Pilgrimage Prep

On Tuesday, January 5th, ten Seminarians from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception will leave for pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Leading the pilgrimage will be Msgr. Peter Vaccari and Msgr. James Swiader, our rector and vice rector respectively. For any Christian a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a very special thing. Msgr. Vaccari always reminds the seminarians that the holy land is the fifth gospel. The land itself can help us to come to know Jesus. For seminarians, future priests, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is an even more special event. Please God we will all one day stand at an altar. For some of us that day is only a few short months away, for others it is over two years away. But for us seminarians, we who will one day stand at an altar In Persona Christi, a trip to the holy land is even more special. We are all praying that this trip will help us to come to know Jesus, the great High Priest even more, that we will be able to more closely unite our lives with the Son of God. Priesthood is a challenge, a cross. During this pilgrimage, as we trace the original stations of the cross and venerate the very spot upon which Christ died, we pray that we will be able to accept our own crosses and more closely unite ourselves to His Cross.

As we journey through the Holy Land I will try to update this blog with photos and recaps of where we have been and what we have seen. Please pray for me. Please pray for my brother Seminarians as we embark on this pilgrimage.


PHOTO: www.ICSeminary.edu