Young Tekton Pilgrims Headed to World Youth Day

Recently, The Catholic Moment, the diocesan newspaper for the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana carried a story by Catholic News Service talking about Pope Francis' trip to Brazil in July.  Some may say, "Brazil?!? Why is he going to Brazil?"  Well, if you didn't know, you do now.  Three little words with a huge meaning- World.  Youth.  Day.

For those who may not have heard or seen anything about it in the news, and likely in the United States you didn't, these events, started by Blessed John Paul II, draw hundreds of thousands of youth.  No joke.  The largest-to-date was in the Philippines with over 5,000,000 young people.  5 mil!  In 2011, the event was hosted in Madrid and saw between 1.5-2 million pilgrims.  

What brave souls are taking young pilgrims from Indiana,Wisconsin and Missouri to this year's World Youth Day in Brazil?  Funny you ask.  Tekton Ministries is.  And we're honored to do so.  The faith of many young people these days inspire us just as it did the founder of World Youth Day.  

As a pilgrimage provider who's been around for a while, we tailor our pilgrimages to our priests and their pilgrims.  Whether it be Brazil with 2,000,00 youth or Ireland with 30 adult children of immigrant parents, Tekton works hard (and I mean really hard) to journey with you on your pilgrimage of faith.  

You Don't See This Every Day

Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus-
 Benedict XVI

Talking about pilgrimages, you can't make a Tekton Pilgrimage to Rome and see this every day!  "Get it while the gettin's good," as they say.

This one will make it to the Time "Life" series for sure!  Thanks to Fr. Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia for posting it.

FOCUS to Host REACH Event in Philly

FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) is hosting yet another REACH event, this time in Philadelphia on May 10th.  What is REACH?  As they put it, "REACH is an opportunity for local community members to gather in prayer and fellowship, to encounter Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to hear the words of inspirational speakers, and to learn more about how they can live out the evangelical mission of the Church in their families, parishes, workplaces, and communities."  The most recent event was held in Boston and certainly served as an opportunity to heal the hurt and fears that pervade since the bombing.

Why does Tekton like what they're doing?  For one, how could you not like people evangelizing to better encounter Jesus Christ?!?  But secondly, FOCUS and Tekton have worked on evangelization together. On two separate pilgrimages, both to the Holy Land, FOCUS Missionaries were able to encounter Christ in a much different way than they do in the residence halls, coffee shops, basketball courts, and even now, in large urban communities.  There, they put their feet in the Sea of Galilee.  They prayed on the Mount of the Beatitudes.  They were silenced before the Altar of Crucifixion.  And all of which helped them to proclaim ever more confidently, "Jesus Christ is Lord!"

We wish FOCUS the best with their REACH outreach.  We hope Indianapolis will be a place they REACH out to soon....

Tekton Pilgrimage Priest Makes Headlines

Reading through the Catholic news this morning, I came across an article on Catholic News Agency titled, "New film shows dramatic revival of Omaha parish," by Carl Bunderson.  

The name of the priest responsible for this renewal is Fr. Damien Cook.  Father was a Tekton pilgrim a few years ago!  

Reflecting on the article helped me to realize why being a real-deal, Catholic pilgrimage provider is so important to proposing the Truth of Jesus Christ to a world in need.  Congratulations to Fr. Cook and to all of his parishioners! 

Fr. Goodson & Group Back Home from the Holy Land!

Welcome back to Fr. Todd Goodson and his pilgrims to the Holy Land!  Thank God for safe travels and a holy pilgrimage!  Make sure to send us pictures and stories that we can share with our readers.

Pinterest Pilgrimage Pictures (Say that three times fast!)

We've just uploaded some cool pilgrimage pictures to our Pinterest page.  Check them out and feel free to re-pin them. http://pinterest.com/tekton1/

Cardinal Dolan on Pilgrimages and Renewed Faith

Reading through some of Cardinal Dolan's blog, I remembered he had taken a pilgrimage with 50 of his priests to the Holy Land.  He talked about it as an opportunity to renew their faith.  Read his post to see why pilgrimages, especially to the Holy Land, are so important for our Christian faith.