This holy, humble, humorous, happy priest, Rev. Joel Bugas is a miracle medium. I observed him get his wishes many times. Yesterday, he got to say mass at the Chapel of the Virgin Mary inside the Basilica of Sacre Cour. Usually, all we get is an audio tour but thanks to QTS Tours and Christina Vives, this chapel was secured and we had mass.
Today, our last full day of touring, Fr. Joel got another surprise, Cardinal Gerald Ciprien La Croix of Quebec City waited to ask his permission to concelebrate the mass as Fr. Joel is the designated priest for 3pm. Fr. Joel of course deferred to His Eminence and I could see how happy Fr. Joel was not as the main celebrant, but as a concelebrating priest.
God’s abundance is indeed overwhelming and overflowing to this priest who genuinely puts our spiritual growth ahead of anything else, yet we also had fun, we got to shop a little and one pilgrim got to visit with her college classmate. God is good all the time.
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Being in a pilgrimage is both the best experience and a space for observing miracles of wishes granted plus God’s abundance to those serving him and those with total faith.
Our spiritual director, Fr. Joel Bugas, is one of the best priests I have met, now 53 priests and 2 bishops in person and via one on one interviews: thoughtful, humorous, considerate, caring and had the best 3 minute homilies.
He too had a health issue but if you look at him, he made no noise about it, no complaints and I love seeing him allow us to take care of him: like a septuagenarian who would split her plate with him, or others would offer to carry some of his bags which had the vestments and chalice or pack him breakfast one day as he had no time to get one. He reciprocates with kindness and thoughtfulness, moving from table to table at dinner to check on folks, buying us snacks and cookies to share. He is quite endearing as anyone approaches him and he is accessible with sharing his own observations and wisdom.
It is also observing physical changes, like a mom in her retirement years shedding a cane, feeling stronger to walk without her anchor to her disability. She got stronger.
It is also observing folks’ quirks transformed for days, from just a voice box to a voicebox of sacred choral music. It is observing folks with rigid standards shed them for awhile to go along for just even a day to align with the group’s choice or food chosen for us. It was a welcome treat though to savor good French food at lunch: escargots and beef bourguionon.
Then, there are earth angels: they ask how you are and keep you company, they extend their arms as anchors as you walk, they sat behind to make sure the ailing, the sick, and slow walkers like me with asthma are encouraged to walk the distance, and there are those who provided us with inspiring examples of sprinting uphill in Sacre Cour.
In the end, we are all triumphant as we walked a total of nearly 130,000 miles, about 75 miles, had masses and communion all of 13 days, had offered over 500+ prayers for peace on earth, unity in America with justice for all, family, parents, spouses, children, grandchildren, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, neighbors, praying for healing, health, love and more time on earth.
P.S. Portugal has one beautiful square with chapels, museums, and two basilicas built for Our Lady of Fatima and a factory that makes chalices with pure silver, gold and precious stones, discounted at 1,500 euros, and stores that sell the most beautiful priests vestments, fully gilded, at 500 euros and above.
Spain and France seem more aligned in taking care of their surroundings, bringing out the green fields, lots of man-made lakes that are for the most part kept clean (Japan has the most pristine lakes near their homes with daily dredging to remove leaves and debris).
It got me thinking of Merced River and beautiful Yosemite. California is still my best state, except at some of the French restaurants, I heard Chinese tourists condemning the homeless in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
We need better examples of Spain in how they take care of their people. In Burgos, old folks were just talking while enjoying the sounds of the river, the shade of trees whose branches were joined to give a natural green awning, young folks enjoying their hot chocolate and churros.
Blue skies for the most part, white clouds and sometimes gray that gave us rains, for two days and it poured when we left Paris, as if saying bon voyage until we meet again.
Pilgrimages test your entire person physically to shoulder on despite your ailments, lack of mobility and even, breath. Yes, the ability to breathe at all times of the day.
It also tests who is caring, who is kind, who is considerate to the entire group and who makes us laugh with jokes.
It also tests those of us how far we are indulgent of our own pleasures in wine, food and shopping.
It makes you leave what is superfluous, superficial and connect with the better Angels, with our best selves, helping one another go through customs with grace and patience.
A special treat was to have mass inside the airport in Paris, in front of terminal 66 of Lufthansa airlines. How Fr. Joel made this happen was a miracle to see the end of a terminal with space seemingly reserved fo tdd 26 pilgrims. This must be how early Christians prayed with silence during Eucharist and we also received communion. Imagine the logistics of saying mass with communion wafers for 26 of us in all those days.
It was equally a treat to see the calm, serene, thoughtful Lou who curated this pilgrimage and gave us this pilgrimage with the best direction for travel, from south to north, driving from Portugal, Spain and France to linger to be with nature, ancient churches, great architecture in Basilicas, church museums and more in prayers at masses and daily communion at LAX.
What a gift of many hearts!!