Letters to Guadalupe

Letter 4: My Pilgrimage

My dearest Mother,

You remember how I always wanted to be a star athlete in the Olympics or a officer in the armed forces? Or later on, I wanted to be a youth minister, a monk, or a priest? I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. I wanted to do something great with my life. I look back and see how many of my dreams involved travel and helping others. I remember how desperately I wanted to be a Catholic missionary and travel the country, helping as many persons as I could.

As I step back and look at my life now, it's amazing how God is still able to answer the deepest desires of my heart. Even though most of my plans change and never come to completion, some do, and others are altered a bit. As a family man, I still consider myself a missionary, an athlete, a priest, and all the roles I thought I wanted to be. Through my life vocation of marriage, I fulfill my roles and more as I work together with my wife to lead our children on this life journey. I attempt on a daily basis to strive towards excellence and holiness. I try to give my best in my family, at my work, and in my relationship with God and you, my dear Mother. You give me aid in directing me ever closer to your Son, Jesus Christ. You express your desires to me in the most gentle and loving way. Of which I try my best to fulfill, wishing to bring you joy and joy to others.

Among the many great desires within me, I love to go on pilgrimage to holy and sacred sites. You, my Mother, know this quite well and sometimes I believe it is you that prompts this desire within me. I have a select number of places that have touched my heart. There are some that I've been to many of times, other maybe once, and still others I have yet to visit. I ask myself on many occasions why I have such an interest in making pilgrimages to these sites. To the outside onlooker that knows nothing of how I feel, they may see no point, and think I'm crazy for wanting to use my time to visit churches and shrines. They may be wondering why would a person would want to spend a day exploring a building and praying within it?

To these individuals, I would say I make these pilgrimages to feel ever closer to you, my sweet Mother. When I visit these places of worship and contemplation, I feel one step closer to you and the glory of heaven. For a brief moment, stepping inside these marvelous vessels of awe and wonder, I forget all my problems and the problems of the world. I have a chance to catch my breath and retreat from the craziness of society. And tempting as it may be to spend the rest of my life here, I feel a greater desire to share this joy with others. I feel the need to share the experience of my visit with others, so that they too may one day visit this place or a place like it, and God-willing experience a life-changing moment with God, our Father.

Do you know all the places that I have on my list, my dear Mother? You of course, know that the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is at the top, but what about the others? I would say St. Benedict's Abbey and St. Benedict Catholic Church (Atchison, Kansas) would be next on the list. How many hours would you say I spent, conversing with you and our Lord? I would say quite a bit as I tried to make it a daily habit to visit you while attending college. You witnessed so much of my young adult life those four years. Each year spent there was a milestone forward on my life of independence, and you got to witness it all!

Rounding up the list is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Peoria, Illinois), the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Washington, D.C.), St. Mary of the Visitation (Ottumwa, Iowa), Holy Hill (Hubertus, Wisconsin), National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Hope (New Franken, Wisconsin), and St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). Some of these places I've been to many of times, and others I wait in joyous anticipation to someday visit. I can't wait to visit these holy places again or for the first time. I can't wait to share these experiences with my family and friends.

As I ponder on why you would have asked Juan Diego to bring you flowers from atop the hill, I realize that you've probably asked each of your children to do a small favor for you. Some responded in a quickly manner, others in a slower manner, and still others brushed it off and said no. Why does this remind me so much of our responses to your Son Jesus? Or how children respond to their parents? You are so patient with us, and you hold no grudges against us if we're slow to answer, or don't answer at all.

Much like you asked Juan Diego to request the bishop that a basilica be built in your honor, you probably did the same for all of your spiritual children in the past, and even now in the present. How amazing it is to think that you spoke to the same individuals that I look up to and admire as saints in heaven. Maybe you even asked them to contact me and offer their help in my difficulties. Pope John Paul II and Therese of Lisieux helped me grieve and accept being separated from my birth and foster parents. Teresa of Calcutta, John Vianney, and Padre Pio helped me develop my heart for the materially and spiritually poor. Augustine of Hippo, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Polycarp, Blaise, and Damien of Molokai all aided me in my prayer life and zeal for the Catholic faith and evangelization. These individuals, my brothers and sisters of Christ, and all the communion of saints are here to help us here on earth, to strive for excellence in all things and holiness in this broken world. Pray for us, that we may live our lives to the fullest through and through, until the race has been run and completed.