"God Will Change You": The Pilgrims Have Arrived

After joyful introductions and hours of travel and jet lag, we have safely arrived in France! The excitement was present and magnified within each of us as we took our first steps on French ground. We're here. All the months of preparation and anticipation is finally tangible. When we got off our flight, we were met by Sister Kitty and Sister Joan who were awaiting our arrival in great spirit, hugging and welcoming each one of us as we passed. Once we boarded our tour bus and started our route to Le Puy, Sister Kitty told us travelers something I won't forget. She said, "Travelers are three things." First, we are tourists--we have fun, take pictures and delight in the newness of the environment. Second, she said, we are something deeper. "Travelers are learners." As learners we must not be afraid to immerse ourselves in the culture in which we are placed, must not not afraid to not just gain knowledge of, but experience and take part in the world that is outside of our norm. Lastly, Sister Kitty said we are something even deeper and more profound than that: we are pilgrims, "pèlerins" in French. Pilgrims are not merely people who travel to different destinations. Pilgrims are people who walk by faith, people who seek genuine connection and communion. As Sister Kitty said, "Pilgrims travel with their hands open, open to all the graces that God has prepared." She profoundly reminded us, just as we have prepared for this trip, so has God prepared the blessings to pour upon us. I pray that we all be intentionally aware of this truth. We are on this pilgrimage for a reason, chosen and called by God to connect. Sister Kitty ended in a promise, a promise that is all we can hope for on this journey. She said, "I promise you in these days, God will touch you and you will touch God...God will change you." How beautiful is it that we have a God who wants to be present and alive in us, a God who makes Himself readily available. So, as we officially begin our travels in France, I ask you to pray that we would be unequivocally open to receiving all that God has planned. 

Our pray for this pilgrimage is this: 
"God of our journey, welcome as pilgrims. We want to experience our beginnings and our history.
May we travel with hearts open to the newness you offer us
With eyes open to the beauty around us
With hands open to one another in this community.

Gracious God, we carry with us
Our beloved families and friends 
Our colleges and our colleagues
Our dear neighbors all over the world

Bless us with laughter and with learning 
Bless us with the ability to travel light 
Bless us with the spirit of our founders

May we travel in safety 
May we bring these experiences back to our campus communities
May we travel with you, God, this day and all our days."
AMEN