The Holy Land is somewhere that has always seemed a journey too far to make for me. On Friday, however, a group of 76 – including this ‘blog-writer’ – is going there, and through circumstances beyond personal control, will be staying on an extra day with local friends –  a husband and wife .

The itinerary is fantastic: we will stay at a Carmelite Pilgrim Centre, in Nazareth, for 3 nights followed by four in Bethlehem, then one extra night at a hotel in Tel Aviv as this will enable us to catch a plane at 6.15am back to London. I can’t quite believe that it will be possible, for the first time, to be at Cana, Mount Tabor, the Nazareth of the Annunciation, Capernaum where Jesus made his HQ for a while, the Lake of Galilee, Jericho, Qumran, Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the Mount of Olives, the site of the priestly prayer – at the centre of which is his prayer that all may be one – Gethsemane, Bethsaida, the site of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, and Emmaus. These places have been part of my imagination, and life, for the past 48 years of monastic life – and for more years prior to that. What is also so important is that, built in to the itinerary, we will meet the local Palestinians who are living for a united world, throughout their worn-torn country, and we will be able to talk and share their hope. Our pilgrimage is ecumenical, so there is already an underlying theme of “unity” and it is that “spirit” that motivates my life. I know I should begin with my own self, learning first of all to be a “united person within”, and for me, in particular, that can be a struggle, sometimes. Challenges arise in every sphere of living, and one of these stems from belonging to divided churches – another struggle! Perhaps the greatest struggle for unity and peace, in our world,  involves the Holy Land, and here it is worth looking at the BBC website, on World News, focussing on the Middle East; there you enter the real tragedy of daily life for so many people. Our troubles in England are not so serious – do not compare – with their daily worries.

I have a Benedictine friend in the USA, Julian Stead, who is now a senior father in his monastery on Rhode Island. He is so pleased that this pilgrimage is taking place, and he also reminds me that for sure he will be “united” with me on the trip; he will also be one with the Lord in his place, at the Eucharist and before the Eucharist. For remember, it’s here – in the Eucharist – and in reality, we do not have to go to the Holy Land to meet the Lord above.

The Lord was certainly present among us, recently, in our “extra-liturgical events”. Last Sunday evening, 1 November, we had what was billed as the ‘Boyce and Stanley’ Concert. Michael Boyce and Joanne Stanley hail from Birmingham, and their life is dedicated to a “music evangelism”  – I hope that is accurate– within our Catholic context. The concert began at 6pm and ended at around 8.40pm and throughout we listened to hymn tunes, sung beautifully by the two above named,  accompanied mainly on keyboard (Andy) and base guitar (Mike), with some additions from  flute and tambourine. Why was this so special? Not just the professional lighting, not just the beautiful instrumental playing, not just the professional way all were drawn in via the words on the screen, but by the evident goodness and sincerity and simplicity – not to mention the great expertise – of the group, all of which drew us into an experience that left one feeling “really good” inside – a feeling which lasted – with a long after-taste. Laughter, clapping, chatting, smiles and joy were all there. Manifestly, the love of God was shining within and through this Group, and this love, at the same time, then radiated to all those listening.  Strange how the good Lord operates, and in thanking Him above, I would also thank the people he chose to give Him praise, so joyfully. Many who attended have, spontaneously, come to me and said how much they enjoyed it. Wow!

This week, we also had our first Remembrance Service with photos, scripture, hymns (led by our ecumenical One Voice Choir – a great asset in Leyland) and the lighting of candles, attended by a ‘goodish’ crowd of people. Again how many have said to me, “That was fantastic”. In time you will be able to see some of this, for yourself, on this website. However, the computer won’t create the beautiful atmosphere manifest in Church, just by exhibiting the film strip of those whose pictures were shown. As a measure of the evening’s success, a young man, not known to me, approached and said: “That was good, and I had no idea that such a person had died – he was in my year at school! It was really good to have the names with their pictures.”

The Lord has taken a relatively young priest away from the Diocese. Today at St. Elizabeth’s, Litherland, with a large number of priests and three bishops, we buried Fr. Eddie O’ Toole. It was good to hear the choir of about 90 priests singing and very poignant to see Fr. Eddie’s mum and various brothers and sisters, with their children, right at the front, heart- broken. He was only 47; he and I knew each other slightly. Archbishop Patrick led the funeral rites with great dignity, and once again, the same Lord was there – radiating his light in the darkness!