(Photo Credit Unsplash – Daniela Paola Alchapar)
By Patricia Schiissler
Lost within the void of my thoughts, I trudge onward, slowly moving one foot in front of the other as I travel along a simple Regina bike path. There is nothing exceptional about it, barely a tree to be seen. I absently begin thinking, “Our whole life is a pilgrimage of some sort. We journey, and then we leave all the things of this world behind.” What would make one pilgrimage different than any others? There have been a variety of different pilgrimages that I’ve participated in. Some of them were very short, while others were somewhat longer. What was I looking for? Where and why did I go? Do I even remember them all?
Several years ago, I travelled on a European pilgrimage. It was an unbelievable experience adventuring from Fatima in Portugal to Lourdes in France, plus a short distance along the shell-covered pathway of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It really was the perfect example of what a pilgrimage should consist of, including a bus tour, Masses celebrated, movies and meditative prayer along the way. The memory of travelling will always remain in my mind. Was my pilgrimage now at the end after returning from this adventurous time?
Something was meant to continue. There must be more to come! Years later, my husband and I continued travelling to attend local pilgrimages around our own province of Saskatchewan. We loved them as much as the expensive and prearranged destinations. They basically offered the same depth of prayer, Masses, rosaries, and God’s outpouring of love to us and the people gathered with us. There was always that special feeling that can never be explained or described.
This year, I had been dealing with a health issue that was leaving me feeling more tired than usual. The time of pilgrimage was not as vibrant as was felt in past years. My energy level was improving, but the summer plans were mostly on hold. Every day includes time spent with God in various forms of prayer, but much was missing from the usual enthusiasm that I felt. Still, attending to my daily readings and prayer life continued to move me forward from one day to the next.
It was the fifth Sunday of the month. I was assigned to do a lay-led liturgy at one of the senior residences. Normally another couple facilitates this beautiful event with me. They could not attend this Sunday due to personal family commitments. I felt alone and almost distracted from the extremely important liturgy that I was blessed to perform. When I arrived early at the church, I sought the pyx containing the hosts that were meant to be set out for me to pick up. I was informed that it was not to be found. Since I was early, I took the remaining large pyx and moved reverently forward to the tabernacle.
Genuflecting in front of the tabernacle, I slowly turned the key to unlock it. There was an unusually calm presence at that point. Is God really present in the Tabernacle within the hosts? God is everywhere, but there is something extra special to have God that near. I opened the lid of the pyx. As I started placing the usual number of hosts within its space, they almost moved on their own energy. The hosts were gently gliding by themselves. I continued counting until I reached the required amount. A soft, internal voice whispered to continue adding more. “You will need extra hosts today.” Unfortunately, that’s when human logic kicked in. I started denying that I would need that many extra hosts that morning and only have to return them.
The morning progressed with the incident forgotten. To my surprise, many more people were in attendance than I had anticipated! The liturgy was meaningful and I eventually came to hand out the Eucharist. Looking around the room, I realized that I didn’t bring enough for everybody present and would have to break some hosts in half. I felt devastated that I didn’t listen to the Lord. Upon returning the supplies, I had the church completely empty. I took that time to apologize to God for my weak faith and unbelief. It is one of my favourite times to stand in front of the tabernacle and be totally in the presence of my God. My faith pilgrimage is continuing and always will with God being completely present wherever I am.
Patricia Schiissler, B.Ed., (nee Hanowski) as a lifelong Roman Catholic, was born, baptized, and received her sacraments at St. Henry’s parish in Melville, Saskatchewan. She began her education in a country, one room school (Wymer) from grades one to four. Education then began at St. Henry’s elementary school, grades five to eight and grades nine to twelve in St. Henry’s high school. Pat worked in the University of Regina library and meanwhile married Terry Schiissler in 1973 (BA, Notre Dame, Wilcox). They have 2 children. She retired from teaching at Regina Catholic Schools after 28 years. Pat studied the Understanding Our Faith series from 1997 to 2002. She then took the Lay Formation Program and was commissioned in 2018. Faith interests and accomplishments include Eucharistic ministry, Proclaimer, RCIA sponsor, Bible study facilitator, Chair, Spiritual Education, Lay Liturgy presider, Synod representative, etc. Pat became an author after retiring from teaching. She wrote and self-published, “God in my Life: How God speaks to me”. For the following two and a half years, she promoted the book while speaking to large numbers of people. There were over 25 evangelizing events across Western Canada. The experience was so meaningful that Pat decided to write and publish her second book,” God for all People: Some Fact, Some Fiction”. It is based on her faith journey relating to stories mainly strangers shared with her. Pat’s website is www.patriciaschiissler.com.
