11/26/12 – The Primacy of Peter: Punctuated by screams

The next stop of the day was the Mensa Christi Church, the site celebrating the Primacy of Peter, a Catholic doctrine that recognizes St. Peter as the first person to hold a place of honour and authority within Christianity.

Jesus' Table Church

Our group celebrated mass with the absentee priest from yesterday.  Once again I bowed out of receiving communion, but Mike from Windsor was determined to save my lost soul.

“John, you don’t have to sit out communion, you can come forward and receive a blessing.”

I told Mike that I knew this was an option but that I didn’t feel comfortable going up.  Mike took matters into his own hands, literally, and blessed me on the spot by tracing out a cross on my forehead with his thumb.

A few moments later, loud screams tore a hole through the serenity; blood curdling screams.  Naturally, I ran to investigate/document what was going on, camera in hand.  I arrived too late; the excitement was over.  Two of the elderly ladies from our group had wandered into an enclosed area looking for bathrooms when they were approached by dogs.  Bernadette, who was fearful of canines, started screaming which caused the dogs to start barking, which only made Bernadette scream even louder.  Edith watched in amazement as Bernadette, who had difficulty with the mere act of walking, attempted to escape over a fence.  My only explanation for this burst of youthful energy is that she was filled with the spirit of the lord!  The ladies escaped certain injury when two groundskeepers came to their rescue and shooed the dogs away while pointing at the clearly visible “Do not enter” sign.

Not one to miss an opportunity to make a comment, Mary Ellen used her most condescending tone to ask “Can’t they read English?”  I was willing to bet that she was comfortable saying that because both Bernadette and Edith were brown and spoke with thick accents, but I still wanted to put Mary Ellen on the spot.

“What would make you ask a question like that?” I asked.

Mary Ellen looked at me blankly but didn’t respond.  She understood exactly what I was getting at.

Prayers tucked into the rocks

After the commotion had passed, we made our way down to the water’s edge so the group could pick stones from the spot where Jesus made his second appearance to Peter after his crucifixion.  As people waded in the water looking for white stones to bring home two heavily armed military helicopters flew directly overhead.  The military’s presence in Israel is never far away.