<TW>Weekend of 28 and 29 July 2007
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2007 10:36:48 -0500
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
___________________________________________________
J O I N M E
A great Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
04-15 November 2007
Early Sign-Up Deadline ends on 27 July.
Sign up now and save $100!
$2599 from Minneapolis or $2499 from JFK in New York!
Land only price (meet us in the Holy Land) is $1826.
S E A T S M U S T B E S U R R E N D E R E D
In early August (about the 4th), Pentecost Tours will need to surrender all
airline seats but two or three. It will still be possible to sign up after
that time, but the price will likely rise as air fares need to be
renegotiated. Pentecost Tours cannot promise air seats from Minneapolis
after that time. They may be able to obtain space, but not for only $100
less than the fare from JFK in New York.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS .
T R AN S P O R T A T I O N - L A C R O S S E / M I N N E A P O L I S
We're looking at a charter vehicle from La Crosse to the airport in
Minneapolis. The cost should not be extreme. I've been quotes $650 for a
van that will hold 14 people, and that's round-trip.
A number of folks have had worries about safety in the area we'll visit.
There have not been serious problems in that area, nor have there been
losses of life for quite some time. Any difficulties are usually in the West
Bank area. We don't spend time there anyway. Jericho is on the West Bank,
but even the brochure says that we "may" be able to visit there. If there
is an area that is unsafe, we simply won't go there. If there should be
major difficulties, Pentecost Tours will cancel the trip and everyone will
receive a full refund. Gary, president of Pentecost Tours, says that most
Americans are not at all afraid to go to countries that are much more
dangerous. He and Charlie, one of our frequent travelers, both say that
they see going to Israel as being much safer than going to Cincinnati.
Nothing at all against Cincinnati, but they both live nearby. I am
personally not afraid to visit the places we'll visit. My last trip to the
Holy Land was in 1978, when conditions were much more unstable. It is
unlikely that things will ever be entirely peaceful in the Mideast. The
choice then is whether to go ... or not to go at all. I hope that helps at
least a little!
Now is a great time to sign up! The brochure and full information, including
hotel links, is on-line. Another priest in our diocese is planning a similar
trip. It's one day longer, but costs $1100 more. Gary, President of
Pentecost Tours, says their guides in the Holy Land are the best they have
anywhere. Those of you who have been on previous trips already know of the
excellent guides and escorts we have had.
A C C O M O D A T I O N S A N D F O O D
We always stay in at least 4-Star Hotels. All breakfasts and dinners are
included in the tour price. And all breakfasts have hot entries as well.
They are typically large buffets with fresh fruits and juices, pastries,
breads, cheeses and cold meats, and generally egg dishes, hot breakfast
meats, sometimes omelets and pancakes as well. It will depend on the
hotels, but breakfasts are always very good and filling.
We'll stay at only two Hotels this time, the Grand Court in Jerusalem (near
the old City)
http://www.grandcourt.co.il/
and the Gai Beach Spa Hotel in Tiberias
http://www.gaibeachhotel.com,
right on the Sea of Galilee. It's beautiful! Links to the Hotel Web Sites
are found on my Web Site. Just follow the "Holy Land 2007" link from:
www.frpat.com.
As always full breakfast and dinner is included, along with luggage
transfer, admissions, transfers and much more. We'll take care of tips
beforehand too, so you won't have to worry about tips after we get there!
We'll renew our Baptismal Promises at the Jordan River, where Jesus was
Baptized by John. We'll renew our marriage vows and pray for any deceased
husbands and wives at Cana in Galilee where Jesus attended a wedding with
his Mother and turned water into wine. We'll take a boat ride on the Sea of
Galilee. We'll even have a chance to visit Masada and to swim in the Dead
Sea. We'll visit the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem too, and see the Dead Sea
Scrolls. You'll never read Scripture in the same way after this wonderful
Pilgrimage! Follow the link from: www.frpat.com
T R A N S F E R S , A D M I S S I O N S A N D T I P S
Transportation to and from the airport in the Holy Land is included, as well
as luggage transfer between hotels. Once you turn over your suitcase it
will appear in front of your hotel room door. If we're leaving on a
particular day, we just leave suitcases outside the doors of our rooms when
we go to breakfast and they're automatically put on the bus and will appear
again outside the door of the room of our new hotel. Admission to all the
Sites advertised in the brochure are included. Pentecost Tours will collect
tips before the trip. I believe it adds up to $97.50 per person this time.
That includes tips to luggage handlers, food service (waiters), guides,
escorts and bus drivers. It adds up to about $9 per person per day. Once
in the Holy Land those tips will be taken care of for you.
S I N G L E T R A V E L E R S
Our trips are very friendly to single travelers. We've had lots over the
years. There are some signed up for this trip already. Pentecost Tours
cannot make guarantees, but will do all they can to find roommates for
single travelers wanting one. Some singles prefer to stay in a room by
themselves. The single supplement this time is $45 a night for the nights
we actually spend in the Holy Land. I believe that's ten nights this time.
L A N D O N L Y P R I C E
Land only price is $1826 for this trip. Occasionally folks want to get to
the destination by themselves. Two travelers from India are considering
joining us in Israel. The land-only price does not include transportation to
and from Israel, but includes everything else. Of course land-only
travelers would not pay airport departure taxes, etc. to Pentecost Tours,
but to the airline they use to get them to the Holy Land. Contact Gary at
Pentecost Tours if you'd like to make land-only arrangements!
