Day by Day, Oh Dear Lord Three Things I Pray

Pilgrimage can be very rigorous; the geography is unknown, schedules collide, sleep is limited and personalities clash. Anyone who has been on pilgrimage in a group knows there is a particular time when the group itself becomes a tinder box and one more challenge will spark an explosion. This moment usually takes place as pilgrims are trying to get their bearings as to the lay of the land. It’s a time when all you can see is your discomfort because the big picture - God’s plan for you during this time - has not yet come into view.

Any pilgrimage group experiences these growing pains. Wrestling with personal comfort and group dynamics can be daunting. After all, it’s easier to take a van into Philly, pay $25.00 (or more) a day to park and walk right into the Convention Center – isn’t it?

Well, after the navigating the directions to the train station, the ticket booth, the train schedule and the stairs to get to the train, we take a seat on the train and settle in for an hour ride (includes the stops and transfer) into Philadelphia.

It’s on this ride that the preoccupation with self-centeredness begins to fade and pilgrimage begins to catch light and glimmer. Two DOGR pilgrims talk with a gentleman and learn he has just been released from the Department of Corrections facility and is heading back home to his family. Their exchange includes conversation about life’s transitions, parenting, belief in Jesus, and prayer.

Another DOGR pilgrim talks with a gentleman who is supportive of Pope Francis visiting, but as a street musician, he loses out on weekly income to support his family because he will not be able to play during the visit. The pilgrim freely gives him money to offset his loss, knowing that he needs the money more than she does. This man however, recognizes that the other gentleman just got out of jail and in turn gives him the money. In an act of further generosity, both men make sure we know how to make our train transfer.

It becomes clear that a comfortable van ride into Philadelphia does not allow for this level of encounter. A pilgrim places themselves at the disposal of the Holy Spirit. It’s in the exchange with another, the encounter of lives, that the Spirit works its wonders. Our task is to cooperate, to go out of our comfort zone, to pay attention, to transform the lives of others and to be transformed. God is working wonders here in Philadelphia. We have no idea how his plan will reveal itself daily. That is the mystery and magnificence of pilgrimage. We just grab our empty backpacks and try to pay attention to what He will place in it day-by-day. 

Finding Place

Pilgrims of the Diocese of Grand Rapids on Sept. 21, the morning of
their departure for the World Meeting of Families.

As an "empty-nester" I questioned my place at the World Meetings of Families. What could I possibly experience here, given that our boys are young adults and we have two daughters-in-law and a grandson? I came to Philadelphia initially thinking that as far as family goes, I’m past my prime.

This pilgrimage breaks all the molds. There are fifteen of us traveling together this week at the World Meeting of Families. In our group is an 87 year-old widow, a couple who just celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary, a mother of a 16 month-old, a father of three, ages 9 months to 5 years-old, and a single young adult who has never been married.

There is something offered at this event that is relevant to each of us and particular to our stage in the family life cycle. There are workshops on discerning the vocation of marriage and other vocations - parenting, and becoming saintly couples - just to name two.

Family is a universal truth; it applies to ALL of us. Having a family is not something we wait to do when we get married, or forgo as our children move out on their own or our spouses pass away.

Family is transcendent and eternal. We are ALWAYS a part of family. Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, shared with us today that, “In the family is the living memory of God’s fidelity.” He also referred to families as the “custodians of the future.”

The World Meeting of Families is relevant to all of us, young, old, single, married, divorced, widow or widower. The new learning, cultural exchanges, prayer and worship taking place this week by those married, single and religious is a grace to the Catholic Church and gives glory to God.

From Every Land and Nation

All the nations you have made shall come to bow before you, Lord, and give honor to your name. Ps 86:9

Right now, in the hallway of the Philadelphia Convention Center, a Vietnamese bishop is holding court, talking over a microphone to roughly 50 Vietnamese faithful in a language I clearly cannot understand, but whose melodic undertone is both beautiful and joy-filled, while 30 feet away a Pakistani Catholic family is sitting on the floor feeding their two toddlers, tickling them and laughing. Just beyond them, an Ecuadorian dad chases his three year-old son, who is quickly on the move to explore his surroundings. As I walk through these moments of grace and family, Father Xavier, OFM, from Zimbabwe, walks up and introduces himself to me because he notices the Tau around my neck. He tells me that he saw the Tau and knew that we share what he calls a “religious energy” in that we are both professed Franciscan, I Third Order Secular and he, Third Order Regular.

There are participants from 100 different countries at this World Meeting of Families. Listening to people in the hallways, I imagine that this is what Pentecost must have been like – all the diversity of language and customs.  Yet, watching 4 year-olds from very different cultures, run up to each other and play; it occurs to me that joy transcends the language barrier – which I suspect was the experience of Pentecost.

As Archbishop Chaput reminded us at Mass yesterday, Philadelphia is referred to as the “City of brotherly love and sisterly affection.” The joy is palpable in Philadelphia. There is a transcendence in this building that truly echoes Jesus’ words in yesterday’s Gospel, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Lk 8:21.

Photo: Escalator transports World Meeting pilgrims inside the Philadelphia Convention Center.

The Empty Backpack

We are in the final preparation stages for our pilgrimage to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families.  Several of us are leaving on Monday, Sept. 21 for the week and we will then be joined by three bus loads of people for the Papal Visit, Sept. 26-27. I get the distinct privilege, and pleasure, of sharing the stories of our pilgrimage through this blog. Over the course of the week, several pilgrims will be sharing with me their experiences of being with the world in Philadelphia.

Pilgrimage is the word used to describe our travel, because unlike tourists, we are not on a vacation of site-seeing. We are on a pilgrimage, in which our sight-seeing, reveals how God is at work in our lives.

Pilgrimage is not a time of rest, relaxation and seeking comfort. It is a time of journey, revelation, and discovering the parts of our life that distract us from growing deeper in our relationship with God. That often is the uncomfortable part. It's uncomfortable because we want what we want and it may not be what God desires for us.

The pilgrim carries the empty backpack. If it is too full with our stuff, we will not have room for the grace and gifts that God is bestowing. Eventually, we will need to unpack our items to make room for God's gifts to us.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for the Church in the Diocese of Grand Rapids during this time of pilgrimage. I invite you to join us during the week as a virtual pilgrim by reading and sharing the stories relayed here. Check in regularly, or visit the diocesan Facebook page where new blog entries will be posted.

There are several parishes that are offering live streaming of some of the events we are attending. Check out www.dioceseofgrandrapids.org for locations and times. Maybe during a "watch party" you will have a question about something in Philly. Ask us through the comment section on the blog and we will see if we can answer it.

Please keep us in your prayers and light a candle for the event.

Patron Saints of the World Meeting of Families, St. John Paul II and St. Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us.
http://www.worldmeeting2015.org/spirituality-center/patron-ss/