There’s a lot to-do about tattoos. Should you get them, should you not; will you like them later in life, will you not; does the Church approve of them, does she not; would Jesus get a tattoo? At the turn of the 20th century, tattoos as we know them today made their way into the … Read More
Holy Name Holy Places
Bri CampbellLast Updated: September 9th, 2021Featured Pilgrimages, France, Holy Land, Ireland, Italy, Marian Shrines of Europe
This week, we celebrated the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and this Sunday, we look forward to commemorating the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. With only four days separating these two feasts, Our Lady is brought to the forefront of our days during this time. During pilgrimage, our hearts are also drawn … Read More
Mary Magdalene and her Red Egg
We all know the awe-inspiring story of Mary Magdalene, the first person Christ appeared to after his Resurrection. She was a true saint of hope running to tell the Apostles she had seen the Lord. They didn’t believe her until they ran to the tomb themselves. The unbelief of the Apostles steeled her for a … Read More
Carrying Christ Within You
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: August 27th, 2021Holy Land, Spiritual Reflections
When we celebrated the feast of the Visitation on Monday, we heard in the Gospel about Mary’s journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth. After hearing news of her cousin’s pregnancy, Mary set off in haste to visit her relative. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb,” and then she said, “Most … Read More
Locked in with Christ
Krista BehringerLast Updated: April 1st, 2021Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories
How many different occasions has someone shouted, “stay awake” or “don’t fall asleep?” If you find yourself blessed with the opportunity to spend the night inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and accidentally fall asleep, you may hear plenty of voices in several different languages ordering you to either sit up straight … Read More
The “Yes” that Saved the World
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: March 29th, 2021Holy Land, Saints
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14 This is the verse before the Gospel we hear at Mass today. It is also one we hear during Christmastide – both at the Christmas Mass during the day and the Second Sunday after Christmas (when the Epiphany isn’t celebrated that day). … Read More
Finding Beauty Amongst the Chaos
Bri CampbellLast Updated: January 19th, 2021Holy Land
The coming of the year 2021 was an event that many people looked forward to with great anticipation. Anything would be better than 2020; between the pandemic, shutdowns, riots, and unemployment, just about anything would be a step up from the past year of complete uncertainty and chaos.
Sharing the Jolly News from Bethlehem
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: December 17th, 2020Holy Land, Saints, Spiritual Reflections
While Christmas is often associated with a jolly old man bearing gifts for all, there is another less-jolly old man even more closely tied with the birthplace of our Savior. And who also happened to offer a gift to the world. Yes, even saints get grumpy sometimes, and St. Jerome was known for his grumpiness. … Read More
Finding Jesus in the Wild West
Bri CampbellLast Updated: September 11th, 2020Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
In late 2019, I had booked and planned a trip to Poland and Germany for May of 2020 with a fellow coworker here at Tekton Ministries. We were going to explore the homeland of St. John Paul II and then end our pilgrimage with a quick stop in Germany, where we were going to attend … Read More
Resting in Mary’s Mantle
What do St. Edith Stein, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. John of the Cross all have in common? Apart from residing in Eternal Paradise together, these three saints lived their lives in the Carmelite order, leaving the world behind to live in a community devoted to prayer, contemplation, and being in union with the … Read More
The Renaissance Man Cave Revisited
Bri CampbellLast Updated: June 2nd, 2020Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
It can be hard to reflect on an experience that you’ve never had before. Shortly after I began my employment at Tekton, I was tasked with writing a reflection on the Upper Room. Having never set foot in the same country as the Upper Room, I scoured the Internet for all the info it had … Read More
The Best of All Holy Weeks
Bri CampbellLast Updated: April 2nd, 2020Domestic Church, Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
“Holy Week and Easter will never be the same.” This is the comment we get most abundantly from our pilgrims upon their return from the Holy Land. It comes in through our surveys so often that you would think they all copied one another’s responses – cutting and pasting the same thing over and over … Read More
In the Footsteps of Our Blessed Mother
In the St. Wenceslas tale that is told around this time of year, we see a king’s mercy and compassion. Good King Wenceslas, who has had songs and story books made of his life, set out one winter’s night with his squire to take food and firewood to his poor subjects. The snow was deep, … Read More
I am Peter, Flawed & Faithful
I’ve often heard, “We are all called to be holy.” But until lately, I saw holiness as a synonym for moral goodness. I recently learned, though, that the Hebrew translation means to be “set apart” from the world for God’s purpose. Peter, John, and James were certainly “set apart” when they accompanied Jesus to the … Read More
The Journey to Christmas
Bri CampbellLast Updated: July 2nd, 2019Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
It was late when my plane touched down in Tel Aviv, but after years of anticipation, I had finally made it – I was in the land of Jesus and the Gospels! It was dark as our bus worked its way through the hill country of Israel on its way to our first stop: Bethlehem. … Read More
