Magdala, Dan, and Caesarea Phillipi.

Today we visited Magdala (the hometown of Mary Magdalene and the location of a 1st Century synagogue), Dan (a city established by the Tribe of Dan, home of a Northern Kingdom temple and a 2nd Millennium BC mud-brick gate), and Caesarea Phillipi (where Jesus said “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”). Yes, it was a big day. Here are three brief “takeaways” from each place: 

Magdala: The super new (especially by Holy Land standards) church at Magdala makes a special point of celebrating the men and women followers of Christ. On the one hand, the church is located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, which causes one to think of the calling of the Apostles, and this event is celebrated in the large chapel, with depictions of each of the apostles (including Judas Iscariot, who serves as a reminder that even those called by Christ must be on guard against the Evil One). On the other hand, the church is built in the home town of Mary Magdalene, who herself was more faithful in following Christ than most of the Apostles; she and the other women disciples are commemorated on the pillars under the main dome of the church, and above this dome appears a modified quote from Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical on the Dignity of Women (#31): “In this holy place, the Church desires to give thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the ‘mystery of woman’ and for every woman - for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the ‘great works of God’, which throughout human history have been accomplished in and through her.”
St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us! 

Dan: Archeologists have uncovered a mud-brick city gate from the time of Abraham. Abraham. 2,000 years before Christ. Abraham! Humanity never ceases to amaze me. How arrogant we are to think that we are so different from those who came before us. Gazing on that gate was incredible. 

Caesarea Phillipi: You have probably heard in a homily that Peter’s great profession of faith, and his renaming, took place in front of an impressive rock cliff, which is why Jesus is talking so much about rocks. True enough. But did you know that built into that cliff were multiple pagan temples, one of which featured infant sacrifice? When Jesus asks “Who do people/you say that I am?” there are a few different options available to the Apostles: Pan. Zeus. Caesar. Nimrod. All these “churches” are built into the rock. But Peter chooses wisely. Jesus is not a demigod, or even a prophet to be honored. He is “the Holy One of God”. It is on this profession of faith, of which Peter and his successors are the guardians, that Christ has built His Church. As long as we proclaim Christ, and Christ alone, as Lord, the gates of Hell and the forces of evil cannot withstand us.