Packing

Packing.  It’s been a somewhat common occurrence here during pilgrimage.  We will travel from place to place, set up shop from anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and at the end of our time, we have to pack everything up and move on to our next location.  Today is packing day for our time in Galilee, which means that we will be moving to our final place of residence in Jerusalem tomorrow.  And to be honest, I think I have gotten quite good at packing as a seminarian, especially during my time at Mundelein.  Between moving into Mundelein, Spanish Immersion, Parish Internship, Hospital Chaplaincy, and now pilgrimage, I have been all over the place, settling down for a bit, but knowing that my next move is always coming on the horizon.  But there are always a few noteworthy things to think about as you pack up your things and move on to your next home.

The first, of course, is procrastinating the packing that you should be doing.  The last night in a place often lends itself to having a good time, trying to soak up every last ounce of a particular place you have been staying at.  So some guys went out by the sea, some played some board games, and some (probably more prudently) just skipped this step of procrastination completely.  I played some board games and wrote this post.  But it is a way to take advantage of every last minute you are in a holy place, and not spend it inside a pretty normal room.

The second part is saying goodbyes.  Some said goodbye to their favorite holy sites in the surrounding area, like the Primacy of Peter or The Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves, or some said goodbye to a favorite running route or prayer spot.  The kitchen staff that has been serving us said goodbye with a delicious cake.  One of my classmates in particular said goodbye to one of the sisters in the convent here, and more importantly, her two dogs that serve as friendly guard dogs for the property.  There are always mixed emotions as we say goodbye, especially because we have no clue when, or even if, we will find ourselves in these places again.  But we remember these people, places, and even dogs in our hearts and carry them with us throughout the rest of the pilgrimage.

And the last step to packing, after getting everything in your suitcase and doing a last minute room check, is to actually load the bus and leave.  Now I don’t want to steal from tomorrow’s post by commenting too much on this idea of leaving, but it is a necessary part of the pilgrimage.  As much as we may love a place, we are pilgrims on a journey, and our destination is not one of these particular locations we have visited.  And leaving can be scary, because that means there is a whole place to move in to and new things to figure out, such as how you will get settled in your new room with your roommate to where the chapel is to the new WiFi passwords.  This lack of stability can be a challenge at times, but there is always one thing that is stable on pilgrimage.  We stay in different places, travel with different Mundelein faculty members, eat different food.  But in every single place we have gone to, Jesus Christ has been there.  So while there may be some unrest as we leave a place we have gotten used to, and move into our last place of residence during this pilgrimage, we rely upon the stability of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.  And the best part is that we can’t forget to pack Him, as He is already there, preparing a place for us.