"Our Vocation Is to Travel..."

Those are words from the holy founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola. I'm glad there is more to the quotation: “Our vocation is to travel throughout the world and to live in any part of it wheresoever there is hope of the greater service of God and the good of souls.”

Why am I glad for the complete quotation? Because I'm not feeling as if my vocation is to travel. This trip has been grueling, never spending too much time in any one place, no opportunity to really visit. That said, I have so appreciated the opportunity to talk about SPCHS/OLQP and the response of the people who have been at the events. But it has been a whirlwind, starting with a wonderful evening at my friends Chip and Mary Jo's home, where I had the chance to catch up with some great folks from my time at U of D Jesuit HS; then on to Toledo where I had a chance to briefly visit with my family and had the opportunity to talk about our project with Toledoans (and get interviewed by columnists at the Toledo Blade and Catholic Chronicle).

The Toledo visit was followed by a stop in Cleveland, where I spoke at a luncheon (which gave me a nice chance to visit briefly with my dears friends Jerry and Sue Schroer and Linda Schlageter. I also had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Barbara and John Schubert about their experiences at Loyola High School, Dar es Salaam. I arrived in New York last Friday. My friends Christopher and Rosario Baldwin could not have been kinder in my regard, hosting an amazing evening at Astor House, where they introduced me to 50+ friends of theirs and gave me a chance to talk about to Dodoma. It was a spectacular evening.

And here I am in Chicago, where I spent time with some teachers from the Chicago-Detroit Province who will be with us in Dodoma this summer. In a few minutes I'll be leaving for the Union League Club, where I'll speak to benefactors of the province.

And tomorrow I leave for LA. Whew!