As Jesuit novices, we are each asked to make a 30-day pilgrimage that should be without money, involve begging, and cause some discomfort in food and lodging, all this to allow us to place our complete trust in God’s love and reliance on Divine Providence.   I would easily say this was the part of the Novitiate experience that provoked the most fear in me.  That aside, on April 15^th, we each went off on our separate ways – armed with a backpack, $35 in cash, and a one-way bus ticket.

Since I became Catholic in 1994, I have always had a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  So, I decided to dedicate my pilgrimage to the Virgen de Guadalupe for both her protection and in solidarity with Hispanic immigrants.  I chose Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in San Antonio, Texas as my first destination and then boarded a Mexican-run bus in the Mexicantown neighborhood in Detroit.  After some 32 hours of travel, complete with stops at Mexican grocery stores and restaurants in Ohio and Tennessee to pick up more passengers, a few Spanish-language movies and an unanticipated drug search, I arrived in San Antonio.

The parish in San Antonio was one of a 12 shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe that I was able to visit over the next 30 days.  Thanks to the generosity and prayers of the parishioners in San Antonio, I was able to continue to El Paso.  During my brief 12-hour stop there, I was given the grace of courage to walk across the border to violence-torn Ciudad Juárez to Guadalupe Cathedral.  Then, I spent nearly a week at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Chino, California, where the first person to ever ask me to consider the priesthood serves as pastor.  Next was Guadalupe, Arizona, where I prayed in particular for those who will face the harsh consequences of that state’s recently-passed anti-immigrant legislation.

From Arizona, I went on to Immokalee, Florida, where the humble farmworker community and Scalabrini priests gave me a warm welcome.  Next came the Mission of Our Lady of the Americas in the Atlanta area, followed by the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Dallas.  Then it was on to Chicago, from where I flew down to Mexico City to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Mexican Mother’s Day, which is May 10^th.  After that brief, yet incredibly powerful visit, I continued on to Milwaukee, then back down to Chicago to visit two more shrines of Guadalupe.

Throughout the 30 days, I continually felt God’s hand guiding me along the way, Christ’s love present in all the people I encountered, and the Blessed Mother’s protection in the midst of my solitude.  During the journey, I shared my story with prayer groups as well as folks I met on the many bus rides, painted a house as well as the Stations of the Cross, and picked peppers from the fields as well as cooked a couple Japanese dinners.  Through it all I learned to trust that God’s providence is greater than any plans I could make, that God’s generosity surpasses any worries I might have for my wants and needs, and that God’s love is all-encompassing and ever-present.