The 12th Member of Our Pilgrimage

Preparing for pilgrimage I knew that these 4 weeks would be a time in which our class would grow together tremendously. Being on pilgrimage together, the 9 of us seminarians with Msgr. Trapp and Fr. Battersby, we have come to know one other in new and different ways. Experiencing the many holy cites together, sharing meals, swimming in the Sea of Galilee, and praying, we have truly grown as brothers, brothers in the Lord.

There has been, however, an unexpected 12th member of our pilgrimage whom we have also gotten to know... our bus driver Hashem and his bus. I never thought that we would spend this much time in a bus, but we have literally driven all over Israel. We've been in the southern most part of the country, just 10 miles for Egypt, driven along the Lebanese and Syrian borders, traveled to the Latin Patriarchate seminary in the West Bank, and today we saw the ruins of King Herod's palace on the Mediterranean Sea. For being in such a small country, a country the size of New Jersey, we have spent innumerable hours in this bus.

Some of the most interesting memories though, come from the time spent on our bus, unexpected graces of the pilgrimage. Who knew that Br. Dave once climbed a 14,000 ft. mountain in Colorado or that Derik could explain the molecular structure of the water molecule and it's interactions with other elements or that Matthew M. comes from a rural town of only 2,400? We have talked about politics, Taylor Swift, Church doctrine, shawarma, etc. We have read Scripture, prayed the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, and taken lots of naps.

The bus has forced us to grow in patience and charity, brotherly fraternity and prayerful silence. But we have also become more acquainted with our bus driver, Hashem, who has been with us the entire time. I am pretty sure that he is the best, and maybe the fasted, bus driver in all of Israel. I guess he has had a lot of experience though, since he has 10 children and 28 grandkids. He is our driver, our translator, our friend. And he is probably a saint by now for putting up with us for 2 weeks already.

Although the bus rides can be long and the roads filled with twists and turns, I am forever grateful for modern transportation. It was 104 degrees yesterday! I cannot imagine walking from Jerusalem to Jericho like the disciples in Luke 24 or from Nazareth to Bethlehem like Joseph and Mary or wandering for 40 years in the desert like the Israelites. It is a reminder for all of us to be grateful for the countless gifts that God gives us and for all of the people we encounter.

Please continue to pray for us, and pray for Hashem and his family as well!