Today can certainly be a bittersweet day for many of us whose fathers have gone to be with the Lord.  Still, my thoughts are not of sadness; but of joy!

You see, this past month I was honored to have walked in Jesus’ footsteps at Old Jerusalem.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around this, but today I wanted to share a bit of what I felt that day.  Father’s Day from this day forward will have a different meaning for me.

“You had a numinous experience,” some will say.  “Wow, what a blessing,” others note.  “What, you were really there, how lucky can you be!”

While at times I wish “luck” was my super power, I do believe in blessings from above!

Well, I cannot explain what happened to me at the Holy Sepulchre Church, but I know what I felt: my heart was beating about a million times a minute! As I got on my knees and prayed before the blood-stained sacred stone where Jesus was laid after his crucifixion, I felt as if my heart would explode!    The heartbeats grew stronger still,  as I stooped into Jesus’ tomb!

Initially, I was dazed and in a momentary stupor, but I am a witness that the tomb is EMPTY!

Once, I faithfully believed, but now I declare that I saw it empty with my own eyes! As I got on my knees and placed my hands where he had been laid to rest, praying over my family’s petitions, I felt a peace that to this day transcends all understanding.

I later walked to the Wailing Wall where I presented and left the personal petitions that my family had entrusted me with.  It was an extremely hot day (about 95 degrees) yet I didn’t feel the sun beating down on me. I felt thirsty, yes; but walking into a humble restaurant, the owner quickly offered me cold mint and lemon tea. (He would later share in broken English that he was a Muslim.)

“Hmmm,” was all I could think of. I felt naive and indoctrinated perhaps against certain religions. I had much to learn still.

Yes, there were clashes with Palestinian and Israeli youth and unfortunately, I witnessed several harrowing incidents as I walked about the old city. One involved an incident in which a Palestinian man’s face had been brutally beaten and another one involved a girl who seemed to be no more than 18 years of age.  Her bloody nose and distraught face, as she was being driven away in handcuffs by about 6 Israeli police, will forever be etched in my mind!

I had read about and seen televised reports of the Israeli and Palestinian clashes throughout history; but this having been May 29th, the 55th anniversary of Jerusalem Day, things quickly escalated.  You see,  Israeli youth were allowed to freely march throughout the Jerusalem quarters on this national holiday, irritating some of the Palestinians as they pranced about their homes and businesses waving the Israeli flags.

At one point, after I had bought some crosses for my family, and I placed them inside my backpack, I felt the weight and complained about how heavy they felt as I turned up a narrow street.  Just then, as I’m recording a video,  my friend Claudia reminded me that we were walking up Via Dolorosa.

“Really, is this where they filmed that scene in Passion of the Christ?” I asked.   Laugh if you want, but that was my initial thought.  It was surreal, but just as quickly,  I realized where we truly were walking. We looked at each other and were speechless.

I stopped to catch my breath as I thought: “And I’m complaining of my heavy load?  Please forgive me, God! ”  I smiled and kept climbing up as together, Jesus and I carried the miniature souvenir crosses further up the path where over 2000 years before, he alone had carried his 300-lb.-or-so wooden cross for the removal of all my sins.

You will read about my experiences there in Jerusalem as well as in Ephesus at our Virgin Mary’s home in my current novel, All Roads Lead to Heaven; but today, being Father’s Day, I wanted to honor both my earthly father Arnulfo Eugenio Mascorro and my heavenly Father, God Almighty!!

May you be blessed as you hug your father today if he is still alive, may you be peaceful with his loving memory as I am today, and may you never forget that our Heavenly Father lives in you forever!

Update: 12/29/22

As God would have it, as I scrolled through Facebook today, I came across an incredible song.   Only God can bring peace to the land and only the Prince of Peace can bring both countries together as only He can.

Listen: