I must admit that I am still a bit tired from my two week pilgrimage to Italy so I have been doing a lot of resting. Butters, one of my cats, seems to enjoy the companionship for little cat naps. He snuggles in close so he can be right next to me, or on an arm or a hand! Perhaps to be sure I don’t leave him again. With that said, I have had a lot of time to think back on our journey and all the sites and cities we visited. It occurred to me at 4 a.m. this morning that our pilgrimage was a perfect analogy for life.

At a time that I was Chair for the Bishop’s Commission on Women for our Diocese we had a similar thought discerning our purpose for the Commission. We wanted to create a resource that would support Catholic women and provide opportunities to journey to places that would inspire and nurture our Catholic faith. We visited shrines in Chicago, Wisconsin, and took an amazing pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal. That theme, of journeying, has never left me, as you have noticed in my selection of the title of this blog series on my website.

Highlights of the Italy trip were always the morning gatherings for coffee before leaving the hotel for the day, our daily Masses in the most beautiful chapels of churches and Basilicas, and our evening dinners together as a group. Stories were shared from adventures that might have been taken apart from the group.

Our trip didn’t lack mishap either; a broken wrist due to a fall in Assisi for one of our pilgrims and another finding a priest, from another tour group from Ireland, that had fallen or died suddenly in a stairwell in Rome.

There were times that we rushed through sites moving on to the next one. Crowds of people, especially in Rome, seemed to arriving, snapping pictures then quickly moving on to the next place. I regret that, at certain sites, we didn’t linger a bit longer to reflect and savor the experience.

My favorite memories were always the quiet pauses for cappuccino, or wine, to savor the aromas and sounds. Last Sunday I sat in a piazza in Assisi listening and watching families gathering after Mass at the Basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Clare). My heart was full observing all that was happening around me.

At the weekly audience we attended on Wednesday, at the Vatican, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on apostolic zeal. Pope Francis spoke of St. Charles de Foucauld as someone that attempted to imitate Christ with his life. He spoke about the importance of lay people in the Church, to be open to the Spirit and to live with compassion, meekness and tenderness. He reminded us that we can evangelize in simple ways, with kindness and a smile for those around us. He speaks with such sincerity and love for the gospel and how we can grow closer to God. I follow Vatican News but read a bit more carefully these two weeks because of the Synod of Bishops, which has been going on in October, and being in Rome. I was captivated seeing so many priests, bishops, and cardinals walking around Vatican City. I pondered the immense weight that the Pope must feel guiding the Church during these turbulent times. I hope you saw the amazing photo I took that day as Pope Francis drove right by us on his way to his chair to speak to us. It was an incredible experience to see him that close and in person. He radiates joy and had an amazing energy and attention for those he drove by.

So it is with life, we rush through too many moments in order to get on to the next one. We have ups and downs, losses and sadness along the way. There are also interludes of pause and rest to savor the moment at hand, family or friends. But I am reminded to build more of them into my day. We have teachers and leaders we can turn to for guidance and inspiration when needed. The saints and mystics are there to show us, by the example of their lives, to keep going despite the hardships and challenges. Even short lives like Blessed Carlos Acutis who died in 2006 at the age of 15, who helped those in need around him around his home and on the way to school and built a website to document Eucharistic miracles, inspire me to use social media to share positive messages.

Lastly a pilgrimage, or life, is only a spiritual experience if I make it so. It can be a collage of moments that I rush through and visit or it can be moments I tune in and listen to the voice of God and what I might need to hear. My prayer is to be transformed by this experience I was so fortunate to have taken, to listen more carefully and move a bit more intentionally, always moving in the direction of greater peace and joy in God.

Photo is a walkway in Assisi. I shared many photos and descriptions of the places we visited but I have hundreds more! I look forward to going through them and sharing them over time. Thank you for commenting that you enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading about them.