They say
life is a journey, yet, as I grow older, I am thinking of life more as a pilgrimage.
The word pilgrimage indicates that the goal is spiritual, the road at times arduous and the pace reflective.
We traveled to Rome this summer to walk through the Holy Doors. It was a wonderful experience, but did not feel as a pilgrimage. Maybe because we were on vacation, maybe because we were exhausted from the extra long trip we took this time and the new responsibilities that we had to face just before leaving...
So, before the Year of Mercy ends I felt called to start a true, albeit local, pilgrimage. The goal is to visit all the parishes of the Archdiocese of Denver and spend some time in Eucharistic Adoration, where that is available. The idea is to walk, jog, bike or get to my destinations.
I am not sure if and when I will be able to finish. I am going to let God's lead the way and not worry.
Today (August 10, 2016) that pilgrimage started. With Norine, Emma, Pietro and Paolo, I took the light-rail to downtown Denver and then walked to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Holy Ghost and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. We spent some Adoration time at Holy Ghost (available between 7:30AM and 3:30PM every day).
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| Itinerary of Day 1 |
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| Catholic is fun. |
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| Pilgrims |
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| Can you read the year in Latin numbers? MCMXXIV |
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| Statue of St. John Paul II at the Cathedral - JPII, pray for us |
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| The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver |
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| Station of the Cross at the Cathedral |
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| Stainglass window at the Cathedral |
The highlights:
- Meeting Fr. Jeremy Paulin at Holy Ghost and sharing stories about Rome and a selfie with Pope Francis (see Facebook)
- (Part of) my family starting on this road with me. Thank you!
- discussing with the children about Jesus and the disciples walking together for 3 years. Was one of them always ahead and another always the "slow-poke"? Did they laugh or joke along the way?
- The
slurpee at the 7-Eleven that was not there.... A nice refreshing break on a hot Denver day (93 F today)
- The peace that God in the Eucharist can bring even in the midst of noise and crowds, if we stop and listen.
- Wearing the Canada shirt. Almost any stranger I talk to asks me if we are from Canada... Today somebody said: "I like Canadians, they are nice people".
Reflections about the journey, walking downtown and the reasons behind the pilgrimage I will leave for Day 2. That's my incentive to get out there again
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| Holy Ghost parish in Denver |
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| The altar and Blessed Sacrament at Holy Ghost |
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| Holy Ghost |
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| With Fr. Jeremy and #Flat Francis at Holy Ghost |
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| St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Denver |
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| Stainglass window at St. Elizabeth |
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| Stations of the cross at St. Elizabeth |
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| With #FlatFrancis at St. Elizabeth |
Three churches down, 139 to go:
http://archden.org/parish-locator/
(Total time 2:45 minutes approx. , walked 2.4 miles, 30 minutes of Eucharistic Adoration, temp: 93 F)
1 comment:
I would like to do part of your pilgrimage with you. Perhaps you and I can walk a couple of days in May 2017. We will visit Colorado for Lina's and Mike's wedding. It will be on or around the 14th.
“I have always had a liking for pilgrimages, and if I had lived in the Middle Ages would have spent most of my time on the way to Rome. The pilgrims, leaving all their cares at home, the anxieties of their riches or their debts, the wife that worried and the children that disturbed, took only their sins with them, and turning back on their obligations, set out with that sole burden, and perhaps a cheerful heart.”
― Elizabeth von Arnim, Elizabeth and Her German Garden
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