UPDATE MARCH 24, 2012 - THE PILGRIMAGE TO ENGLAND HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO LACK OF PARTICIPATION
Dear Fellow Parishioners;
As we move into this season of Lent, the idea of retreats, extra prayer time, refocusing our priorities, all become part of our conversations. Another image might also come to mind: Pilgrimage. Pilgrimage can be as simple as a walk on the beach to a journey to a faraway place. It is something different than a tour. There is a different set of expectations on a Pilgrimage, ones that are open to the working of the Spirit all along the way of the journey. To hear and see things in new ways that we carry in our hearts is one of the fruits of a Pilgrimage. Our parish is offering two opportunities for a special Pilgrimage this year
Fr. Loc will be the priest chaplain on a Pilgrimage to Medjugorje as well as Lourdes. This springtime pilgrimage will give pilgrims the opportunity to draw closer to the Blessed Mother in shrines that are known all over the world. I have been to both sites many years ago and I found them to both to be places of prayer, reconciliation and profound peace. Click here to view the itinerary and registration information on Medugorje.
Later in May, Fr. Leon Hutton (Church History Professor at St. John’s Seminary) and I will be the chaplains on a Pilgrimage to England. England? What could there be outside of bangers and mash? Well, there is great history of the Catholic Church in England from St. Edward the Confessor, the patron saint of our parish, to the persecution and martyrdom of many Catholics, to the Oxford Movement and to the place of Blessed John Neumann, a convert to the Catholic Faith. A Pilgrimage should be much more than just running from site to site (remember the movie, ‘If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium’) but a time of considerable options that allow one to be open to the movement of the Spirit. This is what we are hoping and planning for.
I realize that Pilgrimages like this are not cheap, but I believe they are certainly worth the investment, because they can be life changing. If you would like more information, view the brochure here or pick up a flyer in the glass case outside the parish office. We would love to have you be part of the Pilgrimage experience!
Together in Christ;
Fr. Steve Sallot
