Pilgrim's Feet

Friends, I cannot believe I am writing this. Two weeks ago exactly I submitted my application to possibly go to Tanzania this summer. Well, it is with immense joy that I write that this possibility became a reality today! I am going to Tanzania!!! It is still so surreal to me, but I am so happy! I cannot wait to see where God is leading me with this!  "To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement."  ~ Saint Augustine

Every morning as part of my morning prayer routine that I developed last semester, I pray the Litany of Trust. This Litany is my favorite for various reasons. But today I would like to share with you how it has especially helped me this past week as I have been celebrating the Ember Days. Ember Days are three penitential days of prayer, fasting, abstinence and thanksgiving that occur each quarter to show God "gratitude for the blessings of nature, particularly those used by the Church in her Liturgy," to ask Him for His blessings upon mankind, as well as to pray for priests, especially those being ordained, (Jennifer Gregory-Miller, "Contemporary Observation of Ember Days"). Today marks the last day of the Michaelmas Embertide, as Ember Days are always on Wednesday (in remembrance of Judas' betrayal), Friday (in remembrance of Christ's Passion and Crucifixion), and Saturday (in remembrance of Christ's time in the tomb). While I knew that yesterday and t...

Yesterday was the feast of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, the patron of aviators, pilots, students, air travelers, and those with learning disabilities. And not only did he help me on my first French exam of the semester yesterday (as well as Saints Joseph and Jude and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati), but he also encouraged me earlier this evening with these words: "Pray to God: 'You are the spirit, and I am only the trumpet, and without Your breath I can have no sound.'" You see, I have been praying a lot recently, asking Jesus to help me accept God's Will, whatever that might be. And while I have been praying about it in reference to a particular petition, this is not the only way Jesus is showing me what love can be shown to Him, and what good can be done by accepting His Will.  Either last year or the year before last (I cannot remember exactly), I watched the documentary Liberating a Continent: John Paul II and the Fall of Communism. Not only do I consider th...

This is going to sound stupid, but I realized something big today. As I was walking to my anthropology class, I was thinking about how tired I was. While I had to stay up late to do homework, and get up early this morning; last night's sleep felt like I had closed my eyes for five minutes only to have my alarm begin to go off. Although I felt tired, I remembered what one of my best friends said yesterday at lunch: when we offer things up, this gives even the littlest things meaning. This was something I had forgotten. That is, I had forgotten that the reason why we offer things up to God is for Him to give our everyday sacrifices and sufferings meaning.  And so, upon waking up and knowing how tired I was, I decided to offer it up on my way to the cafeteria and after breakfast, on my way to class, I continued to think about this. In thinking about it, and praying with Jesus about it, I realized that just as Love requires sacrifice between people, so Love requires sacrifice on our...

Well, I did it. I submitted my application to (possibly) go to Tanzania this summer. Yesterday was the last day of the novena I was praying, initially asking for Saint Josephine Bakhita's intercession about applying to go to Kenya with my university. However, around Day 5 or so, I changed my petition. Why? Because as I prayed, the more I realized that I didn't want to go anywhere "just for me." I wanted my trip to serve God and others. For we have so many opportunities for serving God and for bringing Him glory, and travelling anywhere is one way we can do this! Why go on vacation to Italy/France/Japan/India/New York State even when you can make a pilgrimage/mission trip out of it?! We are pilgrims after all in this journey called life. And every moment presents itself as a chance to show our love and praise and gratitude to God. And although I do not feel an assurance or peace that I'll even get accepted, I do know that whatever happens, I am not afraid. For I to...

Happy feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Mother!!! Because today "was the beginning of our salvation," (Liturgical Prayer), as it was through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Christ was brought into the world, I would like to share with you something that I learned today as I sat by the fountain in the little plaza at my university. As I sat there, praying, I was asking Jesus about two things that have really been on my heart recently. One of them is the petition that I mentioned in the previous post, and the other is an unexpected twist to the petition about my going to Africa this summer. I was praying and asking Him to show me His Will when it came to both petitions, and how with the one it was really hard for me to submit to His Will even though I know I should. (I realized that whether I feel like it or not, I should still submit, and I also realized that my submitting will have to be more of a renewal than a one time commitment.) I also was asking Jesus about a particular...

Last semester, I really got into scrapbooking and I am happy to say that I have completed two scrapbooks - one being from the Spring and the other one I worked on and finished over the Summer. And while I haven't been very diligent about keeping up the new scrapbook I brought along with me to school, there is one thing about it that I would like to share with you today and it is this: I chose a Bible verse that I wished to keep with me throughout the semester, one that I thought would help me to grow spiritually. I was going back and forth between a verse I really loved from Jeremiah, and those most beautiful, yet simple words of our Blessed Mother: "Be it done unto me according to thy word," (Luke 1:38). After praying about it, I chose the Blessed Mother's words in the end, and I am thankful I did because this is an area of my life that I am realizing I need to work on - submitting to God's Will. I'm the type of person where it is a-okay to follow God's ...

Last night as I was packing my backpack in preparation for today's classes, I thought that it would be a good idea to bring along some extra homework (and therefore some extra books) so that I could work on it in between classes. However, that was not the most brilliant of ideas, as my already heavy backpack became almost unbearably heavy. But as I could not go back to my dorm due to time constraints, I was essentially stuck carrying it around all day. And so, as I walked from my university's student center to one of my classes, I noticed that the closer the backpack was to my back, the easier it became to bear, and that the farther away it was from my back, not only the heavier did it seem, but also the more painful. As I offered up this pain, it hit me that our crosses are the same. That is, if we try to reject them, to shirk them from our shoulders, to carry them only half-heartedly at a distance, the more painful and heavy they feel. (Believe me when I say this as I tried f...

When I was a junior in high school I had to read Dante's Divine Comedy, a nd I am so glad I did because even though it was subtle, that book has had a profound impact on my life. Still to this day I catch myself reflecting upon pearls of wisdom I gleaned from the cantos. However, one of the things that especially stuck with me was not contained in a canto, per se, but was alluded to and then fleshed out in the notes. And it was this: every choice we make here on earth is a step closer to either Heaven or Hell.  As I sat by the fountain in the little plaza at my university, praying and speaking with Jesus about my day - I have been out of sorts for almost a week now, and some things that happened today did not help - I asked Him to help me find "me" again. As I prayed, I thought about what makes me "me" and realized that some of what was contributing to my feeling out of sorts was that I had crossed some personal boundaries I had set for myself. And although ...

"Direct me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art my God and Savior; and on Thee have I waited all the day long."  ~ Psalm 24:5 I am a very impatient person. Usually when some new exciting prospect presents itself to me, I enthusiastically jump right in without thinking only to have it all fall to pieces. I don't like to wait, but to take action. God knows this, and for the past year especially He has been teaching me to learn how to wait, and I think He is finally getting through to me. You see, I decided to learn Swahili. I have wanted to for quite a while now, but the other day I made the decision to stop by the library, pick up both a Swahili descriptive and prescriptive grammar, download Duolingo, and start. And let me tell you, I love it so far! It really is a fun and interesting language. In the midst of my enthusiasm and excitement in learning this wonderful, new language, I found out that this summer my university is going to Kenya and that, as an hon...