By Silvia Holgado

This morning, I had the chance to spend a quiet moment of prayer on the Mount of Beatitudes. It was an unusually sunny, almost warm December morning. Sitting outdoors, facing the spiritual vastness of the Sea of Galilee, I imagined Jesus, his disciples, and the people sitting there on that very same grass. I tried to listen to his Word in some way and to understand a bit more how the blessed of his Kingdom lived.

As time passed, a group of pilgrims began to arrive, then shortly after another, and then another. The “ooohh, wooow” grew in number and then faded, and from afar I could only hear the Gospel being proclaimed in several languages.

The pilgrims are returning. The holy places are coming alive again with disciples thirsty for an encounter with the Master. And it is a wonderful time, for visits can now be made unhurriedly, with the quiet stillness that benefits listening to the Word.

Yes, it is time to return; now is a favorable moment. A few days ago, I finished spiritually guiding a pilgrimage; tomorrow I begin another here in Galilee. That is why I came from Jerusalem and made use of this morning for prayer here.

“To contemplate and to pass on what has been contemplated,” the Dominicans say. May this be the experience of those who come to the Holy Land.