On March 12th, 2012, a group of 47 parishioners from the Croatian Martyrs Parish in Mississauga began their journey to Israel and Jordan. The group was blessed to have Dr. Adalbert Rebic, an extremely knowledgeable professor and priest, lead them through the Holy Land. This ten day trip was organized by KunaTurs and Fr. Ivica Reparinac.
How can one impact a feeling bewilderment upon seeing the rock cut city of Petra, one of the world’s most magnificent archaeological sites in Jordan? If that wasn’t enough to be considered the chosen ones, our travels took us to the birthplace of Jesus in a grotto in Bethlehem where a star marks the site in addition to praying in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where the angel, Gabriel was believed to have told Mother of Christ, Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus. Swimming in the Dead Sea or rather floating in it, eating St. Peter’s fish at the Ein Gev Kibbutz, visiting the area where the Dead Sea scrolls were uncovered, standing in silence at the Wailing Wall, and bargaining with locals in the bazaars were a few of the highlights. After kneeling at Jesus’ burial site in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one leaves in awe wondering, “Am I really here?”
That about sums up our 12 day pilgrimage to Jordan and the Holy Land with our parish priest, Father Reperinac and a group of almost fifty parishioners mostly from the Church of Croatian Martyrs Parish in Mississauga. With our two guides, Mrs. Andrea Tus and Prof. Adalbert Rebic from Zagreb, Croatia, our group was certainly one of the most educated ones since Prof. Rebic had taken other groups there 107 times before us. His extensive knowledge of the area coupled with his calm demeanor were appreciated by all while Andrea’s good natured personality kept our group going on our daily numerous stops through Jordan where we spent two nights, Israel, where we stayed three nights in Nazareth, and five nights in Jerusalem.
Equally impressive was the hospitality of the people, the mixture of the ancient sites with modern ones along with the beautiful greenery interspersed throughout. Each one of us were left with a better understanding of and appreciation for having the opportunity to have visited some of the most important Biblical places on earth; a real spiritual awakening from the eldest member of our group, 78 years old to our youngest member. We bonded in prayer and in sharing with one another our own personal intentions: we, the chosen ones.
Biography – Dr. Adalbert Rebic was born 1937 in Hum on Sutla (Croatia). He completed his study of philosophy in Zagreb and in the Graduate School of Philosophy at the Gregorian Papal University in Rome and theology at the Gregorian and the Biblical Institute. Dr.Rebic is a professor of biblical sciences and oriental languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac-Aramaic) in the Graduate School of Theology at the Catholic University in Zagreb. In Croatia, he is known as the best guide to the Holy Land and has led 110 groups to Jordan and Israel since 1996. Our group was his first North American group.
Due to the overwhelming success of the first tour, a second tour has been organized and is scheduled to leave October 11th 2012. Space is limited, and going fast. If you are interested please contact KunaTurs at 905-814-8441or the Croatian Martyrs Parish in Mississauga.
Written by: Sally Petrovic
