Jesuit magazine (4-11).indd - The New Orleans Province of the ...

makes the work load manageable.
We each have a passion for
areas outside of the parish as well,
with pro-life issues, community
organizing, social justice issues,
participating on boards for America
Magazine or Hope for the Future, to
Being fully
accepted as a
Jesuit is truly
a great feeling
of belonging
and completion,
in spite of
my human
weakness.
name a few. Single-priest parishes
often call us to help them out on the
weekends, and usually we are called
on for hearing confessions after the
popular ACTS Retreats held nearly
every week. We have a small Jesuit
community, but we enjoy our work
and each other’s company.
Who knows what the future
holds for those still in Jesuit formation?
But, regardless we can trust
that the Lord has brought us this
far and has never abandoned us.
It is through complete trust in the
Lord that we will serve Him as He
desires. His love and His Grace are
enough for me.
A Pilgrim’s Progress
The journey of one novice
I began my journey on a
Greyhound bus from Kansas City
the night of February 21st. My
ticket took me to Schenectady,
New York, which was 30 miles
from the Jesuit Martyrs Shrine
where I had hoped to stay my
first night. The bus ride took 32
hours, and I begged for food and
money from others I met on the
bus.
In Schenectady I walked
around trying to find a place
to stay the night. A priest at a
local parish donated $50 to my
cause and told me about a bus
that would take me closer to my
destination. So I took the bus to Amsterdam,
New York, where I asked for walking directions
to the shrine from a postal worker. After the
eight mile, two and a half hour hike, I was
exhausted, hungry, and plagued with blisters.
I embraced a relaxing, meditative two and a
half days at the shrine where I visited the site
of René Goupil’s martyrdom.
I then took a train to Rochester where I
stayed a night at McQuaid Jesuit High School
and ate dinner at a homeless shelter. Before
giving all the rest of my money to the homeless
shelter, I bought a bus ticket that took me to
Toronto to meet up with the director of the Martyrs’
Shrine in Midland, Ontario. Unfortunately,
I missed him but had the pleasure of staying
the night with the scholastics in first studies
at Regis College.
The next day I arrived by bus in Midland
where I stayed for five days, reflecting on my
vocation and spending time praying with the
relics of the Canadian Martyrs and learning
about their lives. Then I returned to Toronto for
several days to figure out my next move which
led me to take an overnight bus to New York
City.
I arrived in New York early in the morning
and took the subway to the Jesuit scholastic
residence at Fordham in the Bronx. After get-
ting settled, I took the subway back to America
House in Manhattan where I had lunch and
met Fr. James Martin, S.J., whom I find inspiring
and would like to emulate. I walked around
Manhattan after lunch visiting St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, Times Square and St. Ignatius
Church.
The next day led me to Baltimore. I was
welcomed with a 50 degree “heat wave” and
a ten mile walk. After three hours of walking I
arrived in the office of the campus minister of
Loyola Blakefield who graciously welcomed me
into his home. I stayed at his house visiting
the school for two days. I had the pleasure of
speaking to several senior theology classes,
and students donated enough for my bus ticket
to New Orleans. I visited the Cristo Rey school
in Baltimore on my last day there and took a
late-night bus on the 11th of March. I didn’t
arrive in New Orleans until the morning of the
13th, but I had a seven-hour layover in Atlanta
which I used to explore the downtown area.
This pilgrimage was an incredibly humbling
experience overall that really taught me
how to trust in God and confirmed me in my
vocation. I am thankful to have had such a
wonderful opportunity.
If you would like to support the formation
of young Jesuits, please visit us at www.
norprov.org.
The Southern Jesuit Spring 2011 13