The Good News

"As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I came upon a certain place with a den, and lay down to sleep. I fell asleep and dreamed..." 

- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress.

Well, at least this all feels like a dream...

My name is Sam French, and I am a Catholic seminarian for the Diocese of Broken Bay in Australia. The reason I write this blog is because I've suddenly found myself in what I would describe as an equally wonderful and unexpected set of circumstances. I am going to start this blog today with the focus on the events that have transpired in the last few days, and then from there we can simultaneously work our way forwards and back through the piles of my biographical data.

As I mentioned above, I am a seminarian, and have only been thus for roughly six months now. It's a path I chose to take sometime early last year (2015), and so far, it has been the best decision I have ever made. I almost cannot wait to relate to you all the joys of following a priestly vocation...but I will.

These last couple of weeks, I have been on my first extended break since joining the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in January this year. For the last few months my life has been one of rigorous routine and intense formational experience. The seminary entails a structured spiritual life including communal prayer three times a day (Lauds, Vespers & Compline), daily Mass, an hour before the Blessed Sacrament, with the constant opportunity for spiritual direction and confession. Interspersed throughout these days is the intellectual and human formation which comes in the form of systematic study of the Catechism, a course on Christian Spirituality, a course on the passions and affective maturity, and the study of relevant Papal documents such as Mulieris Dignitatem and Pastores Dabo Vobis (all of this I will explain in detail later). Throughout this holiday break, it is expected of us (me and my six 1st year brothers) to maintain a prayerful structure to our days, albeit to a lesser degree. This goal can often be challenging outside the walls of the seminary, but it is certainly not impossible, especially now that I've come to realise my life without prayer is hardly a life at all.

Blessed with this marvellous holiday break, I've been earnestly praying that God will use these this time as an opportunity to draw me closer to Him. Since the holidays have begun, I've been actively searching out ways that this might be made possible. For whatever reason, my mind found itself hooked on the idea of a pilgrimage. I have always loved the notion of pilgrimages; a person going on a physical journey that represents and empowers their inner spiritual movement towards God. It fits so perfectly with the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church.

My first thought was to gather some friends and carpool it down to Melbourne. Which I thought would provide great opportunity to visit the the shrine of Saint Thérèse at the Carmelite Monastery, or the shrine of Saint Anthony in Hawthorn, or St Patrick's Cathedral. Unfortunately, the conflicting work schedules and alternate travel plans of my friends ruled this idea out.

Then it so happened, seemingly out of the blue, on Saturday 9th July I received a call from my Bishop asking me if I wished to come with him and the diocese on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Poland via Italy next week! Dumbfounded and buzzing with excitement I tried my level best to keep some sense of dignity on my end of the phoneline. Bishop Peter said: "don't say yes now, pray about it over the weekend and let me know on Monday."

Of course my instinct, like any sane individual, when given such a wonderful opportunity is to answer in the affirmative. But bound by holy obedience and the murmurings of my own moral conscience I knew I had to take this one to prayer and see what God was up to. First, I invoked the intercession of Our Lady and prayed a rosary of intention. I then meditated on the pro's and con's of the situation. On the one hand, it would be an amazing opportunity to meet new people, to grow spiritually, to see the world, to steep myself in the history and traditions of the Church I so dearly love. But it would also mean missing a good opportunity to be with my family, postponing a number of catch-ups with close friends, and run the risk of exhausting myself to depletion in the face of the upcoming semester. Each of these legitimate concerns I held up to Our Lord. But one-by-one they melted away like wax. If the prevailing sense of peace was not enough to convince me, I flicked open the Bible to Isaiah and read:

"you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, 'You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off'; fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isa 41:9-10

Boom! That was the gunshot I needed to hear to know the race was on. Perhaps I'm taking this passage of Scripture wildly out of context, but when you stumble across something like that in prayer, you know something's going on up there.

And so, this morning when I received a call from Bishop Peter as promised, I told him with a heart full of joy that I will accept his offer and go on this unexpected journey across the seas. I honestly cannot believe the gifts that the Lord has given me.

Now that the gears are set in motion, I must conclude this post. For there is so much to do and so very little time to do it. I bid you farewell for now, but I promise to write again soon and keep you updated as to this pilgrim's progress.

Peace
Sam