Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Radical Hospitality

(photo by Theo Robinson, OSB)

"Radical Hospitality"...it's not just a book by Fr. Dan Homan, OSB, of our own St. Benedict Monastery in Oxford, MI - it is a key charism of the Benedictines. We are blessed to be recipients of this gracious hospitality throughout our stay in Sydney. To see where we'll be staying, you can visit the St. Benedict Monastery in Aracadia, New South Wales, Australia, online at http://www.benedictine.org.au/.

We opted for "simple accommodations," and though simple, our experience is sure to be anything but. A big, big thank you and heartfelt gratitude to all those at St. Benedict Monastery, both in Arcardia for their hospitality, and here in Oxford, for their continued support of ministry to young adults and sparing Fr. John Martin for two weeks so he could join us for this incredible journey.

T-Minus 13 Days!

Why yes, we are indeed leaving for Sydney in less than two weeks!! And yes, we are all a combination of excitement and trepidation. We have collectively put our faith in the Lord, however, and despite the nerves, are convicted in our belief that all will be better than well. If there was any doubt of that in my mind, that doubt was definitely erased as I saw a message from God driving past Bishop Foley high school this morning. On their message board that usually scrolls information, the following quote remained up there long enough for me to get the message loud and clear:



"There is no place that the will of God will lead you that the grace of God will not protect you."

We have no doubt that it is the will of God for us to go, so now we must just trust that the grace of God will protect us and provide for us the rest of the way.

Praying for & with our pilgrims...
As with any spiritual journey, the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ are always helpful and much appreciated. If you would like to "adopt" a specific pilgrim for prayer, please contact us at info@genesis-ministries.org and we will give you some more information about them. You can include them in personal prayer, in the prayer intentions of your community, and/or send them prayerful inspiration and support by email or written word. If you have a prayer intention you would like us to pray for during World Youth Day, please email those to the same email address as well.

The pilgrims traveling to Australia are:

Anna Dudek
Andrea Hooper
Jerry LaPointe
Christa Lindsey
Anthony Thompson
Sandra Tomaszycki
Laura Uschold
Rakhi Roy - Group Coordinator
Fr. John Martin Shimkus - Spiritual Director

Last, and perhaps less (but not least!) importantly, some of the pilgrims are still struggling with the cost of the trip. If you feel at all called to make a donation of any size to help these young people on this pilgrimage, please contact Genesis Ministries at info@genesis-ministries.org or mail your donation in to:



World Youth Day 2008
c/o Genesis Ministries
3665 E. Walton Blvd.
Auburn Hills, MI 48326


Much gratitude and God's blessings,
Rakhi

Friday, June 20, 2008

Losing Control

No no no...it's a good thing!! We often think of losing control as a lapse in judgment and unleashing of wild actions or emotions. When it comes to the Spirit, though, it is an essential component of intimacy and connection with God's immense power. You would think I'd have learned early on in this adventure to let go more often, but apparently, I'm an "old dog" and losing control is a "new trick"! (Take the metaphors for what they are - to those who know me, I have not created a new nickname or reference to myself that is appropriate for use in any form or fashion!! :P)

As we left off in the saga, the road had been paved ahead of us...well, for all of us but Tony, who was still awaiting the arrival of his Visa. Less than a month before the trip, we still had no word or inkling of when his Visa might arrive. Poor Tony asked me what would happen if we didn't get his Visa at all - would he just have to forfeit his money and not go? With all my determination and spunk, I said we'd call the US State Department before I'd let that happen! Never mind that I have no idea how to actually personally contact anyone at the US State Department, but I would make it happen!

Dreading the thought of trying to accomplish such a feat in a world of automated answering systems and layers of government red tape, I was frantically trying to reach anyone and everyone associated with World Youth Day to see if his Visa was just stuck somewhere along the pipelines. World Youth Day Committee - no response. Australian Immigration Office - no response. The US Bishops Office that is assisting with the US invovlement in WYD - helpful in that they would intervene should we not have the Visa, but no information on the Visa itself.


Having exhausted any and all possibilites minus the US State Department, it dawned on me at our formation meeting that perhaps we should just, once again, leave it up to the Lord and offer up our prayers. After all, He'd cleared every other obstacle, and knowing how hard the evil one fights when His glory is shining through, it was possible that this was out of my control.


So, on the evening of Monday, June 9, we offer it up for prayer at our meeting. Wouldn't you know that by Tuesday, June 10, they have sent it along? You would think I'd have learned...


"Wahooooo!!! I'm goin' to Australia after all!!"


Needless to say, Tony is thrilled, and we are all sighing with relief! Please keep us in your prayers as we get closer to takeoff - I have no doubt that darkness will continue to try to creep in, but with your prayers and the fire of the Spirit, I also have every hope that as always, the light of Christ and will of God will prevail!!