2023 PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL

Plan now to join Father Robert Ruskamp and Barbara Remington in Israel and Jordan in 2023   on a VERY SPECIAL SMALL GROUP PILGRIMAGE                                                            

SAT. 4 NOV 23      Depart from Dulles Airport on Lufthansa 419 at 7:05 PM

SUN 5 NOV 23      Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany at 7:40 AM.  Have time to stretch your legs and get some lunch, then Transfer to LH694 at 2:05 PM.  Arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel at 7:05 PM where you’ll be met by your guide and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

MON 6 NOV 23    After enjoying the famous Israeli Breakfast, depart for Caesarea Maritima to visit the port city built by Herod the Great in 22 BCE, including the Amphitheater which is still used today.  This is where Pontius Pilate lived and where St. Paul was held a captive for two years before being sent to Rome.   Continue North to Muhraqa, overlooking the Jezreel Valley.  Here Elijah defeated the 450 gods of Baal and where Father will celebrate Mass.   Continue on to Nazareth and check into our hotel.  Dinner and overnight.

TUE 7 NOV 23      Begin your day as Father celebrates Mass at Grotto of the Annunciation.  Here Mary ‘heard the Word’ and voiced her Fiat to become the Mother of God.  After breakfast, have a walking tour of the town of Nazareth, visiting the house of St. Joseph, the synagogue and Mary’s Well.  Enjoy an included lunch before going to Cana, where Father will renew the Marriage Vows of our couples and you’ll have time to sample some wine!  Drive North to Sephorsis, one of the places believed to be where Mary was born.  Return to Nazareth for dinner and overnight.

WED 8 NOV 23    After breakfast, depart for the Sea of Galilee region and visit the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum (Jesus’ second home town), the Primacy, and Tabgha (the Loaves and Fishes).   Enjoy an included St.Peter’s fish lunch before having a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.  Finish the day at Magdala where you’ll tour the ancient town and see the first century synagogue.   Father will celebrate Mass.  Return to Nazareth for dinner and overnight.

THR 9 NOV 23     After breakfast, we depart for Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration of Jesus.  Father will celebrate Mass.   Continue driving South along the Jordan Rift to Jericho to see the Sycamore Tree and the Mount of Temptations.  You might be tempted to ride a camel :).  After a lunch break, we go to the Jordan River where Father will renew our Baptismal Promises.  Continue up to Jerusalem and check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

FRI 10 NOV 23    After breakfast, depart for Bethlehem.  Father will celebrate Mass in Shepherd’s Field and then we’ll have time to shop in one of the Christian stores (helping the Christians of the HolyLand).  Lunch is included before we enter the Nativity Church to visit the place where Our Lord was born.  Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

SAT 11 NOV 23      After breakfast depart for the Mount of Olives.  Visit the Ascension Mosque, Pater Noster Cloister, Dominus Flevit, and Gethsamane where Father will celebrate Mass.   After our lunch break, drive to Ein Karim to visit the birthplace of  St. John the Baptist and the  Visitation Church.   Before returning to our hotel for dinner, stop at the Israeli Museum to see a model of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.  Overnight in Jerusalem.

SUN 12 NOV 23      After breakfast, visit St. Peter in Gallicantu, where Peter denied Our Lord.  Continue to Mount Zion where Father will celebrate Mass in the Cenacle.  Visit the Upper Room and David’s Tomb.  Walk through the Armenian Quarter to Jaffa Gate and have some Free Time before we return to our hotel.  Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

MON 13 NOV 23    Mass in the Tomb of Our Lord at the Holy Sepulchre.  Return to the hotel for breakfast and then depart to visit the Western Wall and the  Temple Mount.  We also stop at the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne’s before our lunch stop.  In the afternoon, pray the Stations as we walk the Via Dolorosa to Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher.  Special dinner in Bethlehem at The Tent Restaurant.

 TUE 14 NOV 23     FREE DAY until 3:00 PM before we cross at the Allenby Bridge into Jordan.   Check into hotel at Dead Sea.  Dinner and overnight.

WED 15 NOV 23     After breakfast, drive South to Petra where you’ll have a full day to discover one of the new Wonders of the Ancient World sites.  Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

THR 16 NOV 23     After breakfast, drive to Mount Nebo where Father will celebrate Mass and then visit Madaba to see the oldest known map of the mid-East in the church of St. George.  Return to the hotel for some relaxation, Dead Sea floating and rest before dinner.  Depart for the airport at 11:00 pm.

FRI 17 NOV 23     Depart for home on Lufthansa 693 at 3:40 am.  Arrive in Frankfurt at 6:25 AM.  Relax and prepare for our last flight.  Depart on LH 418 at 12:55 PM.  Arrive in Dulles at 3:55 PM

* * * *

PRICE:   $4,131.00

INCLUDED:

  • Airfare to and from Tel Aviv  from Washington, DC
  • Airline taxes and fuel surcharges**
  • All transfers and assistance with arrival and departure
  • Deluxe bus transportation as required
  • Hotel accommodations in double and triple rooms using first-class hotels with private baths
  • Half board (Breakfast and dinner) daily
  • 3 lunches and a special mid-east feast
  • Services of English speaking local guides
  • Services of a Tour Manager from the U.S.A.
  • All entrance fees as shown on  the itinerary
  • Daily Mass and spiritual direction
  • All service charges

NOT INCLUDED:

  • A Tip fund of $18.00 per day, per person collected with balance.   ($234.00 total) Covers all tips including hotels, dining, porters, drivers, and guides.
  • Expenses of a personal nature
  • Meals not mentioned.  Drinks with dinner.
  • Single Supplement  of $875.00 when no roommate  (Note:  limited # singles)

 

Send $500.00 deposit by check made out to

Give Thanks and Remember LLC

1484 Morris Pond Drive, Suite B2

Locust Grove, VA 22508

(sorry no credit cards accepted)

 

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