The theme of the pilgrimage was one word: HERE

(by Fr. Greg Shaffer, Chaplain, GWCatholics, George Washington University Newman Center)

Nineteen of us from GW just returned from a 10 day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, including seventeen students.  

It was AWESOME!  For almost all of us, it was our first time.  God completely blessed our trip, and made each day greater than the one before it.  The first half of our time was spent at the Sea of Galilee which was gorgeous.  This is where Jesus was!  He performed miracles there, walked on water there, and handed over his authority to Peter there (“feed my sheep”).  The views in the morning and evening were especially breath-taking.  So many of us fell in love with the Sea of Galilee.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, and lended easily to prayer.  Think I’ve found my retirement spot!  One morning, I posted on Facebook that I went for a run and touched the Sea of Galilee.  Incredible!

The second half of our pilgrimage was in Jerusalem.  This was much more chaotic, busy, and touristy.  But, the holy sites there were so powerful and overwhelming.  We visited the Church of the Annunciation and the students got that that’s where it all started…the Word became flesh.  The Mass at the Church of Agony at the Garden of Gethsemane was particularly powerful because that’s where Christ first shed His blood that we offer at every Mass. And, then, we had Mass in the tomb!  I celebrated Mass on a marble slab where Christ’s body laid for 3 days and then was resurrected…!  That was the most emotional Mass I have ever celebrated. 

The theme of the pilgrimage was one word: HERE.  At each of these places, the prayers in the priest’s book (missal) said HERE.  “The Word became flesh HERE”.  “Christ was born HERE”.  “Christ rose from the dead HERE”.  No other missals in the world say that. We were there and celebrated Mass where these major events of our salvation happened!

If you ever get a chance to go the Israel, please do.  First, it was very safe. At no time was our safety at risk. Second, it was life-changing.  19 of us went; there were 19 conversions.  We are all different people now.  We spanned the spectrum of faith; some were full of faith, some were doubters going into the trip.  We are all believers now, having had a special encounter with Christ in the Holy Land.

Towards the end of our time there, we visited the Upper Room.  This is a significant site for us for a number of reasons: it was there that Christ celebrated the Last Supper, instituted the Eucharist and Priesthood, and where today’s feast of Pentecost occurred.  At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles as tongues of fire (why the sanctuary and priest are donned with red today).  The Apostles had been afraid to even go outside after Jesus ascended “for fear of the Jews”.  I talked to our students about this on the trip.  It was actually on the feast of the Ascension that I quoted the Gospel: “they worshiped but doubted”.

Think about what that means.  The Apostles were taught by Jesus for three years, got to know him well as a friend, witnessed His passion, death, resurrection, and ascension.  After all that, they doubted and were afraid. They were at all of the holy sites we were…and they were with Jesus!  I pointed this out to the students, and asked them what changed for the Apostles.  It was the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  The Spirit filled them with faith, not fear.  He filled them with courage, wisdom and zeal to go out and proclaim Jesus. They did that, and on the first day of going out, three thousand people were baptized.  It was the start of the Catholic Church.  The Spirit spoke through the Apostles that day, started the Church, and has been guiding the Church ever since. 

As I told the students, pray to the Holy Spirit.   If you are doubting or are afraid or feel that God is a million miles away, ask the Spirit to help you know Christ’s presence.  “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful”.  Fill our hearts with your love.  Fill our hearts with your truth, your peace, your joy. Help us to be filled with faith, not fear.  Help us to go out and proclaim Jesus as the Apostles did.

Pentecost was the first Confirmation.  It was for our own sake that you and I were baptized; it was for the sake of others that we were confirmed.  The purpose of Pentecost was to send the Apostles out; the purpose of our Confirmation was to go out on the mission of the Church.  Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid to go out and proclaim Jesus with your lives.

College Students Begin Holy Land Pilgrimage Day After Pope Leaves

Fr. Greg Shaffer, Chaplain of the George Washington University Newman Center will be leading students on an 11-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the first of its kind for the student center for Catholics. The GWCatholics arrive the day after Pope Francis departs.

The planning for their pilgrimage began over one year ago. But the time has passed quickly, according to George Washington University Newman Center Chaplain, Fr. Greg Shaffer.

Departing on May 27, Fr. Shaffer and Olivia Bee, student coordinator, will embark on an 11-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land. They will narrowly miss Pope Francis, who departs the Holy Land after his “pilgrimage of prayer” on May 26.

Though the GWCatholics, as they are called, have done service projects and mission trips with the students before, according to Fr. Shaffer this will be the first Holy Land pilgrimage they will make.

Speaking about the difference between prior mission trips and a pilgrimage, Fr. Shaffer emphasized the power of the "extraordinary graces available" on a pilgrimage.

"A pilgrimage helps individuals be more open to what God is doing in their lives," said Tekton PR Associate, Chris Weldon.

"By being in a particular place and encountering the history of events and people in that place, one can be more open to the underlying message that was communicated at that time, much like being at the Statue of Liberty can help people to enter into the experience of the waves of immigrants who came to the United States in the 19th century."

