7 places in the holy land that reawakened my faith

I used to believe that I was close to God — my first job was teaching Christian Living to grade 6 and 7 students at my elementary and high school alma mater. So close did I think I was that I even spent a few years of my life living in a tertiary religious community. 

Before I reached the age of 25, I realized that perhaps that life was not for me, so I set off into the real world and immersed myself in the Philippine Senate (where I worked as one of the staff of the late Senator Vicente Paterno in 1987; later I did some work for Senator Alberto Romulo).

Working in a newspaper started in the ’90s, and has lasted till today. Because of my religious background, I’d always dreamed of visiting the Holy Land, when lo and behold, Cathay Pacific recently sent an invitation to join a trip to their latest destination: the Holy Land and Tel Aviv.

How did they know I had longed to visit this sacred place? It’s one of the mysterious ways life works, I guess: what we wish for — if we wait for the right time — does become a reality.

“Cathay Pacific began flying four times a week to Tel Aviv last March 25, although we are pushing for the flight to become daily,” says Robin Bradshaw, country manager of Cathay Pacific Airways Philippines. “Everyone realizes that it is a successful flight, as the flights are always full.”

For the fam trip, Cathay Pacific partnered with Tel Aviv-based tour group Asia Tours, which set the itinerary for the journey.

“I met with Rob Bradshaw during the event that we held in the Philippines last February to celebrate Asia Tours’ 40th anniversary,” said Mano Alemi, president and CEO of Asia Tours.  “We share the same passion for this industry, believing in the importance of investing and having a vision to increase the quantity of Filipinos arriving in the Holy Land.”

Though Mano added that the majority of Filipino tourists visit Israel for pilgrimage purposes, Asia Tours never considers them one-time visitors only. Actually, there are second- and even third-time visitors.

“It depends on the group faith, needs, requests, and the length of stay in Israel,” added Alemi. “But I also believe that places like Caesarea, Masada, the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, Akko and Tel Aviv city are worth a visit, too.”

Let the journey begin

On May 31, we left Manila at 6 p.m. and arrived at Cathay Pacific’s hub, Hong Kong, at about 8 p.m. We spent the next three hours in the Cathay Pacific lounge Pier, where we whiled our time away by feasting on Chinese noodles, western meals and even downing a few drinks at the bar — a most relaxing layover. I was able to take a shower an hour before our flight left, well aware that as soon as we arrived in Tel Aviv, the tour would begin. 

Our Cathay Pacific flight on an Airbus A350 left Hong Kong at around 1 a.m. and, after a 10-hour flight, we arrived in Tel Aviv at 7:30 a.m., just in time to start our journey into the Holy Land and beyond.

Seven holy places

As soon as we arrived, a tour that I will never forget — a trip that reawakened a long and sleeping faith in me — began.  As it is said in the Bible, seven is the perfect number, so let me share with you seven places in the Holy Land that opened my heart.

1. Riding a boat across the Sea of Galilee – As fate — or should I say, faith — would have it, it was my 55th birthday on the day we set out on the Sea of Galilee. “A day of blessings” is what the group (10 travel executives, a Cathay Pacific staff member and fellow journalist) called it. 

After all, what better way to start a special day than in the place where Jesus walked on water? St. Peter did as well. The Sea of Galilee, as it is known, is actually the largest freshwater lake in Israel.

Today, as it was in the past, the lake’s main economic activity is fishing. It is where “St. Peter’s Fish,” more commonly known as tilapia, is fished commercially for tourist consumption.   

The boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum gave me a chance to sit by myself and turn off the noise on the boat. I enjoyed the short 10-minute ride across because the place remains the way it was during the time of Jesus, or at least the way I imagined it to be — untouched by modern concrete buildings, which normally commemorate a significant holy place.

I recalled, from my Christian Living classes years ago, that it was here that the Lord spent most of His three years of ministry.

