Tuesday 26 April 2011

Light to the nations -Part one


May God Bless you this Easter Season. May he TRULY Bless you.

I think my favourite time of the Liturgical calendar is Easter. It’s the pinnacle of the Church year and we have loved entering into Our Lords Passion with him every year.
For several years now we have wanted to participate in the Easter Pilgrimage – Light to theNations.  A vision, of the Disciples’ of Jesus Community and Missionaries of Gods Love. This event only happens bi annually.
This was an powerful weekend that began Holy Thursday morning. We drove down to Galong- 5 and half hours south into wheat country in NSW to St Clements Monastery.  We arrived to hundreds of people, camping tents, hustle & bustle.  
We registered, got our name badges to wear and began chatting to friends we hadn’t seen for a while. A few families from homeschool camp, the week before were there as well. That was lovely to share this experience of Easter with them.
So we began our Pilgrimage. Now a pilgrim is not a tourist, so we needed to offer each hardship up to Our Lord and walk closely by him this weekend.  My first thoughts were, ‘gosh,  it is very different from making this journey with Our Lord, away from our church’.  It passed by me quickly.

So late nights, early get ups, little sleep, little food, and very cold days & nights were the order of the weekend. The Lords Supper and Washing of the Feet was superb and had me very emotional seeing 5 Priests, 2 deacons and several  brothers entering into this Mass. The people chosen for the washing of the feet were the people who walked to Galong from Canberra, Victoria and Goulburn. ( Another thing on my list- a pilgrim walk). As the Mass drew to an end and the Consecrated Hosts were taken to the alter of repose. The Priests processed this to the Monastery Chapel, while the seminarians stripped the Alter.

By the time we left it was around 6 degrees and very late.  











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