in evening reflections back at the

hotels, and outside Mass, singing their hymns and joined by the whole group either during the

coach drive or at the holy sites. And perhaps more significantly, some of them gave

testimonies to their congregations back home on their Holy Land experience, undoubtedly on

top of private testimonies to their acquaintances.

Last but not least, the pilgrimage was particularly unique in the age range of the pilgrims,

ranging from early 20s (judging by looks) and 90 as I know for certain, Mr Jaison Gavure

above in his RCZ regalia. On the latter, against the known challenges of walking in the Holy

Land, the 90-year old walked with no aid, and in fact occasionally walked faster than most of

us even along the slopes and highs around Jerusalem and the hill country of Judea, a

revelation and a major talking point throughout the pilgrimage, As we relived the miracles of

the Gospel narrative, we truly had at least the one in our very midst!

Because of the numbers, the pilgrims were split between two coaches, each with a guide, and

for spiritual guidance, each with a bishop and one of the priests. But invariably like all other

Holy Land pilgrimages, the itinerary can never be tailored to chronological follow the gospel

story as this depended on the timing of the availability of shrine slots in view of simultaneous

pilgrimages.

That said, we fortuitously started from where it all began: the place of Jesus birth not far from

our hotel. The excitement of especially first-time pilgrims was understandable, looking

forward to the salvific cradle heralded by the prophet Isaiah, the focus of Christmas carols

and beamed across the world from the Church of the Nativity, the very holy site we were

about to set foot. Indeed, it was a visit to Bethlehem that inspired Saint Francis of

Assisi to create the first Christmas crib in the year 1223, now such an integral part of

Christmas whereby the crib has become the 'replica Bethlehem' in Catholic churches and in

many homes during Christmastide. One RCZ first time pilgrim could not resist telling and

humming to me their flagship Christmas hymn, their hymn number 26, which goes in part:

‘Ngati’ndeivo kudanga/ Rushiye rurimo’ (Let us go to the cradle to behold the holy child). To

actually see the fulfilment of that hymn, was, he confessed, too good to be true.

Nativity Square

But come to the Nativity Square, we did not go straight to the spot of Jesus birth and manger,

but to the nearby Milk Grotto. This grotto is considered holy because, according to tradition,

this is the exact place where Joseph, Mary and the infant Jesus took refuge during the

slaughter of the infants by King Herod to assuage his fears (Matthew 2:13-18). The Holy

Family stayed here before their escape to Egypt. Tradition has it that while Mary was nursing

Jesus here, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning it white. For ages, childless woman of

many religions have visited the Milk Grotto in order to ask for the gift of offspring. In

general, pilgrims usually take with them a piece of the Grotto’s white rock that is believed to

have magical powers, as indeed did some of our pilgrims. Incidentally this is one among

other stories about Our Lord not mentioned in the Bible, hence the Bible itself says:

“There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described

individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be

written”.(Jn 21: 25)

There was a long queue to visit the spot of Jesus birth and the manger, something like two

hours, but spirits still high from the expectation of the golden opportunity. And come the

moment, it was a ‘conveyor belt syndrome’ as there was only a very limited time to touch the

spot of our Saviour birth followed by the nearby spot of the manger, but surely no complaints

but only gratitude for the gracious opportunity.

So overwhelming was the experience in spite of its brevity that one first time pilgrim who

had joined from Zimbabwe said that even if they were to return without seeing any other holy

site, it would still be worth it. But of course, there was much more in the pipeline.

The Shepherds Field

Notwithstanding its proximity to both our hotel and the Nativity Square, visit to the

Shepherds field did not immediately follow the visit to the Nativity Square from logical

imperative, as the itinerary was driven by other factors. But it is only logical to slot it in this

article immediately after the nativity Square:

Apart from the nativity Square, the Shepherds Field is undoubtedly the next nearest focus of

the nativity of our Lord, as borne out by the fact that it is the focus of most of the traditional

carols by way of a verse or two, with at least one carol focussing entirely on the episode of

the shepherds’ encounter, namely: ‘While the Shepherds watched their flocks by Night’.

