Leaving on a Jet Plane

"All my bags are packed... I'm ready to go... " Wait, wait! no I'm not... anyone who knows me knows I am a last minute everything and so naturally I would be a last minute packer. But time is winding down, ready or not, as I prepare to embark tomorrow on our journey to the Holy Land. Anticipation is rising, my heart is beating fast, excitement bubbling over at the very thought of entering the land where Jesus was born, where He lived, where He walked, where He breathed, where He died, and where He rose from the dead. I can't quite imagine it yet in my mind's eye. I don't quite know what to expect. Perhaps because I haven't let myself, knowing the situation in the Middle East was shaky throughout the school year, or perhaps because I want to be completely surprised at what I will see, experience, and feel, and to let the experience be what it will be. High expectations or none at all, this pilgrimage is dawning upon us. It is time to get everything in order as this Wednesday morning we will be celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart Seminary with a send-off blessing before we head to the airport to fly first to Frankfurt ,Germany and then onward to Tel Aviv, Israel. Please pray for us as we begin a pilgrimage that will inevitably change each one of us in a particular way that the Lord has in store. Please pray for each seminarian and we will assuredly keep all of you in ours. Thank you to all of you who made this trip possible through your gracious generosity.

Rodney Abasso, Perrin Atisha, Fr. Battersby, Br. David Brokke, SOLT, Br. Romeo Capella, CCL, Zaid Chaban, Matthew Montgomery, Adam Nowak, Derik Peterman, Monsignor Trapp, and Matt Wagner,