2. Getting baptized in the River Jordan. It is written that Jesus was baptized along the River Jordan by his cousin John.

On the afternoon of my birthday, as a gift to me, the fee that they charge for the baptism was paid for so that I, too, could be baptized in the River Jordan. “Another blessing,” the group chorused.

The baptism is another experience I am not going to forget. After all, as a Catholic baptized two days after my birth, I do not recall the event.

Dressed in a white gown that one must wear for the baptism, I headed into the River Jordan, where there were little fish swimming with me. No elaborate ceremony was held; I just whispered a quiet prayer and fully submerged myself in the river.

It is a sad fact that there is much fighting over the water that runs through the River Jordan. From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea and all along the River Jordan, there is a need for cooperation over water.  The River Jordan is a vital lifeline to Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria. People depend on it for health, industrial productivity and agriculture.

We were often reminded that the next war in the area might not be over oil, but over water.

3. Walking through the Old City of Jerusalem. We walked around six kilometers in total on that day, with the temperature soaring to 41 degrees centigrade. It was hot, but I imagined what it might have been like during the time Jesus walked the same roads.  Our tour began at the Mount of Olives, where we got a view of where Jesus was crucified.  We also entered the Church of Pater Noster, where the Our Father Prayer, written in hundreds of languages, is hung.

4. Visiting the Garden of Gethsemane and touching the rock that Jesus prayed on before he was betrayed by Judas and arrested at the Church of all nations.  We entered the Church of All Nations, where we saw the Rock of Agony that Jesus held on to as He prayed before Judas betrayed him.

Clear on my mind as I approached the Rock were the words, “Can any one of you stay awake longer to accompany me as I pray?” These words are often recited during the Lenten readings when I go to church.

I was able to lay my hands on the rock in spite of the crowd that had come out before me. As I exited the church, I walked around the Garden of Gethsemane where we were told the trees were the same ones that were there over 2,000 years ago.

5. Doing the Stations of the Cross. I tried to focus on each station as I walked through the cobblestone path. It was not easy because of all the little stores on the sides of the streets. I was reminded that, perhaps during the time of Christ, there were no little stalls; just people jeering at him. After all, it was the people who wanted Him crucified.

We made a stop at the ninth station, where there was a stone that bore the handprint of Jesus as he held on to the wall in his exhaustion. I was able to put my hand on that spot, and I said a silent prayer.

6. Entering the Holy Sepulchre. This is the place where Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead. This sacred place is filled with the faithful. There is a stone on the ground where it is said Christ’s body was laid before he was buried in the tomb. Our guide reminded us that, in keeping with Jewish law, Jesus had to be entombed before dark.

Like many of the faithful there, I placed my hands on the stone where Jesus was laid. I thanked Him for allowing me to make the journey to this holy place.

We also joined the lines to a shrine where the tomb of Jesus was, but we were only given a few seconds inside this holy place before being told our time was up.

7. Visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem where the basilica and grotto of the Nativity are located. To be there in the place where the Virgin Mary and Joseph were when Jesus was born was a miracle as far as I am concerned. I sat inside for a good five minutes and imagined what it was like to be among animals that kept Jesus warm on that cold night when He was born.

If there is one lesson I took home with me from this trip to the Holy Land, it is this: There are no fast ways to meet the Lord of our Faith, yet we know that if we keep our hearts open we will meet Him in every station of our lives.

The visit to the Holy Land gave me an opportunity to walk the streets and, even if only in my mind, live the life Jesus lived — and for that I am grateful.  

5 more must-sees in Israel & Jordan

Here are five more places in Israel and Jordan I would recommend to any traveler:

1. Petra in Jordan — One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Petra is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. The city is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.  

