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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The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is NOT THE CATHEDRAL FOR THE ARCHBISHOP OF WASHINGTON.
McElroy is not some royal potentate who needs to have a huge shrine to usher in his reign of terror. I’m surprised that he didn’t have them sing “Zadok the Priest.”
McElroy was a poor choice for bishop, a poor choice of cardinal and a poor choice for Washington, no doubt orchestrated by Cupich and Wilton Gregory.
Perhaps the Shrine was chosen because it could hold more people?
mrscracker, then there’s always a local stadium which could hold 60,000-70,000.
The whole intent of the Mass of Installation is that the bishop is installed at his CATHEDRA i.e. his CHAIR which is located in his CATHEDRAL. The CHAIR for the archbishop of Washington is NOT located at the Shrine. The bishop’s chair has huge significance. Let’s remember that bishops are not the equivalent of rock stars.
Lord, give us back our Church.
Well, that may be so, but who would wish to squish himself among McElroy’s adulators? As McCarrick’s pick, McElroy is.
The Chair for the archbishop of Washington is the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Maybe McElroy will not speak to/for the Catholics in Washington. The Wikipedia entry for the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle notes the Chair there as ‘Sede Vacante.’ Redux is right. The National Shrine is not McElroy’s See. If McElroy is not installed in his See, perhaps he is not really the licit apostolic successor, not the archbishop, of the Archdiocese of Washington. YeGads!
Thanks for elaborating on my point, meiron. The installation of a bishop at his CATHEDRA In his CATHEDRAL carries huge significance. Nowadays, the spiritual takes back seat to the cult of personality.
Archbishop McElroy’s emphasis on hope, compassion, and human dignity aligns with Pope Francis’ teachings. His message is timely, reminding the faithful to hold onto faith in a challenging world.
Regard Informatika
The fact that he does not know what those words mean, outside of the realm of platitudinous manipulative cover while undermining the precepts of the faith that make them possible, perfectly aligns with the cynicism of Francis.
Hope that those whom you love do not go to Hell for following these bishops.
Two points:
FIRST, we read: “The Mass was multilingual, including some prayers and readings in English and Spanish. The intercessions included several additional languages, including Haitian Creole, Tagalog, Igbo, and Chinese”–
Including English as the national language, but then the identity politics of fully replacing the not-listed, universal, and perennial Latin?
SECOND, a reference, a political catch-all about: “Divisions of race and gender and ideology and nationality flourish in the world of politics, religion, family life and education.” A “doctorate in political science”, no less!
But, yes, much of genuine value in Cardinal McElroy’s homily, but might we still contrast the loose ends with an impolitic remark by the attending Cardinal Wuerl who, in his better days in 2012, was invited to Rome to launch the Year of Faith?
About divisions within our nation and world, and that are deeply tectonic and more than political, Wuerl clarified: “It is as if a tsunami of secular influence has swept across the cultural landscape, taking with it such societal markers as marriage, family, the concept of the common good and objective right and wrong.”
Latin would have been appreciated but there are a great number of folks in the DC area who speak other languages besides English. I don’t think one language is more important than the other in the liturgy if you don’t first go with Latin.
Latin as a universal liturgical language sure made a lot sense I think.
Yes, indeed. If we truly want universality at Mass, we’d use Latin. Every time you use ten different languages you are excluding the vast majority present who do not speak that language. Just suppose you speak in Haitian Creole. In Washington DC, maybe 3% of those present speak Haitian Creole. So, you’ve successfully excluded 97% of those present. How’s that for universality and inclusiveness? All that is is virtue signalling.
McElroy’s comments were the standard disingenuous word salad replete with all the meaningless buzzwords that Francis bishops utter so effortlessly. Is that because they deliver the same dreary thing with only minor variations time after time? It’s all employed in the service of the Marxist agenda they have devoted their lives to furthering. They abuse language as much as they do the faithful. In their mouths “dignity”, “compassion”, “woundedness” etc. are drained of all content.
Over the last twenty-five years, the Cardinal Archbishops of the Diocese of Washington DC, one of the most important in the world, have been McCarrick, Wuerl, Gregory and now, McElroy. A worse quartet one could hardly devise. It is particularly telling that the latter three are protégés of the first. There was no reckoning in the wake of the McCarrick scandal. The McCarrick clique retains control of the top of the top of the hierarchy.
Yes. Latin definitely made more sense in that respect.
Cdl McElroy’s epithet, “God is the Father of us all, and God sees us as equal in dignity and moral worth” is in essence indistinguishable from Baha’i, the religious doctrine of the 19th century Persian [today Iranian] Baháʼu’lláh, who taught three principles of belief: that God is one, the unity of humanity, and that all religions are in harmony. The reader may be surprised that Baha’i is considered the world’s second, not in numbers, rather as an ‘internationally represented’ system of belief.
There is a closeness of the ideology of Baha’i with Masonic wisdom, and arguably its affinity with what McElroy perceives as the central theme of religious belief, to repeat, “God is the Father of us all, and God sees us as equal in dignity and moral worth”. Ideologically it’s the trend of thought of this pontificate, a unity of love that holds no bounds, no exclusive requirements, and consequently all embracing. Accommodation of LGBT, remarriage outside the Church, accent on environment rather than personal mores and abortion are indicators. Should it be any wonder why this phase of Catholicism has such great appeal to the Left agenda of environment, egalitarianism in religion and politics, of comparability with progressivism?
Cdl McElroy’s appointment to America’s prestigious Wash DC Archdiocese is more than a religious statement because it infers, at least by suggestion, the establishment of an ideology in place of Roman Catholic Christianity.
Persia was the home of Zoroaster, who taught good and evil are inherent features of reality, that ultimately they compliment each other and are destined for reconciliation.