St. Louis, Mo., May 8, 2019 / 03:37 am (CNA).- It can be hard to find time for silent reflection in today’s bustling modern society. But a group of men this past weekend found peace and silence in an unlikely place – on the sidewalks and shoulders of busy roads leading into the heart of a Midwestern metropolis.
The annual Joseph Challenge Pilgrimage, held this year May 4-5 in St. Louis, Missouri, brought together men ranging from their 20s to their 60s who were looking for both a physical challenge and spiritual rejuvenation.
Along the way, the pilgrims would encounter four Catholic churches dedicated to St. Joseph – appropriate, considering the Church celebrated the feast of St. Joseph the Worker the previous Wednesday.
The challenge
The idea was to start at a parish in Manchester, a western St. Louis suburb, and trek 24 miles along sidewalks, paths, through parks, and occasionally on road shoulders all the way to downtown St. Louis.
The men – around 20 total – gathered at St. Joseph Church and began their walk around 10 a.m. Saturday. They stopped for lunch in a park, and again for Mass at the Carmel of St. Joseph, a monastery of discalced Carmelite nuns, around 3:30 p.m.
In addition to carrying a yellow and white Vatican flag, the men took turns carrying a large wooden cross along with them.
“The experience of having carried a cross, basically a nailed together 2×4 cross that I’m sure doesn’t weigh as much as Christ’s cross, but carrying that a mile and a half was a very challenging and yet rewarding experience,” said Patrick Swackhammer, 45.
After Mass at the monastery, the group continued for several more miles before reaching the place of the night’s rest – St. Joseph’s in Clayton, Missouri. Total distance walked the first day: approximately 14 miles.
The men had dinner, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and a holy hour including a Latin rosary, followed by fellowship and a few beers before settling into their sleeping bags on the tile floor of the church basement for the night.
Origins
“This was kind of my crazy idea several years ago,” said Gabe Jones, 30, one of the two main organizers of the pilgrimage.
Jones said he had been on pilgrimages and men’s retreats in the past that usually involved an invitation for men to drive to and meet at a sacred destination, rather than walking to it. To him, driving straight to a pilgrimage site defeated the purpose; it removed the physical hardship involved in actually getting to the site.
“A pilgrimage is: you walk, and you walk, and you walk, and you walk, and you get to this beautiful church, and you fall on your knees when you get there. That’s a pilgrimage,” he said.
The United States does not have the same kind of culture of pilgrimage that Europe has, he said, partly because the U.S. as a country is much younger than the European continent, and thus is built primarily around the automobile.
Jones said the idea for the St. Joseph pilgrimage started as “just a bunch of guys getting together.”
The first year, 2015, a handful of guys expressed interest in the challenge, but nearly all of them canceled before it began or dropped out along the way for various reasons – a tweaked back, other plans for the weekend, a torn ACL – until, by the end, the only two pilgrims left were Jones and the priest that had come with him.
Jones said he was disappointed in the turnout the first year, but came to understand that the idea of walking 24 miles over a weekend and being away from your family is perhaps a bigger ask than he thought.
“What I learned from that first year is that material success and immediately seeing the fruits of our labor are not the most important thing,” Jones said.
“Just do the thing that you’re called to do, and if it’s the right thing then there will be good fruit. And it may not be right away, heck, it may not be in your lifetime. But just stick to it, and if God’s calling you to that, do it.”
The next year, 2016, they had more like 40 guys sign up, with around 38 walking at any one time, Jones said. The pilgrims were coming from a whole range of places, physically and spiritually.
But the feeling of being the same boat and taking on the same physical challenge fostered a sense of brotherhood among the men.
“As a convert to the Catholic faith, the concept of a pilgrimage is something new, it’s something I had to embrace along with embracing all the other unique aspects of the Catholic faith,” second-year participant Russell Yount reflected.
“But it’s an idea that resonates with me, of having a goal and pursuing it.”
The importance of silence
Walking twenty-plus miles through an urban jungle may not sound like the most peaceful way to spend a weekend. But the organizers made sure that despite the constant hum of traffic next to the marching group of men, there were times when quiet contemplation was encouraged.
During some stretches of the route, the men were encouraged to socialize and get to know one another. During other sections, the organizers led rosaries via megaphone.
At other points, the men were encouraged simply to walk in silence, their quiet reverie interrupted only occasionally by drivers in passing cars pipping their horns in support.
“It’s a good visible witness as we walk through the city,” co-organizer Chris Horan said.
“To people who aren’t Catholic, people who are Catholic, to just plant seeds and show them that Catholicism is not dead, it’s growing and growing, and maybe is more alive than ever.”
The homilist at Mass on Saturday pointed to St. Joseph as a model of silent masculinity.
