St. Joseph: A “Glass Act”

St. Joseph is a great example of obedience and action according to God’s will. As future deacons and priests, we will be called to imitate his faith and integrity. We will be called to bring Christ to the world. When we visited the Carmelite community in Bethlehem, this sacred mission captured my heart and mind more clearly. The convent safeguards certain relics of St. Mary of Jesus Crucified. Canonized just last May, this Palestinian saint lived in the middle of the 19th century. She founded the Carmel in Bethlehem in 1875.

High above the chapel floor, Joseph’s life with Mary and Jesus is told in multi-colored glass. Powerful images depict his betrothal to Mary, the angel’s calming message that Mary’s child is of the Holy Spirit, the holy couple registering for the census and the familiar scenes of the Nativity. The sequence of windows continues within the limestone arches until it reaches the end of Joseph’s journey. The final image is a vivid depiction of Joseph on his deathbed. At our death may we be able to look back on our lives and hear, like St. Joseph, “well done, good and faithful servant.” In many instances Joseph could not have known the rugged road ahead. Nevertheless, he pressed forward with trust and confidence in God’s plan for his life.

Of these 15 “keyholes” through which heaven’s light shines, a particular window moved me. The window points to our incredible task as future priests - leading God’s people to heaven. After being warned in a dream to flee to Egypt, Joseph is seen guiding the Holy Family to safety and teaching the young Jesus.

Today men often shy away from a life of belief and fail to commit to God’s will due to fear or lack of faith. The commitments we as seminarians will make are not out of duty but for love of Christ and His Church. Our vocation brings our lives identity and stability. It guides our actions. Ten years ago I would have laughed if someone told me that one day I would be a seminarian on pilgrimage in the Holy Land. We don’t know our future, but like Joseph, we need to attend to the Holy Spirit and trust that God will continue to lead us.

Soon our Third Theology class will be ordained deacons, and we will embrace the role of servant leader. Next year when ordained priests, we become spiritual fathers. In sacrament and prayer, we will bring the joy of Jesus to the world imitating Joseph in leading God’s people to safety.

The last stained-glass window depicts St. Joseph interceding for us from heaven. As seminarians we are confident that St. Joseph intercedes for us on our journey toward the priesthood. Please pray for an increase of seminarians for your diocese. St. Joseph, pray for us!

"10 minutes till next class? Let's play some hack!"

As today featured only one class and a free afternoon, it gave us time to reflect upon what has come to be a favorite past-time of the 2016 pilgrimage squad: the game of Hacky Sack.  Move over, iPhone!  Out of the way, Kindle!  We're going retro on you.  Along with pulling out some puffer vests and 90s music, we seminarians are reaching back in time to middle school for our favorite spare time activity.  Nothing quite grabs the attention of a group of 20-somethings like the small pellet bag of childhood memory.  The game gets contentious.  As many as eight or ten players vie to keep the footbag in the air, with no apparent goal in mind or point system to follow other than a team effort to prevent Hacky from hitting the ground.

We've managed to play Hacky Sack where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth; we've played it at an ancient monastery on a cliff overlooking the Kidron Valley; we've even played it atop Mt. Masada near the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea (pictured below).  Our next mission: play Hacky Sack on the summit of Mount Everest.

While the game of Hacky Sack is merely a way to pass the time and keep us somewhat physically active, it has proven to be an ideal representation of the camaraderie of our class.  It shows that we enjoy being around one another, yet also that we don't take each other seriously.  It shows that we respect each other, but yet that we can playfully talk down to one another and brag about our own lack of skill.  Most importantly, though, it shows that we are united—united in our resolve to be disciples of Christ and to be mutually supportive of one another in this common vocation, and I feel incredibly blessed to have these great guys as classmates and comrades along the road.   

As long as the Hacky sack does not meet its fateful end by falling off a cliff, or landing in the Jordan River, or finding its way to the roof of a really tall bus...it will continue to bounce back and forth between seminarians, representing that sign of communion and fraternity that we pray will accompany us into priesthood.

