By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
ROME — During a Jubilee of Hope Delegate Send-Off Mass July 24, Bishop Edward J. Burns urged the Diocese of Dallas pilgrims who filled the pews of St. Rita Catholic Church to pray for three things during their upcoming travels to Rome.
“One: that your eyes are able to see his presence on this trip,” the bishop said, “two: that your ears are able to hear his voice speaking to you and calling you by name; and three: that your heart will be ready to be converted, that this will be a transforming experience for all of you.”
As 16 of these pilgrims took flight for the Diocese of Dallas Jubilee of Hope Pilgrimage to Rome two days later, they brought these words with them into the Eternal City. Over the course of the pilgrimage, July 26-Aug. 6, these travelers shared with The Texas Catholic a few of the ways that their experience in Rome opened their eyes, ears, and hearts — and the lessons they are taking back home to Texas.
Finding God in Rome
As Mitchell Schuck boarded the plane to Italy to begin his Jubilee pilgrimage, he had no expectations for how God might work through his experience abroad. With his mind open and heart ready, the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church parishioner was prepared to receive whatever gifts God had for him in Rome — and, along with the other pilgrims, he found that the Lord was generous.
Schuck recalled a profound moment early in the pilgrimage when he, along with other Diocese of Dallas pilgrims, walked into St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City for the first time. Lifting high the pilgrim cross of the Jubilee of Hope, Schuck led the Diocese of Dallas pilgrims through the Holy Door of the basilica, touching the carved bronze as he entered. The grandeur of the place struck him, Schuck said — the looming ceilings, intricate statues and paintings, the gold detailing that crawled the length of the walls around him; but what was most striking to Schuck about the space was not the mere artistry; it was the universality of the Church that the beautiful place represented.
“Just seeing the sheer size of it, and the level of detail that was in every square inch of that church, really put in perspective how big our Church is,” he said. “This is the universal Church. I mean, it is really for everybody, everybody from all over the world, all different types of people.”
That all-embracing character of the Catholic Church was evidenced everywhere: in the stone and brick architecture of the manifold churches in Rome, but also in the crowds that collected around those holy places during the Jubilee event, filling the cobblestone streets of the city with the buzz of excited chatter.
“The Jubilee in general is obviously a joyous time,” Christ the King Catholic Church parishioner Paloma George said, noting the energy of the pilgrims around her. “Just being with so many people on such a joyful occasion, (that is) something to remember: to take time to feel joy, to remember God’s gifts.”
George said she hoped to bring that vibrant embrace of the faith back home to Texas upon her return, adding, “I feel like when you don’t take time to be grateful and to be happy, to find joy in your life — when you forget to do that — you forget God.”
Even in the midst of all the busyness, excitement, and noise that a Jubilee event entails, Diocese of Dallas pilgrims said the pilgrimage fostered impactful moments of prayer and quiet contemplation. Christopher Gasper of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano shared that these pauses in the pilgrimage taught him to look for God in the small moments of everyday life.
“One of the things that I’ve realized on this trip is just the way that God works in the little moments for each day, in the stillness,” Gasper said, sharing that the times of quietness in the trip — walking from one holy site to the next or stopping in a quiet chapel for prayer — were opportunities for closeness with the Lord.
“I’ll be able to take that back with me,” he said.
Cutline for featured image: Christopher Gasper of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Plano holds the pilgrim cross of the Jubilee of Hope while making his way toward St. Peter’s Basilica with a group of Diocese of Dallas pilgrims on July 28.
