Healing Prayer in the Encounter Chapel

                                             Encounter Chapel Duc In Altum Church, Magdala 

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her.  She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately her flow of blood stopped.  

Then Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”  But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I noticed that power had gone out from me.” 

When the woman realized that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been immediately healed.  He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Luke 8: 43-48 NRSVue

 Spiritual moments can't just be conjured up, even in what is often described as The Holy Land. In truth, certain religious locations in Israel can seem anything but holy as tourists jostle about or people from different factions engage in hostility. 

We were grateful that some of our most meaningful encounters with the God of life came when we least expected them. One of those occurred while we were staying in Migdal, a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. If the name sounds familiar it's because in ancient times it was known as Magdala and was likely home to Mary Magdalene, the first person to encounter the Risen Christ and the first to share the Good News of the Resurrection. 

Ruth's sister arranged for us to have a one-on-one (well, one-on-two) tour of the relatively recently discovered ruins of Jewish ritual baths or mikveh, as well as those of an ancient synagogue and fish market. The latter were uncovered during excavations for a new hotel. Our guide was a Roman Catholic sister named Celine, a somewhat quirky, lovely Irish woman who is writing a book on women in the New Testament. Her descriptions were certainly interesting but we had the added benefit of her direction through an adjacent church.This is the description: 

Duc In Altum provides a place for prayer, teaching and worship for Christians of all backgrounds and denominations. The building is dedicated to the public life of Jesus, his transforming encounters, and honors the women of the Bible and all women of faith through its Women´s Atrium. Duc In Altum draws its name from Luke 5:4 where Jesus instructs Simon Peter to “launch into the deep” or “put out into deep water.” The edifice is composed of six chapels, including the main boat chapel...

                                                                            Encounter detail

It was one of these prayer areas  on the lower level called the Encounter Chapel which spoke to our spirits in a profound way. There is a painting by Daniell Cariola depicting the hand of a woman reaching for the edge of Jesus' robe at foot level which not only captivated us in the moment but compelled us to return later in the day. Sister Celine had invited us to pray for the healing of a loved one while we were there and we did, in the silence of our hearts. When we went back Ruth read the story from Luke's gospel and we prayed aloud. 

We hadn't known of the existence of this church and the chapel but we had our encounter with the Christ of healing when we were there.