The incredible beauty of Mt. Masada and Ein Gedi

Today our pilgrimage took us to two very different looking locations, both immensely beautiful. The first site in which we visited was Masada. This place is the location of a great fortress constructed for Herod the Great, but was eventually abandoned. The fortress is situated atop a large mesa in the eastern Judean desert. The geography to the west of the plateau was reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, while to the east lies a vast flat desert that stretches to the Dead Sea. The view was incredible, and the infrastructure that was left from the Roman siege on a group of Jewish Rebels that took refuge in Masada was compelling.  

Our next stop was to a vastly different site where between two cliff faces a freshwater spring emerges and created several waterfalls. We made our way up trails that follow the streams and reveled in the greenery that starkly contrasts the dusty faces of the cliffs behind. This site is known and Ein Gedi, and is the location of the events that take place in 1 Samuel 24. In this passage we hear about David taking mercy on his opponent Saul, deciding to spare Saul’s life. Being able to walk around this location allowed us to picture the scene played out and to have a better understanding of the geography of the stories which we read in the Scriptures.  These two sites present to us two contrasting sentiments even though they both display incredible natural beauty.  Thank you for joining us on our pilgrimage and we will continue to keep you all in your prayers. God be with you!

Visit to the Desert Fathers

Found deep within the Kidron Valley is one of the oldest surviving monasteries still around today - Mar Saba.  Mar means Saint and Saba is the name of the monk who began the monastery. This particular monastery belongs to the Orthodox tradition.  After an hour long bus ride, we were able to visit this beautiful place.  

The Monastery is built on the side of the cliff within the Kidron Valley.  Below the monastery is a wadi, a small stream that eventually pours into the Dead Sea.  One of the remarkable aspects of visiting this place was that in the cliff opposite the monastery were several caves that used to house the monks.  In the picture below, notice that there are three doors built into the caves, so, monks still live the life of hermit in these caves today!

Following our trip to Mar Saba, we were able to visit Shepherd's Field.  Traditionally, this is the place where the Angels announced to the shepherds that the savior was born.  The setting here was also incredible.  We were able to celebrate Mass in one of the caves.  Directly on top of the cave is the Church built to commemorate the place where the Angels appeared to the shepherds.  Here is a picture of one of the modern frescoes found inside that Church:

Finally, at the conclusion of these visits, many guys began playing Hacky Sack, which has become an immediate favorite amongst the pilgrims.  It involves being in a circle and kicking around a small cloth ball filled with sand.  The goal is for the ball never to touch the ground.  The game is important because it manifests an important quality about our group.  We truly enjoy each other's presence, and this game allows for us to come together, share great moments of the day while enjoying the beautiful weather in the Holy Land.  We are having an amazing experience together and our bond of brotherhood has become stronger. No doubt we have each encountered the Lord Jesus in a new way in the Holy Land.  Know of our continued prayers for all of you back home.  

A Growth In Holiness And Friendship

I must say that it is nice traveling through the Holy Land as pilgrims on a journey. Some days are full of excitement and new discovery. Other days are busy with classes, where we absorb new material, and then pray, walk around the local area, or just be with friends. We can take our time and really live the experience of the Holy Land. 

As it so happens, today is one of our usual class days, during which we see nothing that we haven’t already seen and we don’t venture out beyond anything already within walking distance. And it is days like these when the Lord gives us his best surprises. Not every day has been a surprise of seeing something new, but every day sees new surprises of friendship. We are pilgrims together, walking the path of Christ together, learning the way of holiness together. Nothing bonds Christian brothers more than this. Even with six new students to our 3rd Theology class, it seems as if we walk as one. This doesn’t mean there are days when we won’t struggle. There are bumpy days, but we try to make the best of them. 