When asked what he wanted for his student parishioners to take away from their upcoming pilgrimage, Fr. Shaffer's answer was clear. "I want them to have a deeper conversion to Christ."

He himself is looking forward to his Tekton Ministries Holy Land pilgrimage, "being in the places where Jesus was, especially where the acts of our salvation took place."

The GWCatholics return from their pilgrimage on June 6.

Tekton Ministries has been providing pilgrimages to the Holy Land since 1996.

For more information, contact Chris Weldon, PR Associate and Social Media Coordinator for Tekton Ministries at (866) 905-3787.For more information on Catholic pilgrimages or other Tekton services contact Chris Weldon at Tekton Ministries, (866) 905-3787.

Pope Francis to make pilgrimage to Albania on September 21, 2014

(Vatican Radio) At his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis announced that he will be visiting the city of Tirana in Albania on Sunday 21 September. “With this brief visit,” he said, “I want to confirm the Church of Albania in the faith, and bear witness to my encouragement and love for a country that has suffered for so long in consequence of the ideologies of the past.”

Fortnight For Freedom 2014 | Freedom to Serve

Just 8 days from today begins the...

Video: The Need

Shooting At Phoenix Catholic Church Leaves 1 Priest Dead, Another Critically Injured

(The Huffington Post  | By Jade Walker)  A shooting at a Catholic church in Phoenix claimed the life of a priest and left another critically injured on Wednesday night, CNN reported.

A 911 call made by one of the victims came in around 9 p.m. from the Mother of Mercy Mission Catholic Church, Sgt. Steve Martos of the Phoenix Police Department said. Officers found the victims when they arrived at the church in downtown Phoenix.

One of the priests later died at the hospital from gunshot wounds and the other is incritical condition with unspecified injuries, AZFamily.com reported.

At this time, the victims' identities have not been released.

A 2003 Mazda Tribute that was stolen from the church was later abandoned.

The suspect or suspects are considered armed and dangerous.

Pope Francis' practical program for holiness

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the Beatitudes spell out a program for Christian life.

During his homily at Monday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope focused on the Beatitudes; on the day following the historic meeting for peace in the Vatican, he called for the courage of meekness to defeat hatred.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day which focuses on the Beatitudes, Pope Francis described them as a “program”, the “identity card of a Christian”.  If you ask yourself how to become a good Christian,  this is where you can find Jesus’s answer, an answer – he said - that points to an attitude that is currently very much against the tide: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Wealth – Francis pointed out – offers no guarantee, in fact – he continued – when the heart is rich and self-satisfied, it has no place for the Word of God: “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted”.

The world tells us that happiness, joy and entertainment are the best things in life. And it looks the other way when there are problems of disease or pain in the family. The world does not want to suffer, it prefers to ignore painful situations, to cover them up. Only the person who sees things as they are, and whose heart mourns, will be happy and will be comforted. Thanks to the consolation of Jesus, not to that of the world. Blessed are the meek in this world which is filled with wars, arguments, hatred. And Jesus says: no war, no hatred. Peace and meekness.”

Pope Francis continued saying “if you are meek in life, people will think you are not clever”. Let them think that – he said – “but you are meek because with this meekness you will inherit the Earth”. “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. It is so easy – the Pope observed – to become part of the corrupt and referred to “that daily approach of ‘do ut des’. Everything is business”. How much injustice does that approach cause – he noted – and how many people suffer because of injustice. And Jesus says: “Blessed are they who fight against injustice. Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy”. The merciful – the Pope said – “those who forgive and understand the mistakes of others”. Jesus – he pointed out – does not say “blessed are they who seek revenge”.

“Blessed are they who forgive, who are merciful. Because we are all part of an army of people who have been forgiven! We have all been forgiven. That is why blessed is he who undertakes this path of forgiveness. Blessed are the pure of heart, they who have a simple, pure heart without dirt, a heart that knows how to love with purity. Blessed are peace-makers. But it is so common amongst us to be war-makers or perpetrators of misunderstandings! When I hear something from one person, and I go and say it to someone else in a second, enlarged, edition… the world of gossip. People who gossip, who do not make peace, are enemies of peace. They are not blessed”.

“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness”. How many people – Pope Francis said – have been persecuted, “and continue to be persecuted simply for having fought for justice”. And recalling the Beatitudes, the Pope pointed out that they represent “a program for life offered to us by Jesus”: “So simple and yet so difficult”. And he said: “if we are searching for more, Jesus gives us other indications” as written in the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was ill and you cared for me,  I was in prison and you visited me”. With these two things – the Beatitudes and Matthew 25 – “one can live a holy, Christian life”.

“Few words, simple words, but practical for all. Because Christianity is a practical religion: it is not just to be imagined, it is to be practiced. If you have some time at home today, take the Gospel, Matthew’s Gospel, chapter five. At the beginning there are the Beatitudes; in chapter 25 the rest. And it will do you good to read them once, twice, three times. Read this program for holiness. May the Lord give us the grace to understand his message”.