Road Trip to Emmaus by Way of Philadelphia

I’m pretty well known for an epic lack of any sense of direction. On more than one road trip I have gotten dramatically lost. An accidental trip to Washington, DC, on the way to New Jersey comes to mind. But a more recent trip to New Jersey is what this story is about. Typically this blog features poignant and inspiring moments in the life of a married couple. Sorry, this one is about a group of moms who left their men behind and took a 14 hour road trip to visit another guy.

Okay, yes, the other guy was Pope Francis. So that’s all right…right?

This little trip was an amazing experience of why it is wonderful to be a Catholic.

Appreciating God’s Providence

It began with a little email from Nicole Dresser to several mom friends here in STL asking, “Hey, anyone want to go to Philly to see the Pope? (Nicole and hubby Eric were in Teams of our Lady in STL and this summer Eric’s job transferred their family to Canada) I had been wishing I could be part of the Pope’s World Meeting of Families Visit to the USA, but thought it was an impossible notion, so I called Nicole to joke about what an absurd idea it was. But God in His providence used that phone call to make the impossible into possible. (Amazing how God does that.)

Soon, with God’s guidance and Nicole’s amazing organizing capabilities put to work, the trip came together. We had no tickets to anything. We just went to go pray with and for the Pope praying with and for our nation, our families and our world. God provided all we needed: a place to stay (Nicole’s friend’s house nearby in Jersey), a car to travel in (Stephanie Lombard’s van), train tickets to Philly (Thanks Nicole), and great travelling companions. It’s wonderful to be Catholic and have eyes to see the gracious hand of providence even in small things like planning a mom’s road trip. For example, Thank You, God, for relocating Nicole to Canada so we’d have to go to Philly for the Pope’s visit to see her!

Hearts Burning with Love

From the moment we arrived off the train in Philadelphia on Saturday, we were drawn forward as if by a compelling inner invitation. Like the disciples on their way to Emmaus with Jesus, we knew there was a special presence here. In the birthplace of freedom in America, among vast crowds of Catholic people, with joyful images of the Pope everywhere, we felt like we were really part of a universal Church family. Huge jumbo-tron screens on city street corners would be streaming all day with Holy Mass, Sacred music, personal testimonies, papal speeches and more. Expectancy and joy breathed from everyone. We were exultant when we finally found “our spot” where we could see both a jumbo-tron AND the stage way off in the distance where the Pope would be.

Saturday’s Festival of Families was a day filled with celebration of the family itself. The quality of the entertainment, music, comedy and fellowship was such a delight. All around us, total strangers felt more like a huge family reunion. After waiting for hours, everyone’s hearts were burning with anticipation to see Pope Francis driving towards us on the street. It was like that happy Emmaus feeling when Jesus decided to stay with the disciples, and not move on, that we had when the Pope took his seat on stage. His inspiring and often humorous words about family life felt like he was sitting at the family table with us sharing stories with laughter and wisdom.

Some of his profound thoughts: “In the family, truth, goodness and beauty can grow,” he said.  Families are “factories of hope.” “God sent Jesus not to live in a palace but to a family.” His voice insistent and earnest, he concluded: “Two things we really have to take care of. The children and the grandparents. The children are the future. The grandparents are the living memory of the family. They transmitted the faith to us… A society that doesn’t know how to look after its children [or] ... its grandparents is a people that has no future. It doesn’t have strength or the memory to go forward.” And as he ended, he turned aside to one of his aides and the Pope asked, “What time is Mass tomorrow?” Adorable.

Recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread

On Sunday, about a million of us made our way toward the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to attend the outdoor Papal Mass. The only bummer of the whole trip was that our little group of five got separated. Nicole and Stephanie made it in on the Parkway and Erin, Barb and I did not. Either way we all were watching it on a jumbo-tron, but it was the experience of communion that we missed on the outside. We delighted in sharing Holy Mass, appreciating Jesus’ true presence in, among and through thousands upon thousands of us. Multitudes of people spilled far beyond the crowded confines of the parkway. Downtown Philly was a packed church (And for the Pope, all the front pews were filled ;) But being on the “outside”, we did not get a little yellow and white umbrella bringing Jesus personally to us. Nicole and Stephanie wept with JOY when they were able to receive Jesus.  I wonder if Jesus wanted the rest of us who were stuck on the outside go home hungry for a reason. To better appreciate the miracle of every mass at home.

The pope’s words to us in Sunday’s homily were a powerful “take home” as well. He said, “Faith opens a “window” to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures. “Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name will not go unrewarded”, says Jesus (cf. Mk 9:41). These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith.”

Just like Jesus at Emmaus, after the Mass, Pope Francis left us. But his words and witness are breadcrumbs we can keep in our pockets to remember and hopefully to influence our lives “for good”.

So, here we are on a blog for married couples. What did this road trip have to do with marriage? Many inspiring thoughts from Pope Francis come to mind, but I’ll leave it at this. Sometimes as wives we forget the spiritual influence that marriage by nature calls us to share in our husband’s lives. Each of us wives left our husband behind to go see the Pope. Because we did, our husbands had a keener interest in the visit of the Vicar of Christ to America too. Pope Francis, visiting here or from Rome, consistently leads us to love and imitate Our Lord. Connect the dots. We went to see Pope in Philly. Hubbies had keener interest because we were there. Pope leads us to God. So…perhaps our absence did make our husband’s hearts grow fonder… of Jesus.

Cathy Gilmore

PS:  To see more of our wonderful journey, including YouTube videos of the Pope’s talk on Saturday, his homily on Sunday and more, use this link:  https://sway.com/nV3Nm9IZAPk38C66 to open my SWAY presentation on our trip. (Need to be on Wifi) You’ll feel in a small way like you actually went with us.

Since I tweet as little animals who love Jesus on Twitter @myeasterbunny and @mylambofGod, I decided to take the Easter Bunny on the road trip, and the bunny’s tweets are part of the presentation and add some sweet comic relief to the story.