“Given that [St. Joseph] said absolutely nothing in scripture…when he would have spoken, he was obedient, he was prayerful, and he’s just the perfect model of silence, I think,” Horan said.
“And especially for men who are flooded with junk in the culture, it can be hard for us to keep St. Joseph in mind. But if we do that then it’s only going to bring us grace…that’s the main model for us as husbands, fathers, brothers, and even those called to the priesthood.”
Fr. Gustavo Serpa, a member of the Miles Christi religious order based in Detroit, was the official chaplain for the pilgrimage, giving several talks over the course of the weekend.
Horan said he appreciated Father Gustavo’s presence on the pilgrimage.
“I think his youth, his love of the Church, his love of St. Joseph have helped get us through and been a good example and model for us,” Horan commented.
Many of the participants pointed to the silence aspect as one of the most helpful parts of the pilgrimage, and one that helped them to bond with their fellow men.
“You can hear the cars going by, the footsteps on the pavement, and sometimes even voices. But it gives you an opportunity when you’re not required to be speaking or doing things – it lets your mind and your soul kind of settle down and be quiet with Christ for a little while,” Bill Hennessy, 55, reflected.
Cory Ross, a 30-year-old stay at home dad, was similarly inspired by the call to silence in his everyday life.
“Silence is one of those things that we can hold as an important practice in our daily lives,” he said. “And Father kind of talked about how it helps us grow in virtue and reflect upon our lives and purpose and things of that nature. It has been really profitable.”
For Yount, a weightlifter, the pilgrimage was an opportunity to take on a physical challenge while also developing the virtues he has come to value as a convert to the Catholic faith. He said he got to tell his conversion story at his home parish soon after last year’s Joseph Challenge.
“I think of things in terms of the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, and then the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity,” Yount explained.
So, he says, he always approaches anything he does with the question: “How does each thing that I’m doing here help to build one of those virtues?” In terms of the St. Joseph Challenge, he said, he’ll be pondering what virtues are in play; certainly fortitude and prudence.
Rome of the Midwest
Apart from being a physical challenge and an opportunity for silent retreat, the pilgrimage offered a unique opportunity for the men to experience the Catholic culture of the city.
“It’s a city that I had always just kind of driven through before, but I have a totally different understanding of St. Louis now, having walked through it,” Yount said.
Much of the city’s robust Catholic culture originates in the mid-19th century, when a massive influx of foreign immigrants – many from Germany, Ireland, and Italy- arrived in the area, complementing the dominant French heritage in the city at that time.
Today, there are around 180 parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and so many beautiful Catholic churches that the city has been unofficially dubbed the “Rome of the Midwest.”
“Having walked all the way from Manchester to downtown, and realizing just how Catholic the city is. How strong the Catholic heritage of St. Louis is – I had no idea,” Yount said. “But now I know, and I tell people all the time: if you’re ever in St. Louis, there are these places that you don’t want to miss that are of importance to us as Catholics.”
Push to the finish
Bright and early Sunday morning, the men packed their belongings, and set off on the final day of the pilgrimage. Today would involve about 10 more miles before they reached their destination: The Shrine of St. Joseph, downtown.
Eventually, to the pilgrims’ delight, the shining curves of the St. Louis Arch, located on the riverfront in the heart of downtown, came into view. Soon the shrine itself was in view, and the group was all smiles as they finally approached the impressive edifice – just in time for the regularly scheduled 11 a.m. Sunday Mass.
Many of the men’s wives and families were there to meet them at the end of their pilgrimage. They knelt in front of the shrine and prayed a litany to St. Joseph as they concluded their journey.
“If you want something more physical – physical suffering, physical sacrifice, as opposed to just spiritual sacrifice – come out and join us next year. You’re only going to get grace from it, meeting like-minded Catholic men, and you’re going to grow, God willing, in greater devotion to St. Joseph,” Horan said.
“You’ll experience beautiful liturgies, and you’ll take what you experience from this back home to your wives, your kids.”
The spiritual experience isn’t all the men will bring back with them.
“Of course, I’ll be taking the blisters and the aches and pains back, too,” Swackhammer added.
All in all, it was a fitting introduction to the concept of pilgrimage, something many of the men had not encountered before.
“You may have to start small, but I think we make everything too stress-free and too easy, which also leads to distraction, and comfort, and not a lot of difference from our day to day lives,” Hennessy reflected.
“And being on foot, with being disconnected from our creature comforts for a few hours, a few days, it makes it much much easier to focus on what you’re supposed to be focused on, which is basically getting to heaven.”
All photos credit: Jonah McKeown / CNA.
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Howler!
The Pelosi Protest in a country which, until the Dobbs ruling, was the least restrictive fetal killing field in the world, except for Communist China and North Korea.
Actually that title goes to Canada. There’s no regulation whatsoever.