Words are never going to be enough to describe Petra. It has to be experienced. Our guide told us that Petra was established as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Arab Nabataeans. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who took advantage of Petra’s proximity to regional trade routes to establish it as a major trading hub. The Nabataeans are also known for their great ability in constructing efficient water-collecting methods in the barren deserts, and their talent for carving structures into solid rock. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

2. The Wailing Wall — It is here where you are normally asked to place your prayer intentions. We were advised the day before our visit to write down our petitions so we could place them in the crevices of the wall.

The Wailing Wall is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.  Jews from all countries, as well as tourists from other religious backgrounds go to pray at the wall, where many people believe that one immediately has the “ear of God.” 

It struck me, though, that the portion of the Wailing Wall for men is bigger than that for women, even if most of the visitors to the wall are women.

3. The Holocaust Memorial — Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is dedicated to preserving the memory of the dead, honoring Jews who fought against their Nazi oppressors and the people who selflessly aided Jews in need.  It also has research into the phenomenon of the Holocaust in particular and genocide in general, with the aim of avoiding such events in the future.

I was moved to tears in this place.  As I entered the children’s memorial, groping in the dark room with a ceiling filled with lights that appeared to be stars, a voice enumerated the names and ages of the children lost during the Holocaust.

No words, only heart-wrenching emotions.

The idea of establishing a memorial in the historical Jewish homeland for Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust was conceived during World War II, as a response to reports of the mass murder of Jews in Nazi-occupied countries.

4.  Masada National Park — Masada is an ancient fortification in the southern district of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea.

It is here that Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War ended in the mass suicide of 960 people, the Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there.

Masada was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

5.  The Open Doors monument in Rishion Lezion, Israel — On the day we visited the monument, our group met Romanian-born Asher Cohen, 80, a Holocaust survivor.

“In 1941 when the German army invaded Romania, my family and I were deported to another place — a ghetto where all the Jews were placed,” Cohen shared. “My mother could only take with her a very small bag of belongings. We stayed in this place until the end of the war, which for Romania was in August 1944.”

Cohen shared that they were isolated and suffered all the atrocities that have been written about. He added that during the war, more than 300,000 Jews in Romania were murdered.

“I am a Holocaust survivor and I feel grateful to the people of the Philippines and to the president of the Philippines, Manuel Quezon,” he added.  “Not all the nations in the world wanted to help the Jews. The Philippines did, not other countries. The noble President Manuel Quezon decided to save Jews from Europe through a special project called ‘Open Doors and the Heart of the Philippines to the Jews.’”

President Quezon knew about the Jewish plight in Europe and, as a matter of policy, the Philippine Commonwealth government opened its doors and welcomed the refugees in 1939, earmarking 10,000 travel visas to the Philippines. President Quezon also built a housing community for the refugees in Marikina and allotted vast tracts of farmlands in Mindanao that could accommodate as many as 35,000 settlers. After World War II broke out, the Jewish exodus to Manila came to a halt.

Quezon and his government saved some 1,200 Jewish refugees from the Holocaust.

On June 21, 2007, an “Open Doors” monument was inaugurated at the Holocaust Park in Rishon Lezion, a city located 40 minutes from Jerusalem.

It is the first Philippine monument in Israel, designed by Jun Yee, who won the top prize among eight entries by sculptors and architects in a design competition conducted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2007.

It is made up of three open doors in metal sheets of varying heights standing on a base of Romblon marble.

“I feel a responsibility to be grateful,” Cohen shared with us. “Thank you for what you have done for us.”

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Cathay Pacific’s Tel Aviv service for summer 2017: Every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, flight CX675, Hong Kong to Tel Aviv (HKG to TLV), departs at 1 a.m. and arrives at 7:40 a.m. CX674 from Tel Aviv to Hong Kong departs at 1:50 p.m. and arrives at 5:10 a.m. the next day.

For winter 2017: every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Cathay Pacific flight CX675 (HKG to TLV) will depart at 1 a.m. and arrive at 7 a.m. CX674 (TLV to HKG) will depart at 12:45 p.m. and will arrive at 5:15 a.m. the next day.