Shepherds Field Shrine Gloria in Excelsis Deo Chapel

Aside from the carols, the prayer/song of the angels has become an integral part of the

Catholic liturgy at Sunday Masses whereby the song of the angels is repeated at the

beginning of Mass in the Gloria: ‘Gloria in Excelsis Deo et in terra . . .’, and in Shona and

Ndebele Masses (Mwari Ndaarumbidzwe/Udumo) while not in literal translations echo the

same in singing of God’s glory.

The biggest Protestant group on our pilgrimage, of RCZ, on their part boasted of one of their

hymns (hymn 25 in their hymnbook) as beautifully encapsulating the scene between the angel

and the shepherds: ’Tererea-I manzwi awa/anoimba ikweyo/Ko haazi avatumwa/Vanogara

ikweyo?’ (listen to the celestial voices, are they not of the angels that abide yonder there in

the beatific vision).

Holy Sites Not Covered

Having covered the nativity and Shepherds Field, and just a few other sites below, it still

leaves many others uncovered and by no means insignificant, among others: the site of Our

Lord’s baptism on the river Jordan, the birth place of St John the Baptist, the Pater Noster

Square in Jerusalem where the Lord’s Prayer was taught to the disciples, and significantly

with a plaque of the prayer in Shona, the Upper Room, the scene the Last Supper and the first

Pentecost, Church of the Annunciation, the Dead Sea . . . the Transfiguration. The of choice

of the remaining sites that were covered was largely subjective, although the immediately

following goes without saying:

Gethsemane and Calvary

Gethsemane is undoubtedly replete with memorabilia of the Lord’s Passion, and for space

constraints it would not be feasible to be exhaustive. I will however mention one which

particularly stood out for me, partly because I had never heard of it until I came to the Holy

Land. This is the pit below the Church of Galicanto commemorating Peter’s three-fold denial

(Mt.26:72 -74). This is the pit where Our Lord was placed to spend the rest of the night on

the eve of his trial and passion, a heart wrenching thought. Surprisingly enough it is not

mentioned in anyone of the four gospels, but then St John reminds us that not everything

about Our Lord is written (Jn 21:25).

Although this may not be recorded in the gospels, Christians have inferred that this is a

fulfilment of the words of the Psalmist without necessarily saying that Our Lord actually

vocalised the litany:

'My soul is surfaced with troubles... You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit... Upon

me your wreath is heavy... I am imprisoned and cannot escape... O Lord, I call upon you' (Ps.

88).

We then traced our Lord’s footsteps to Calvary, the Via Dolorosa, when groups of four by

whatever formation, took turns to carry the cross, staring with the clergy as below.

Those who have gone to other pilgrimage sites like Lourdes and Fatima, or some retreat

centres with ways of the cross where the devotion is a solemn occasion, would know them as

very solemn moments with no other activity apart from the stations, the experience of the Via

Dolorosa, the ‘real McCoy’(to borrow street language) would have come as a rude shock

because the route between stations is through busy and crowded streets, noisy and all. Indeed,

one of our pilgrims was moved to write a lamentation on this scenario in verse.

Undoubtedly the most poignant moments of

the pilgrimage were retracing the proximate

trail of Our Lord’s Passion, and space

allows me a only bird’s eye view. We had

Mass in the ‘Rock of Agony’. This was

followed by solemn moments of prayer as

people took turns to pray at the very spot (as

in the picture) Jesus made that heart

wrenching outcry: ‘My soul is sorrowful to

the point of death’ (Mt. 26:38). But for

having to take turns with other pilgrimage

groups, people would have liked to have

stayed to pray a lot longer

First go: the turn of the clergy A family unit: the man with a hat is 90

Finally, at Calvary, we entered the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. Like our experience in

Manger Square for the spot of Jesus birth, there was a long wait to see and touch the spot of

his burial. Because of the renovation, Golgotha came after, again with long queues, and once

there, a very brief moment allowed for each pilgrim at the spot of the crucifixion. Although

marked by an imitation cross, each pilgrim could place their hand in the hole where the actual

cross was placed, undoubtedly an experience to savour as one lives.

At Calvary, it was heartening to see about five Zimbabwean religious based in Israel and

attached to their respective orders. They all later visited us at our hotel in Bethlehem.