W H Y I S T H E P R I C E S O L O W ?
Another priest from is leading a similar trip. It costs $1000 more than
ours. Pentecost Tours does not quote a price until they negotiate with
hotels and airlines. It's easy to quote a high price, knowing that a
company can do it for that. It's much harder to be accurate. This year we
negotiated in dollars, so the devaluation of the dollar as compared to the
Euro wont create a problem and an extra charge. The price of accommodations
is locked in - in dollars. If you'd like to read comments from travelers on
former trips, just click here:
http://frpat.com/pilgrims_comments.htm
Q U E S T I O N S ?
If you have questions that can be answered by Pentecost Tours, just call
them at:
1 800 713-9800
If you have questions I can answer, e-mail me at frpat@xxxxxxxxxx
My personal cell phone number is: 608 769-4200
S I G N U P N O W !
Visit my Web Site for complete details. You can sign up any time now, and
we expect this one to fill up quickly. It would be a great memory to be able
to say you signed up during Holy Week! Gary, from Pentecost Tours, says the
Holy Land has been their most popular destination! And if you've never
taken a Pentecost Tour, you won't believe the quality, attention to detail,
and organization. Coupled with the low price, it doesn't get any better
than this! The basic cost this year is $2499 from JFK Airport in New York or
$2599 from Minneapolis. That's $300 less than last year's trip. Just follow
the link from:
www.frpat.com
If you sign up, let me know right away so I can keep track of the numbers.
Many will sign up before the early sign-up deadline, so it's helpful for me
to give accurate information to anyone who contacts me.
Now is a great time to sign up! The brochure and full information, including
hotel links, is on-line.
Follow the link from: www.frpat.com
If you think you may be joining us, let me know as soon as you can so I can
keep track of the group!
___________________________________________________
.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 7 , Number 07-29 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
Weekend of 28 and 29 July 2007
Follow this link for this weekend's Scriptures:
www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
.=: R E F L E C T I O N Q U E S T I O N S :=.
The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I
will spare the whole place for their sake." Why is it our nature to try to
imagine how much God will forgive? Is there anything God will not forgive?
Why do we find it so difficult to acknowledge our faults and failings to a
God who is always willing to forgive us?
"Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me." When are we most
likely to call on the Lord for help? Why?
"Even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our
transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to
the cross." How can forgiveness bring us "to life?"
""And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the
one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
Why then, don't we receive absolutely everything we ask for? What would
happen if we did?
"What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?"
Can we trust that God will give us what we need?
How are these readings challenging? Comforting?
(c)MMVII Fr. Pat Umberger. These Reflection Questions are found each week
at the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce
them for parish use as long as this credit remains.
.=: S P I R I T U A L R E F L E C T I O N :=.
We carry around such baggage, don't we? We can find it difficult to believe
the good things others say about us. We can see the less than positive
comments we receive as a sign that others can see how bad we really are. We
can erect elaborate defenses around ourselves. We can gossip and criticize
in order to deflect attention from our own shortcomings. When we point a
finger at others, even more fingers are pointing back at us.
We're off the hook! Why is it so hard to believe that. In today's first
reading we hear about God's mercy. We hear often that it is mercy that God
desires, not sacrifice. He has shown us mercy by forgiveness of our sins.
God promises not to destroy Sodom if there are only ten innocent people
there. It is not God's desire to destroy us, but to help us grow and thrive
that we might reveal God's love to others in our own unique way.
In our second reading we hear that even though we were dead in our
transgressions and the uncircumcision of our flesh, he brought us to life
with him. He has forgiven our transgressions. Jesus died on the cross for
us to do all these things. We are alive again in Christ Jesus. It isn't
necessary for us to carry around all that baggage. Jesus died that we might
be free!
The trick now is to believe that! We can come to believe this when we
follow God's way. In our Gospel, Jesus taught his disciples to pray. We're
very familiar with the words of the Lord's Prayer. We can acknowledge God
as our creator and strive to live on earth as God wants us to live. We can
rely on God for all we need to live. We might not always get our way.
Tragedies and disappointments may come our way from time to time, but we'll
never be alone. God will be with us to bring us through.
We can become more forgiving of ourselves. We can do that most effectively
by forgiving. In the Lord's Prayer we ask forgiveness only to the extent
that we're willing to forgive those who have harmed us. We'll know we're
making progress here when we begin to forget about our resentments and when
we lose interest in criticizing and gossiping about others. We can be "off
the hook" in this area too, if we're willing to allow others "off the hook."
This week we can take stock of the good things God has given us. We can
strive to do things the way God would have them done. We can accept
gratefully all that we need to live each day. We can pray for our
persecutors and for the willingness to let go of our resentments against
others. We can ask forgiveness too, for the times we hurt others.
A great confessor once gave this advice. The penitent was confessing the
same sins he had confessed countless times before. He was complaining about
how hard it was to change. The confessor simply said, "Don't do that any
more." Sometimes we can expect God to do all the work. We need to do our
part as well. As Mark Twain once said, "Pray to God, but row for shore!"
Have a good week!
(c)MMVII Fr. Pat Umberger. This Spiritual Reflection is found each week at
the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce them
for parish use as long as this credit remains.
__________________________________________________
<TW>This Weekend is free, and comes from:
Father Pat Umberger, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse
in Wisconsin U.S.A.
Web Site: www.frpat.com
Evangelization (reaching out): www.cmonback.com
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