The Holy Land Here

On Saturday, I took a group of CCM alumni into DC to visit the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. I use the word "took" and any reference to my leadership in the loosest sense possible. Originally, Marianne and I had planned to have an alumni retreat, but she had knee surgery again. Rather than cancel everything for our alum, we changed it to a trip to the monastery. Less planning, easier for me to run, still a good time and a God-focused time.

I had a constant shuffle of people, joining and backing out, from the moment I sent the first email to the moment we left for the Metro from Connor's house. We ended up with four and one more to meet us in the city. It's been a while since I've ridden the DC Metro, and I enjoyed it as much as I did two years ago (when did my life get that far away!?!), when I had just started this blog. People watching on public transit is awesome, even if it did take us too many loops around the Metro station to figure out how to get into the parking lot.

I have heard so many good things about the Monastery, and it lived up to my expectations of beautiful, though not at all how I imagined it. The rose garden surrounded by a covered walkway with the mysteries of the rosary was in half-bloom, so colorful, prickly, a little bit new and a little bit dying. The rest of the grounds followed two organizing principles: replicas of shrines throughout the world and the Stations of the Cross. In the midst of the Stations, we'd suddenly come across a shrine or a saint who was beautiful, but broke up the flow of the walk. It was a reminder that you can't follow Christ's death and resurrection without running into his life and his Church. It reminded me of our "prayer table" when I was growing up : full of religious tchotchkes that are unified only by virtue of proximity.

Inside, we took a tour of the monastery. Upstairs, a church shaped like a Jerusalem cross was playing host to Confessions at one end and a quinceañera at another. On two opposite sides, stairs led the way to Biblical scene popping out of the wall : the Transfiguration and the Crucifixion faced each other. Downstairs, we walked through a model of the Catacombs, including tombs of St. Sebastian and St. Cecilia. Ancient catechisms, in the form of rough drawings, covered the walls. We ended in a model of the Church of Nativity. Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy the tour... except me. Our tour guide did his job well, but I'm not a fan of guided tours. I love to linger and soak in. Since I didn't get a chance, I might just have to return and see it all again. It certainly would get old for the going back.