And so it begins…

Day One of our Pilgrimage.

Thousands of thoughts run through my head.  The sights, the sounds and the people.  Ah yes, those smiling people!

From the moment of arrival, to the sluffing off toward our hotel rooms from a full-day of travel, there is an electic under-current of anticipation surrounding…those smiling people.

We are entering into pilgrimage together.  Meeting people we’ve never known, absorbing information we must learn, and traversing through detail after detail in preparation.  And still they smile.

Ever mindful to stop for prayer. (I can even hear their smiles there.)

We read on our Smart-Phones, as we traveled, what Pope Francis said today when he addressed Congress:

“We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.  The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States.  The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience”

And when he said this, I bet he was smiling.

I know this because I saw the JOY today from those who put this very spirit into action.  We “moved forward together as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating genererously for the common good;” and despite the challenges along the way we “pooled our resources and talents & resolved to support one another with respect for our differences,” and so we smiled.

And with the dawning of a new day tomorrow…I’m quite certain we shall smile some more!

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him, bless his name! Psalm 100:1-4

may these hugs n’ blessings…make you smile!