Scenes from the Old Testament

By King David’s Tomb By the Dome of the Rock

While the focus of this article maybe retracing the footsteps of Christ as the title goes, a brief

sortie into the Old Testament is not amiss, partly because the Old and New Testament are

hardly inseparable, and partly and largely because the two sites I will feature are much more

directly relevant to the gospel narrative:

King David’s Tomb: There was heavy traffic of mainly Jewish pilgrims in and out and for

reasons that go without saying for either faith group. For Christians of course we know that

Christ was of David’s lineage in line with God’s promise to him, and indeed as the seers had

foretold, born in Bethlehem, the city of David – in ‘Royal David City’ as the famous

Christmas carol goes. King David’s direct link aside, his deathbed message to his son

Solomon speaks to all Abrahamic faiths:

“I am going the way of all flesh.

Take courage and be a man.

Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways

and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees

as they are written in the law of Moses,

that you may succeed in whatever you do,

wherever you turn” ~ 1 Kings 2: 1 - 3

Dome of the Rock/Mount Moriah: This is undoubtedly the iconic site of Jerusalem. This is a

profoundly sacred area to Christians, Jews and Moslems, and the volume of pilgrims and

discernible diversity attests to that fact. It’s Christian focus, along with Islam and Judaism,

derives from Genesis 22, whereby Abraham was to have sacrificed his son Isaac in obedience

to God, which prefigured God’s gift of his only begotten son (Jn 3:16) for our salvation. The

story is beautifully encapsulated in our interdenominational hymn in Shona:

‘Mwari wakatuma Abrahama, kuinda kugomo reMoriya. Vakatora mazuva matatu, gomo

ndokutanga kuvonekwa … ‘.

Those based in England, in particular from Liverpool, might have seen the beautiful mural to

this episode in the side walkways of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

On the Sea of Galilee

Some scenes on the boat

Some of the more vibrant and memorable moments for us was the boat ride on the Sea of

Galilee. The Sea of Galilee carries some of the most salient scenes of the gospel narrative:

It was on the Sea of Galilee that Jesus called four of his disciples (Mk 1:14-20), the pair of

brothers Peter and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee James and John. Three of these disciples

Peter, James and John were to occupy a special place among the twelve, constituting what we

could call the high command in military parlance, summoned by Jesus to more special

occasions: they alone were privileged to be present at the Transfiguration, the raising of the

daughter of Jairus and the agony in Gethsemane (in Shona: pokamwa mbga!). Among others,

it was the scene of one of Jesus greatest miracles: the calming of the storm by his mere word

(Mk 4: 35 – 41) … ; it was the scene where Jesus appeared for the third time to his disciples

after his resurrection (Jn 21: 1 – 14). . . As such the boat ride was very special as it was

retracing salient episodes of the gospel.

With the Zimbabwean flag hemmed on the deck, the short round trip kickstarted with the

recorded national anthem and obviously with the pilgrims joining in. Then there followed

several pieces of music both Church and secular accompanied by drums (with Sr Esther

Chinyani, on the right picture on previous page, as the drummist par excellence - whistle and

all!) and the occasional ululation, and inevitably, dancing; on the whole a raucously joyous

occasion. But yes, still intrinsically a pilgrimage, if invoking the words of St Teresa of Avilla

when she famously quipped: ‘A sad saint is a bad saint.”

Cana in Galilee

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To some, Cana is more or less all about this! By one of the two remaining stone jars: Jn 2:6

In John chaper 2 is the story of Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee with his mother

and his disciples where he changed water into wine at the behest of his mother, and held as

Jesus’ first miracle. Two of the six stone jars used have remained to this day, one of which is

shown above.

It is an episode of such significance that we celebrate it as the second luminous mystery of

the Holy Rosary. St John Paul II perceived as an event of great theological significance and

reflects on it comprehensively when he says in part:

‘Cana clearly outlines the new dimension, the new meaning of Mary’s motherhood…. It is a

new kind of motherhood according to the spirit and not just according to the flesh, that is to

say, Mary’s solitude for human beings, her coming to them in the wide variety of their wants

and needs. At Cana in Galilee there is shown only one concrete aspect of human need,

apparently a small one of little importance (“They have no wine”). But it has a

symbolic value: this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing

those needs within the radius of Christ’s messianic mission and salvific power. ….The

episode at Cana in Galilee offers us sort of first announcement of Mary’s mediation, wholly

oriented towards Christ and tending to the revelation of his salvific power.’

