On the morning of Wednesday, September 27th, Fr. Nathaniel, Meg, and I set out on a hitch-hiking pilgrimage to visit the Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother.(Who is an inspiring priest from a small farm in Oklahoma, who served as a missionary priest in Guatemala. He helped the
poor people there by teaching them better farming techniques and opening a farming co-op so they could keep more of the crops they grew for their families. He was very close with his people and would regularly visit their homes. During the Guatemalan civil war, his name ended up on a death list which resulted in him returning to Oklahoma for a couple months, but he ultimately felt called to return to his people, come what may, and after a few months back serving his people,






he was killed in his rectory in the night.) That morning we were hoping to get to LSU by the end of the day.  Our friend dropped us off just north of Houma, so we could start hitch hiking to Baton Rouge. Within 2 seconds a car stopped and offered to take us all the way to Baton Rouge! Laughing in disbelief I say to Meg, "Welcome to hitch-hiking with Fr. Nathaniel."

Along our way we stopped by
LSU, UL, Texas A&M, UT Austin, Baylor University,
the University of Dallas, OSU, and OU.

And so began the first divine appointment of our journey. As we entered this young man's vehicle, we were approaching holy ground: this young man's life. Eventually he shares how he had lived a rough life and done many things he recognized were bad, but recently encountered Jesus, and was striving, with all his limits, to follow Him.  Father told him about Christ’s Church and the Sacraments and by the end of the trip Fr. Nathaniel had exchanged contacts, and had invited him to OCIA, an invitation he seemed to accept. And so we parted ways just outside of Christ the King Catholic Church on LSU's campus, thanking him for the ride, and thanking God for the opportunity to encounter and help this generous young man along his journey.  Thus ended our first divine appointment. 

But many, equally providential, anointed, joy filled, hope filled encounters
lay ahead of us, unknown to us,
but written in God's book (cf. Ps 139:16).

We visited my family, crashed two birthday parties, got picked up by Sr Caterina’s Aunt, and then her parents, sent Meg to Mexico, ate dinner with Ms. Julie who’s 99, and of course visited the beautiful Shrine of Blessed Stanley Rother for 3 days (there’s a lot to see)! As Pope John Paul II says, "Life with Christ is an adventure!"