ENCOUNTER MOTHER CHURCH IN
ITALY, FRANCE, SPAIN & PORTUGAL

21 SEPTEMBER TO 5 OCTOBER 2015

Dear Pilgrims to Italy, France, Spain and Portugal
(and as some of you insist, the Vatican as well!),

Greetings of peace and joy to you in our Lord Jesus Christ!

I trust that you are well-rested upon your return from our sacred pilgrimage to the various shrines we visited throughout our trip.

Pilgrimages are by nature unsettling, because they are fraught with a plethora of factors that are beyond our control. But in addition to that, this trip has been particularly challenging even for someone like me who has been bringing pilgrims out on trips multiple times each year. And yet, despite the repeated problems we faced with the condition of the bus, I was amazed at the unhindered joy and undampened spirit I witnessed in each of you. What an inspiring journey; not just because of the places we visited, but because of the pilgrims that you were!

Our focus on this trip has been a love for the Church and the saints past who had paid the price for the faith with their blood, and also for Mary and some other saints who had consecrated themselves for love of God and His Holy Church. Mary is a mirror of the Church, the first fruit of the Church and also her Mother. In her Immaculate Conception, she was readied to become the worthy vessel through which the Son of God would enter into our world and live among mankind. In her Assumption, she was an attestation to the reality of our desired and expected future. To love Mary is to love the Church, and one needs to love the Church in order to love the Christ to Whom she is wedded.

As you go about your daily lives, do not forget to continue with the spiritual disciplines that we had cultivated throughout the trip. Our work in life must always be accompanied by much prayer and study of the faith. We must love what we believe and learn to understand what we love. Each one of you, together with all the petitions you have brought throughout the trip, will be in our daily prayers every day. We are not just travelling companions for two weeks; we are lifelong pilgrims -- brothers and sisters -- on a journey together towards God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!


United in prayer,
Deacon Sherman Kuek OFS




VIDEO FOOTAGE
Shorter Footage (8.21 mins)
Longer Footage (53.54 mins)

PHOTOGRAPHS
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TABULATION OF YOUR ASSESSMENT FORMS
We have uploaded here the tabulated results of the assessment forms you filled at the end of the trip so that you have an idea of how the entire group in general felt about the trip. Have a look!

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