• Trent Shillington
  • Trent Shillington

Holy Land Pilgrimage

I am going on a pilgrimage around the Holy Land visiting places such as Jerusalem, Nazareth etc. I will also be spending a week in Jordan visiting the treasury in Petra and the Dead Sea. Read more
  • Magdala

    December 13, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today we started with a trip to the 1st Century town of Magdala which is where Mary of Magdala was from. She was the first person who saw Jesus after the resurrection and was also the first person to spread the word of his return. Here we celebrated mass in a beautiful church overlooking Lake Galilee. We also view the ruins of the first century town and the synagogue where Jesus would have taught.Read more

  • Mt Tabor

    December 13, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We visited The site of the Transfiguration where Jesus was illuminated with Gods spirit. The prophets Moses and Elijah also appeared at this site. This place signifies the end of his mission in the Galilee and his journey toward Jerusalem. In this church there are small chapels dedicated to both Moses and Elijah. There was spectacular mosaics throughout the church. The view from the top was amazing!Read more

  • Meggido

    December 13, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This is The site of the Armageddon in the book of revelations. Here we looked at ruins of settlements dating back 5000 years. This site has had 25 different ruling settlements throughout its history. It started with the Cannanite settlement which was on ground level and then after the many years and many settlements it became a hill. Here we saw a Israelite palace, stable, grain silo and also we walked in the ancient waterworks that they built so water could still be accessed even if they were surrounded by the enemy. This place was the gateway in to the Galilee and a prized strategic location whoever controlled it. What a spectacular wonder of design.Read more

  • Tabgha

    December 14, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Here we visited a church which was built of the site of the multiplication. This was where Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed over 5000 people. It was a beautiful church which had a mosaic depicting the loaves and the fishes. It has had an interesting past being destroyed and rebuilt many times.Read more

  • Mount Beatitudes

    December 14, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The Mount of the Beatitudes is where we celebrated mass today. This was a beautiful place where we could clearly feel jesus’ spirit around us. Here Jesus gave the very famous “sermon on the mount” and gave us the new laws to live by called “The Beatitudes”. It was a beautiful church and surrounding grounds.Read more

  • Baptism at the River Jordan

    December 14, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The next place we visited today was the River Jordan. This is where Jesus Yeah was baptised by His cousin John the Baptist. We all renewed our baptismal rites here. I was extremely lucky to be baptised at this holy location by Bishop Michael. What an Honor!Read more

  • Garden of Gethsemane

    December 15, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Here we celebrated mass in the location that Jesus last prayed with his disciples. This was also the location where Judy’s betrayed Jesus and where Peter denied Jesus three times. The alter is built on the rock where Jesus last prayed. We also saw the Garden of Olives where one of the trees is over 2000 years old. This tree was around at the time of Jesus. There is also an olive tree that Pope Paul the 2nd planted 54 years ago and one that Pope Francis planted 4 years ago.Read more

  • Emmaus

    December 15, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Here we visited a church which was built on the location where Jesus appeared to two of his disciples and walked with them to Emmaus. The disciples did not know it was Jesus because this event happened after his death. It was here he appeared to them after they invited him to stay with them over night. The two disciples then went and told all of the others about his resurrection. The church is also built on a spring which is would have supported the whole town back in the first century.Read more

  • Pater Noster

    December 15, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    Today we began by visiting the Church of the Ascension. This is the highest point in Jerusalem and is where Jesus ascended in to heaven. The church is also the place with they celebrate the “Our Father”. Around the walls is the “Our Father” written in over 162 languages.Read more

  • The room of the Last Supper

    December 15, 2018 in Israel ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    We visited the room where Jesus would have had his last meal with his disciples. This is the traditional location of the last supper. This is where Jesus and his friends celebrated the first ever mass and took part in the first ever Eucharist ceremony.Read more

  • Domius Flevit

    December 15, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    We then ventured down the path that Jesus followed on Palm Sunday to the Domius Flevit. This church was built on the location where Jesus wept for Jerusalem and prophecied its destruction. It had beautiful views of the old city of Jerusalem especially the Dome of the Rock.Read more

