Itinerary for Today:
Rome:
Church of San Lorenzo with the World Youth Day cross*

Trevi Fountain*

Pantheon*

Spanish Steps*

Piazza Navona*

Predicted Italian Weather:
87 degrees and a thunderstorm in the afternoon. What?! No thunderstorms for our pilgrims! 😦

Update!
One of the pilgrims has written to us about her experiences on this day!

Pray!
Spend some quiet time walking and talking to the Lord. Take a walk and remember the footsteps of all who have come before us on the journey of faith. Pray for the safety of the travelers. See the suffering Christ in someone around you.

Hear me, O Lord, and have pity on me.

Father in heaven, Your love for us never falters in spite of our transgressions and failures. Please show Your mercy for me in my difficulty (mention your request). Through the intercession of St. Francis and for the sake of Christ, Our Savior, have pity on me. Amen.

Lord, make me an instrument of peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
For it is in giving, that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying, that we are born to Eternal life.

* Note: None of these pictures are mine, as I’ve never been to Italy. *sob* Nor are they pictures from the pilgrims. They are pictures taken from people who have allowed others to link to them; you can click through each picture to the photographer’s page, to see more of their work.

May God bless you, pilgrims!

First…

*I* am not going on pilgrimage.

But my priests are, along with some of the teens in our parish:

They are going to Italy!

While they are gone, they have posted up a novena and their basic itinerary, so that we can live vicariously through their experiences and pray with them along the way. 🙂

Itinerary for Today:
Flight over the Atlantic

Predicted Italian Weather:
90 degrees and partly sunny!

Pray!
Pray the St. Francis Prayer for Peace and show your humility by doing a good deed for someone today.

O God, come to my assistance.

Heavenly Father, You know all things and nothing is hidden from You. In Your mercy and kindness, and through the intercession of Saint Francis, come to my aid in my present distress and grant my humble petition (mention your request; e.g. the fruitfullness of this pilgrimage and the safety of the pilgrims during their travels). Amen.

Lord, make me an instrument of peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
For it is in giving, that we receive,
It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying, that we are born to Eternal life.

As today is a traveling day, they are likely not going to be seeing much but airports and airplanes. 🙂 Perhaps in the subsequent posts, I’ll try to add some pictures of what they *might* be seeing. And, hopefully, they’ll share their pictures when they get back! 🙂

May God bless you, pilgrims! And may He grant you an easy journey today!