Susan Moses
Cris Thompson
The Catholic Community welcomed North Texas Catholic magazine editor Susan Moses to the Nov. 11 meeting. Traveling to the Holy Land during the current conflict might not seem like the best idea but, in fact, it offered some unique opportunities, as we heard in her presentation “Sights, Sounds, and Surprises—a 2025 Voyage to the Holy Land.”
Susan was one of three Catholic journalists invited by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism to visit the Holy Land last March. Because they were about three hours from Gaza, they felt very safe and saw few effects of the war, with the exception of many displays about the hostages. She highlighted her favorite eight sights, three of which are near the Sea of Galilee: Church of the Primacy of St. Peter, Church of the Beatitudes, and the “Jesus boat,” the remains of a first century fishing boat. Other sights on her list are the Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock, Garden of Gethsemane, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Rock of Calvary. Susan noted that there were so few tourists that her small group was frequently the only one visiting these sites.
Susan had the opportunity to speak with several people about the effects of the war: a physician who had set up an information tent near Prime Minister Netanyahu’s house as a constant reminder of the hostages, a family that has been living in a hotel for over two years because of the destruction of their home, the owner of Tulip Winery who keeps the winery open to support his special needs employees, a restaurant and tour boat owner on the Sea of Galilee who has now started to build replica 1st century fishing boats (which hold 13 people), a Catholic woman who was born in a building in Bethlehem that was the 7th Station of the Cross and who urges her children to emigrate because of the lack of jobs for Christians.
Surprises included the delicious food (95% of which is grown locally), the not-so-tasty water (80% of it being reclaimed or desalinated), and a multitude of cats!
More importantly, Susan experienced the human side of Jesus as she walked the same roads and saw the same sights. She came to believe that these were truly holy places where real events occurred.
Other news: On Oct. 27 Michael Tenny presented a wealth of information about the architecture and decoration of the church during a tour attended by more than 100 people. The Book Group will meet on Dec. 10 to discuss The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. Christmas donations for Our Daily Bread are being collected, including 237 handmade scarves. There will be a Blessing of the Wine event on Dec. 27, the Feast of St. John. It’s time to sign up for the 2026 Potluck Group.
The Catholic Community will meet on Jan. 13 for a presentation on the Early Church Fathers.
For further information, please contact Joan Bridges at bridges84@msn.com.