Theology aside, the episode at Cana, perhaps more than any other biblical passage, is cited by

those accused on whether partaking of ‘the waters of life’ is compatible with Christian living!

We celebrated Mass at the Franciscan Wedding Church which incorporated the blessing of

couples after renewing their wedding vows. Bishop Mupandasekwa gave a moving homily:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19mrFdDiVY5Ho_dZ74TgeeUnanX_z1TRn/view?usp=sharing

After Mass there was a shopping spree, inevitably mostly for Cana wine to take home.

Mount of the Beatitudes

By one of the beatitudes Commemoration of the vist by Pope Paul VI

The Mount of the Beatitudes is the tradtional location of the sermon on the Mount (Mathew

5:3-11), one of the gospel’s most significant addresses, or with poetic licence (at the risk of

presumption!), the core message of the gospel, the rest is commentary. There are eight

beatitudes and each one of them is featured on the stone engraving in the garden like the one

above.

The choice of the location was logistical in an age before microphones as our guide Louis

Michel explained, whereby the gradual incline formed an ideal amphitheatre to better reach

all his hearers. The mount is conveniently located in close proximity to the Church of the

Multiplication where Jesus is believed to have performed the miracle of the multiplication of

the fish and bread to feed the 5,000 reported in all four gospels.

It goes without saying that the Mount of the Beatitudes is one of the most popular Christian

pilgrimage site. Pope Paul VI visited the site in January 1964 in a first ever visit to the Holy

Land by a reighning pontif, and a commemmorative plaque in the garden as above celebrates

the historic visit, while his cloak still hangs in the church. And in March 2000 Pope John Paul

II held Mass on the site.

The Church of the Beatitudes

The church of the Beatitudes, a Roman Catholic Franciscan church, has an octagonal shape

representing the eight beatitudes, an asthetic and awesome sight, in particular the inner dome.

Site and Statue of St Peter’s Commissioning

By the statue od St Peter’s Commissioning

This statue is a scene of popular photocalls of which the above are just two among others , no

doubt because it commemmorates a significant event, especially for Catholics as it marked

the inauguration of the Petrine office. As Pope Leo XIIIcommented in Satis Cognitum:

“Nothing was conferred to the apostles from Peter, but several things were conferred upon

Peter apart from the apostles”. Nearer home, we have at least one Shona hymn

commemorating the event:’Mambo Jesu Musoro WeKirike’ by A Gumbo of Gokwe

Diocese, which was sung at the day’s Mass in line with the gospel reading.

Mass, which was our penultimate Mass on the eve of our departure, was held in the

Courtyard of the Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, where after His resurrection, Jesus met

with His disciples and told Peter to “feed my lambs; feed my sheep” (Jn. 21:15-25), the latter

being our gospel reading. The Mass was unique in two ways: it was our only open air during

our pilgrimage reminiscent of some of our Masses back home, as we sat in a built-up

stepwise amphitheatre. Secondly, and for me more significantly, it was the first time I had

heard a shared homily: Bishop Mupandasekwe started the homily and then it some

deliberately sticky point, invited his fellow Bishop, Bishop Nyandoro, to respond, who would

after unpacking the point, in turn, did the same, and the seesaw ‘theological gymnastics’

continued, and I am sure would have continued a while longer but for the time constraint as

the site was to close soon. The question it left was whether we had seen a brand-new chapter

in homiletics for concelebrated Masses.

Concluding Remarks

Paul Claudel, prominent French Poet, famously

quipped: “Joy is the most infallible sign of the

presence of God.” (emphasis added). On the latter

I can confidently say joy underscored the

pilgrimage group, transcending age, gender or

denominational affiliation, not just the palpable

scenes of joy on the boat on the Sea of Galilee as

described above, but throughout the pilgrimage as

borne out by the joyful interactions, whether on

the coach, mingling at the holy sites, in shops, at

dinner or in lounge back at the hotel; and if

according to the old adage, a picture is worth more

than a thousand words as the one beside , and by

no means the only scene, depicting tender and

loving care to the elderly and less able as need

arose, and what a joy to behold. As such, invoking

the poet’s adage, the abiding presence of God was

indeed truly manifest throughout this pilgrimage