12 days, 12 countries and 25 young people in search of God

“The Holy Land, trodden by Jesus, by Mary, by Joseph, by the apostles. We followed on these footsteps, on an unforgettable journey! We come from India, Korea, Canada, United States, from Europe and from the Holy Land itself, and the languages to communicate amongst ourselves and with those we met while there were English, Italian, and German. We did not know much about the two week journey that we were about to live, but we had a question in common: ‘What does God want from me?’

In the silence of the desert, at four in the morning, in the Basilica of the Annunciation at Nazareth, on the lake of Tiberias, everthing went silent in our soul, to receive His presence.

We are Elizabeth, John, Silvia, Lukas, Youssef… it made such an impression on us to walk along the way followed by Jesus, with the profound feeling that we had to live it with reciprocal love that makes him present also amongst us. (cfr. Mt. 18,20).

Moments of light, darkness, deep sharing and much sorrow in the face of the symbols of division: the wall, the check points, the weapons… and questions abound. But how much life we perceived in that small group of men and women focolarini who live there, who see their presence in that place as the fulfilment of their vocation to build unity. And how many moving encounters lived with our Jewish, Christian and Muslim friends, all real builders of peace and unity.

Here are some of our impressions:

‘I was able to enter deeper in the life of Jesus…’; ‘I want to choose God for the whole of my life; I struggled with God in the past, but now I have made space for him.’

‘I feel a great peace… more patience to listen…; ‘I will never again read the Bible as I did before’; ‘Jesus, I want to do whatever you want from me’; ‘Now I can and want to give everything to God, to do it one hundred percent, including my worries, limitations, fears; what freedom!’

It has been an unforgettable experience that cannot end here, one that has imprinted our soul with the desire to continue to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in the world, committing ourselves towards peace and the unity of the human family.

Jesus spoke within us and we said our ‘Yes’. Our hearts are pervaded by a profound sense of liberty and joy, and by the certainty that we are loved by God.”

By the 25 young people who “walked in the footsteps of Jesus

Watch video of the trip on Vimeo