Saith the archbishop-ress of partial birth abortion…
I guess all the stern warnings she received about endangering her soul she must have gotten from Francis last October failed to change her mind.
Pray for all unrepentant sinners that their hardness of heart will be softened.
Amen, Deacon Edward.
These sad, pathetic women need our prayers.
And yet, we’re subjected to her photographed with Pope Francis, all with big smiles.
She is a false prophet.
Everything I read about this pathetic woman is – pathetic.
And then I read about the actor Shia Laboeuf who portrays St. Padre Pio in the upcoming (Sept 9) film of his life, and it gives me hope – much hope.
We’ll get through this.
On may suspect that she has willfully lost her eyes to see or her ears to hear as it appears that God may be turning his Face from her, maybe withdrawn the Holy Spirit.
Whenever I see a photo of Nancy Pelosi I am driven to draw it nearer to me , to see if I can spot the horns under har bouffant hairdo.
Nobody, including the federal government, “mandates pregnancy.” There is a foolproof method of contraception called abstinence. Don’t use sexual intercourse as recreation when it was meant for procreation. Yes, there are rare instances when pregnancy results from rape, but those cases are far from the majority of abortions. The Leftist Democrats have been working to eliminate personal responsibility since 1933 to the detriment of individuals and society. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their actions and the consequences thereof, period.
This so called catholic needs to be ousted….. such a shame to have women that are “catholic” promote taking the life of a child that our loving God has made possible. Makes me just sick that they don’t even care about the babies that are to born. Not good women or mother’s.
How is it that every Catholic bishop has not rushed to support Archbishop Cordileone’s effort to end the desecration of the Blessed Sacrament by refusing to administer our Lord to this high priestess of satan?
Her evil contagion is vomiting forth whenever she speaks now and erupting across the face of the earth, while our shepherds — with too few exceptions — do virtually nothing to protect their flocks.
The antichrist with is is now all to clear — and it is leftism.
In the meantime, half of America’s Catholics vote for its insane, vile, monstrous agenda every chance they get.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20
Its interesting but not shocking that Democrats like Pelosi NEVER speak about the virtual of personal responsibility. NOBODY is responsible for your getting pregnant but YOU. And that applies not matter what color you are or what income level you possess. It seems rather “sinful” to me that Pelosi implies that women lack the brains to make responsible decisions, like abstaining from sexual activity when needed. They therefore MUST need the ability to the murder the child they conceive. Its hard to say what if anything this crone knows about sinfulness, inasmuch as she is a major proponent of late term abortion. Which she appears to believe a greater good for woman-kind. Some can posit the “clump of cells” argument in arguing for abortion in the first two months of a pregnancy. But that is absolutely bogus by well before the 9th month. Yet there is no recognition of this reality from the democrats. I have a friend in her 60’s (past pregnancy age herself) who recently made it clear to me that this will be her voting issue. She has no daughters, and thus I am mystified why she takes this issue like she will need an abortion herself tomorrow. Out the window evidently in her voting decision are REAL life concerns about the open border admitting terrorists and fentanyl pushers and sex traffickers, food shortages, hyper inflation, and the dangers presented by the increasingly war-like posture of our enemies. No comment about the violence perpetrated on life centers and churches by pro-abortion “activists”. Its clear that clergy must speak up loud, often and clear with brutal frankness not only about this barbaric procedure, but about the sinfulness of those who support it, medically or politically. I would consider Pelosi merely dim-witted if she wasnt doing so much harm.
Men often put extreme pressure on a wife or girlfriend to terminate or else
Which again feels like an argument that women lack either intellect or the spine to understand the consequence of what they do. I personally would take the “or else” rather than continue a relationship with a man who urged me to kill my baby.
More “theology” from Professor Pelosi! No doubt she will be warmly
welcomed the next time she goes to the Vatican. And Cardinal Gregory
will be silent and keep giving her Communion.
I am so tired of well-heeled women pleading compassion for minority and low income women to justify their promotion of abortion. How does it show respect/compassion for minority and low income women to tell them their babies are trash?
Our Lord persevered in efforts to help free Judas from the curse incurred by him that blinded him to Lord’s warnings . The Holy Father too likely with the intention to set such persons free – ? from the blinding effects of the curses incurred .
https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/27-25.htm
Such persons also ignoring the wisdom and warnings from exorcists as well .
The Govt. too , participating , even in the act of bribing by supporting such choices … and we see the effects – as massive social issues , debt issues , afflictions of nature ,lives and families – wars , identity confusions , addictions , suicides ..
Persons who ought to see the connections refusing to connect the dots – themselves being blinded by the curses ..
Used to be puzzled about the focus given by Rev.Fr.Jim Blount , for the Precious Blood prayers ( a rather long standing devotion ) as advocated for our times – not hard to see how much we need same –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOghQCAeqrE
Blessings !