In late 2019, on a whim that quickly became a reality, I booked a trip to Poland and Germany for May of 2020 with my coworker. We were going to trace the steps of St. John Paul II through his home country and then end the trip with a couple days in Oberammergau, where we … Read More
What Happens in Rome, Stays in Fatima
Bri CampbellLast Updated: May 18th, 2022Italy, Marian Shrines of Europe, Saints
It was a warm May afternoon, pleasantly sunny and warm. The 16th century architecture wrapped around the square, slowly swelling as 10,000 people earned their spot in the sprawling courtyard, woven around fountains and structures, corralled in by hardy trail markers. The general attitude of the growing crowd was gentle exciting, growing with each ticking … Read More
Drawing Near to our Mothers
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: May 11th, 2022Camino de Santiago, Marian Shrines of Europe, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
Nine years ago, while I was in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Fatima, our priest shared a story about one of our fellow pilgrims. At seventeen, she was one of the younger ones in our group and was on this pilgrimage with her older siblings and parents. We had recently walked five days on … Read More
The Perfect Weekend for a Feast
Bri CampbellLast Updated: May 11th, 2022Saints
Spring is in the air, we’re into our second week of the Easter season, and the brighter days call for socializing and celebrating the departure from cold and bleak weather. One of the great things about the Church is that it, too, likes causes for celebration all year long. One way to incorporate the life … Read More
A Tale of Two Easters
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: May 11th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
While the majority of churches in communion with Rome celebrated Easter this past Sunday and are well into the Octave of Easter today, Eastern Orthodox Christians and some Byzantine Catholics are just now celebrating Holy Thursday, the beginning of their Triduum. This year, the two Easters are celebrated just a week apart. Occasionally, they are … Read More
An Easter Egg Hunt for the Fruits of Lent
Bri CampbellLast Updated: April 12th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
Christ is risen, Hallelujah! The forty days are over and we can finally rejoice! The Lord is so good, and in his goodness he desires to draw us nearer to him throughout the season of Lent. While we may have felt inconvenienced and slighted by the “sacrifices” that we decided to take on, we need to realize that God is calling on us to recognize that the things of this world are nothing compared to him, his awesome love, and the kingdom that he has waiting for us.
Keeping Holy the Holy Week
Bri CampbellLast Updated: April 13th, 2022Holy Land, Spiritual Reflections
Next week, we begin our final preparations for Easter: Holy Week. It’s during this time that we commemorate Jesus’ final moments of His life and public ministry. Prepare your heart in a greater way for the Easter Celebration by immersing into the entire journey. Below, you can find what events happened each day in Scripture … Read More
Deep in the Wilderness
Bri CampbellLast Updated: April 6th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
We’re coming to a close on the fourth week of Lent. A month ago, we solemnly celebrated Ash Wednesday; a time of repentance, humility, and remembering that to dust we will one day return. Dust, the simplest of earthly “ingredients.” Common to anywhere and everywhere, it is nowhere close to extravagant or unique. It is … Read More
Monk-y Business
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: March 30th, 2022Featured Pilgrimages
Q. What do hot sauce, caskets, beer, and fudge have in common? A. Monks Monks? Yes. All of these products, and many more, are produced by monks (and nuns) at monasteries throughout the world and can often be purchased for personal use. Perhaps the most famous of these are the Trappist beers, produced at monasteries … Read More
How to Add Moments to your Life
Bri CampbellLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Medjugorje, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
This past Saturday, I returned to the U.S. from a week-long stay in Medjugorje – a small village nestled in the hills of Bosnia-Herzegovina, not far from the coast of the Adriatic Sea. When asked, most people cannot point to this place on a map. They’ve never heard of Bosnia-Herzegovina, let alone the pilgrimage site … Read More
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Pray for Us
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections
Every day in our morning prayers at the office, we invoke the intercession of Mary under the title Queen of Peace. This is especially fitting this week, as Pope Francis called for a day of prayer and fasting on Ash Wednesday for the situation in Ukraine. The title of Mary as Our Lady of Peace … Read More
Prepare for the Fish
Bri CampbellLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Spiritual Reflections
Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand … Read More
The Return to the Holy Land
Andrea JoinesLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Featured Pilgrimages, Holy Land, Pilgrims' Stories
Well, it finally happened. After almost exactly 2 years, which really felt like much longer, we had a pilgrimage group depart for the Holy Land. Though those of us here in the office would have preferred to have gone with them, we have been delighting in their pictures and stories they have shared with us … Read More
Preparing the Heart for Pilgrimage
Bri CampbellLast Updated: March 24th, 2022Medjugorje, Pilgrims' Stories, Spiritual Reflections, Upcoming Pilgrimages
It has been exactly 2 years, 9 months, and 4 days since my last pilgrimage. In May of 2019, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit the Holy Land with my home parish. Looking back, it was such an easy journey – without the burden of COVID restrictions and new policies, it seems unbelievable … Read More
Praying for Rain
Petition is one of many types of prayer, asking the Lord for guidance, graces, healing, and more. In petitioning God the Father, we are only following the command of Jesus, as He shared with His disciples: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will … Read More