  • St Peter of Gallicantu

    December 15, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    This is the place where Jesus was tried by the Jewish Supreme Court and found guilty. He was then sentenced to death. This church had three levels, the first level had icons depicting Jesus’ trial. The second level had images outlining Peter’s denial of Jesus and the third level was the dungeon in which Jesus was held before him appearing in front of Pontius Pilate.Read more

  • Masada

    December 16, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Here we got the chance to view a Herodian Fort built on top of a massive mountain called Masada. This was possibly Herod’s Winter palace although he didn’t visit it much. The ruins are still very intact. At one stage in its history it was the fortress for The Jewish people who were fleeing Jerusalem. It became a base of operations for the Jewish resistance force and the Roman’s tried to take it by force. They had to built a massive ramp to sack the fortress. In this palace we saw Herod’s palace, the storage rooms and the bath room. You can even see the ground where the Roman 10th Legion would have set up base when they were laying the fortress to siege. What an awesome place. The pictures really don’t cut it when you have seen it in person.Read more

  • Bethany

    December 16, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Our first place that we visited today was Bethany which is just outside of Jerusalem but due to the political climate is not consider part of Israel. Bethany translates to “house of the poor”. Here we celebrated mass in the church that is dedicated to the raising of Lazarus by Jesus. It had spectacular mosaics depicting the story of the raising of Lazarus. Because Bethany isn’t part of Israel they don’t have access to the services such as rubbish collection so it is a very dirty place.Read more

  • Valley of the Shadow of Death

    December 16, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This is most likely the route that anyone travelling from Jericho to Jerusalem would have taken back in the times of Jesus. It could also possibly be where the parable of the Good Samaritan took place. Here there is also a Greek Orthodox monastery which I monks living in it to this day. Such a beautiful view!Read more

  • Pools of Bethesda

    December 16, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We visited the church of St Anne which was dedicated to Mary’s mother. Next to this church are the pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed The paralysed man. The church was beautiful and had great acoustics.Read more

  • The Western Wall

    December 17, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    After mass we walked down to the Western Wall of this Old City or as they call it the “ Wailing Wall”. This is the place where the Jewish people wait for the arrival of the Messiah because in there faith the messiah has not arrived yet. The western wall faces towards the Hill of Olives where the Jewish people believe the messiah will come from. The western wall was actually the retaining wall of the old temple.Read more

  • Church of the Holy Sepulchre

    December 17, 2018 in Palestine ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We started this morning walking the “Stations of the Cross” around the old city of Jerusalem. This is exactly the walk Jesus would have taken on his day of crucifixion. It was a very moving experience which I will remember for a long time. We then visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In this church we viewed the remains of Golgotha which is where Jesus’ cross was put. We also got to see the anointing stone which is where Jesus’ body was laid after he had died on the cross. Mass was celebrated in a room that in the first century was his burial place. We even got to touch the tomb where he would have laid prior to his resurrection.Read more

  • Jerusalem

    December 18, 2018 in Israel ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Today we got a free day to explore what Jerusalem has to offer. We went and visited the Yad Vasham which is a museum created to remember what happened to the Jewish People all over the world. It has some very thought provoking exhibits that taught us just how bad the Jewish people were treated. We then went and explored the old city and looked at their Market stalls.Read more

  • Jordan

    December 19, 2018 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We have finally made it to Jordan! On the way our tour guide taught us a lot about Jordan’s history and government. We tried their local cuisine called Mansaf which is lamb cooked in yoghurt with a flavoured rice. It was really nice but the meal was huge. In Petra we are staying at the Movenpick which is a 5 star hotel just outside the gates of Petra.Read more

  • Petra

    December 20, 2018 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Today we visited the Petra National Park area which holds the 2nd wonder of the world called the Treasury. This area is over 2000 years old and was built by the Nabataean people and the area we explored was the capital city for that group of people. All the caves were used as tombs and burial chambers. It was a fantastic site and had some great views.Read more

  • Madaba

    December 21, 2018 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Today the first place we stopped on our way to the Dead Sea was Madaba. It is home to the oldest mosaics in the world. We visited St George’s Church which is a Greek Orthodox Church. In this church it has the a mosaic of the Holy Land which is the oldest in the world.Read more