As friends we laugh in the same places that Jesus and Lazarus laughed in, and as friends we pray the Psalms where David and Jonathan prayed. One of the best ways to grow in holiness is to do so with the help of another. And while traveling on this pilgrimage together we are doing exactly that. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)

A Shadow of Things to Come

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to a Sunday Mass in a place where the language is different from yours? Well, we experienced that today. We went to St. Catherine’s, a local parish for Sunday Mass, where the main language was Arabic. While the language was different, Mass remained the same. It was a good show of the universality of the Catholic Church. No matter where you are in the world, Mass is Mass. The structure doesn’t change. Essentially it is the same Mass we know in the States, in our own parishes.

At this Mass, two unique things happened. The first was that we witnessed a Franciscan friar take Solemn Vows. At a certain point, the friar prostrated himself and the Litany of Saints was sung. The thought came that in a few short months, our class will prostrate ourselves during the Litany of Saints at our ordination to the Diaconate. It was a beautiful moment to see this one friar profess himself to the Franciscans and to think about our class soon becoming deacons. It is hard to believe that it is coming so soon.

The other interesting thing about today was that one of the priests at the parish was reassigned to work in Syria. The presider, at the end of mass, gave a great speech about the “hard decision” (his words) that is was to send this priest to another place where they are in need of one. This was also the only point any English was spoken, so we could understand. And while his English was a little hard to hear, for me at least, his message was clear—while the decision was hard, it was one that was prayed over. This is a true test of obedience, to say yes to a difficult assignment. Yet, that will inevitably happen to us one day. We will be assigned to something that will be difficult. What we can do is to trust that the Lord and that good things will come from us being the Lord’s instrument. “The Lord is my rock and my stronghold, my fortress, I stand firm.” (Psalm 62)

But Who Do You Say that We Are?

Blog readers of this site have heard about some of the places the 2016 Mundelein Pilgrims have visited. But who are we? Who makes up this year's pilgrimage? Our leader is a Swaziland Peace Corps Alum, Holy Land Veteran, and Rockford priest. Thus far, he has been assisted by two Chicago priests - one an MBA wielding ecclesiologist, and seminary administrator, and the other a Polish-born Doctor of Ministry and seminary formator. Among the seminarians are a mandolin player from the Gary, Indiana Diocese, a former postal carrier from the diocese in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a computer engineer from - where else - Seattle, Washington. Seattle also blesses our group with a Navy Veteran who has developed a taste for Turkish Coffee. A die-hard Detroit Lions fan can be counted on our bus as can two former music majors - one studying for Springfield in Illinois and the other for Dubuque, Iowa. An award-winning model rocket launcher and civil engineer from Stockton, California calls us fellow pilgrims as do farm-raised seminarians from Dubuque, Iowa and Wichita, Kansas.

Our theme song "Thank You Jesus" is often led by a Nigerian born seminarian studying for Tucson, Arizona. A Kenyan among us studying for Joliet, Illinois speaks Italian when pressed, and two seminarians found in our classroom - one studying also for Joliet, another studying for Grand Rapids - spent time evangelizing to college students before entering seminary. A business major from Indiana University who cuts hair for the homeless when back in the states and a former journalism major - both studying for Chicago, Illinois - begin each day with the 2016 pilgrims in prayer. Two Green Bay, Wisconsin seminarians attend our lectures - one a former baseball player and the other a home school graduate. A Chicago seminarian with us this pilgrimage graduated from an agricultural high school - in the city.

A Costa Rican studying for Kansas City, Kansas, a Mexican studying for Chicago, and a Mexican studying for Wichita, Kansas enjoy these weeks with us as does a Canon Regular from St. John Cantius in Chicago, Illinois. Among us, one seminarian studying for Atlanta has a penchant for Walker Percy while another seminarian studying for Tucson has a penchant for Flannery O'Connor. The blog editor studies for Joliet, a former soccer player studies for Gary, and a Steubenville graduate studies for Rockford. San Angelo, Texas sent us a pilgrim. And a seminarian from Joliet rounds out our group except for me - an old English major who is blessed to climb aboard the 2016 Mundelein Pilgrimage Bus with such a fine group of seminarians.