. . . For my purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset,
And the baths of all the western stars . . .
Following the Feast of the Holy Rosary, spent with their brothers at Saint Martin’s, the juniors headed west to the Southwest, cradle of American Catholicism. Based in and near Gallup, New Mexico, our juniors’ first week combined viewing of the stark, arid high plateau desert beauty contrasted by the pine-covered nearby McGaffey Mountain. They stayed on the mountain in a cabin owned by the father of our chef, Sebastian Macik.
During this first week an educator and old friend of mine Herbert Mosher taught the classic Willa Cather novel Death Comes to the Archbishop, modeled upon the life of the legendary Bishop Lamy, first bishop of Santa Fe. House father Alex Drozda said he had never been a witness to better teaching. The boys were quite taken with Mr. Mosher and this literary work. He spoke of the great miracle of Our Lady’s appearance to Juan Diego and the subsequent evangelization of the Southwest by Franciscan missionaries. He traced the work of this heroic bishop and recounted the martyrdom of many of the Franciscans, whose blood, as Tertullian said in the second century, becomes the seed of Christians, and thus, many of the indigenous peoples converted to follow Our Lord and His Holy Church.
The second week the boys stayed at the diocesan Sacred Heart Retreat Center and worked each morning on the adjacent Rosary pilgrimage shrine being developed by the Southwest Indian Foundation, led by IHP alumnus Bill McCarthy. The shrine will have twenty-three thirteen foot-high nichos, dedicated to the mysteries of the Holy Rosary and acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity. In addition there will be a thirty-two foot high central nicho dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. As a whole the shrine is to be the shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha.
The boys hauled rock to build retaining walls, dirt to level the walking surface, and native red gravel to cover the entire path. The project is extensive and will take five years to finish. Though we accomplished only a small part of this project, it was a gift to know we have had a part in future pilgrims’ lives, those coming to this shrine to enrich their own spiritual lives and pray for the souls of others.
Several more trips were made. One to McGaffey to watch Ben Macik mill a log with his new portable sawmill. A few of the boys were given the chance to use the mill under Ben’s guidance. We ate and sang songs long into the evening. The last day in Gallup we prayed the Rosary and attended Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Wall. We then visited an elk ranch and listened to the remarkable stories and wisdom of a long-time resident veterinarian Clint Balok. He has an extraordinary ranch bordering the Cibola National Forest and raises a huge garden the monks visiting each summer from Clear Creek may pick from at will. His talk to the boys about the importance of living our faith and ordering our lives to God in whatever vocation we follow. Our young men listened gratefully.
We ended our western swing by camping at Bandelier Campsite. At first light we watched a doe come within thirty yards of us lying in our hammocks or sleeping bags, followed by a large mule-deer buck with a huge rack who stood beside her for several minutes before slowly walking off. Quite a wondrous beginning of the day. After eating breakfast we headed to Santa Fe.
On Sunday we attended Holy Mass at the Cathedral and then toured the Loretto shrine where it is believed by the Loretto sisters that in answer to their novena prayer that Saint Joseph himself came and with only handsaw, carpenter’s square, hammer, and water barrel built thirty-three steps in three circular rotations from the floor of the chapel to the choir loft. The stairs are self-supporting, unattached to the wall, built of wood not native to the area. The carpenter arrived on the last day of the novena and left unpaid the day he finished. No one in the area knew who he was, from where he came, nor where he went.
When we heard a strong early winter storm was headed our way, we decided to head to the next stop on the junior tour: Clear Creek Monastery. But as the storm threw a thick, blowing fog in front of us and promised to cover the roads with a half inch of ice as we headed east, we went south and spent a worthwhile half day touring the huge, spectacular Carlsbad Caverns. We then headed north, but the storm was not yet spent. So, we headed east through the middle of Texas, encountering ever continuing freezing rain. Prudentially, we decided to spend the night in Dallas with my daughter Kelley, who graciously on four hours notice provided air mattresses, blankets and morning breakfast to ten tired traveling young men. Deo gratias!
After battling the storm for two days we finally arrive at Our Lady of the Annunciation at Clear Creek in Oklahoma. We have traveled far, seen much, worked, and prayed. We have much to be grateful for; so many have made this wonder-filled pilgrimage possible. Memories have been formed that should last through these young men’s lives and help shape them for the spiritual journey they’ve just begun.