Pilgrim Bios

What is a pilgrimage....

A pilgrimage differs from a tour in several important ways. It is a personal invitation from God, comprised of His offer and dependent upon the pilgrim’s acceptance. God’s call may vary but the purpose remains consistent: It is an individual summons to know God more fully. A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey to which the pilgrim joyfully responds “yes” to God’s invitation.

Although in previous centuries many trials were intrinsic to a pilgrimage, the modern pilgrim has an abundance of affordable travel options, yet the purpose remains unchanged. It is a journey to a holy, sacred place to usher the pilgrim into the presence of God.

The pilgrim must embark on this journey with joyful anticipation, being willing temporarily to separate himself or herself from the world and to offer himself or herself in humble service to another. A successful pilgrimage involves a commitment to leave behind one’s problems and to focus instead on seeking to learn more about our heavenly Father, making one’s heart full of desire for special graces, praises, petitions and thanksgiving, returning home transformed, renewed and restored by the abundant blessings received.

A pilgrimage is a time of prayer and to witness the miraculous signposts God has left for our return to Him. Ask God to bless you with a heart that will be receptive to the treasure chest of graces He desires to shower upon your pilgrimage. The success of your spiritual journey will depend upon your openness, faith, flexibility, and love.

"OH LORD, OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN YOU." Saint Augustine

Pray for these WYD Pilgrims!

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Katherine Kohler

 ¡Hola!

 My name is Katherine Kohler. I am a recent graduate of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN. I have a degree in  Spanish and Social Work and will be attending Columbia University in New York City for Graduate School in the Fall of 2012. Although my academic life is extremely important to me it doesn't really explain who I am.

Here is a brief but hopefully accurate summary:

I am a young Catholic woman striving to persevere in this world. I love the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and I wish I was able to love Him better in the body of His Church.

I love Music, Reading, Travel, Family, Holidays ... and Coffee and Bagels. I also love Yogurt.

I am entirely impatient and entirely aware of this fault.

I am partial to Dominicans and when I have discerned my vocation I am fairly certain I will become a consecrated or lay Dominican.

I am very passionate about recognizing the dignity of each person and working for social justice. I do not, however, sacrifice obedience to the Church in order to work for positive change. I believe that the Lord God is supremely Just and therefore His Church is the perfect mechanism for promoting justice. I believe Catholic Social Teaching provides me with an entirely perfect means of working for social change while remaining faithful to the Truth.

I am also very excited to be able to travel to la Jornada Mundial de Juventudes (JMJ / WYD) in Madrid. I am happy to be able to respond to this call of the Holy Father to meet him and meet Christ in Madrid. I am especially excited because I have already been so blessed to spend the Easter Triduum with the Holy Father in Rome and I was also very blessed to have studied in Spain for an academic year. During my time in Spain I was also able to visit Fatima. These were wonderful blessings that I feel will culminate in my return to España to meet the Holy Father and Meet Christ as a young woman hungry for her Vocation and Hungry for the Resurrection.

My greatest prayer for this Pilgrimage is that the Lord will bring me my Vocation and give me the strength to persevere in this world and to never loose heart as I walk toward my true home with HIM in heaven. I will also be praying for all of my friends and my family and also that the Lord will bless my time in San Diego this year with the Catholic Worker (according to HIS will).

My spiritual partners on this pilgrimage include:
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Bernadette, St. Thérèse, St. Theresa of Avila, Blessed Mother Theresa, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Blessed Pope John Paul the GREAT! 

Please pray for my PATIENCE and that  I may be open to the Lord's Grace!!

~ In Sweet Jesus, Jesus Love ~

Katherine Kohler

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Hey y'all! My name is Bethany Veronica Danae Collins. I'm 18 years old and a freshman at Loyola University Chicago (or will be in 3 weeks . . . what?!?). I'm the oldest of 7 children, and my favorite color is blue.

I love music, a lot. I've been singing since kindergarten, when I first became a performer in children's musical theater. To date I've been in well over 20 musicals, most recently Zombie Prom with Twin City junior Players and Beauty and the Beast with Kids On Stage. I'm also a total math and science nerd. I'm planning to major in chemistry and I want to be a scientist if I grow up.

But these passions definitely take the backseat to my passion for my faith. I've grown up in a very solid Catholic home, where God is always placed before anything else. Through countless incredible people and experiences, God has shown me that He is truly King of the Universe, and that He loves me as His daughter. I am striving to live my life for Him in my daily life, while occasionally dreaming of the awesome ways I can change the world for Him.

One of the first ways I ever connected with God and felt His Presence was in music. As I've grown up, music has remained my favorite prayer, and I love to praise our Lord with my voice. I sing every single day, and love to make any song a prayer. I've been in Sounds of the Spirit at St. Bernard's since before we were actually called Sounds of the Spirit. I also hope to join music ministry at Loyola as well.

I am SO excited for this trip. I really have no idea what God has in store for me, but I know that He has a unique and incredible experience planned for each and every pilgrim. I cannot wait to spend this time growing in faith and holiness with so many people from around the world. The story of Fatima has been one of my favorites since I was little, when I saw the 'movie', The Day the Sun Danced. :) So I'm SUPER excited to visit Fatima. But I'm really just thrilled to be on this trip. I'm so grateful that God has given us all this incredible gift.

Please pray for all of us!

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Hello!(:

My name is Jacinta (Jaci) Reck and I turn 17 on the day of our departure. I will be a senior at Lake Michigan Catholic high school. I enjoy softball, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading. I am actively involved in the school as senior class president, an officer in key club and a member of the environmental club. I thoroughly enjoy anything athletic, especially ninja!

I LOVE all 4 of my wonderful dogs, Talitha, K’Tonton, Kephas and Malachi! I also love to show and train my incredible doggies. I have 2 beautiful sisters Monika (19) and Miriam (15) and I also love my wonderful parents.(:

One day I hope to become an Oncologist and help to cure or at least treat people that have been affected my cancer. I was inspired to become an Oncologist by my dad’s diagnosis of esophageal cancer. I am amazed and purely fascinated by the wonder of the human body. The interest could have stemmed from my various injuries and trips to the emergency room. I am a little accident prone, okay a lot accident prone.

I am soooooo excited for Spain and especially returning to Fatima to visit the birthplace of my patron. I hope to get out of this trip to World Youth Day a renewed relationship with God. I feel that because of all of the hardships that I have gone through I cannot trust God and that is simply not true.

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Hello, my name is Tucker Hartline and I am 17 years old and a senior at Lake Michigan Catholic which is where I learned a great deal about my religion from our very good theology teacher Mr. Ghering.  My favorite class was economics and I have had several years of Spanish, but through all that time I have a very minimal grasp on how to speak or understand the language.  I hope to go to Franciscan University of Steubenville where I  will most likely study Economics and learn Russian and Japanese.  I have been to three of their Youth Conferences & really liked them.   I also am part of a Franciscan community called the Brothers & Sisters Charity where we get together to worship at awesome Festival of Praises.

I live on a farm with sheep, llamas and many more animals including thousands of bees (we are beekeepers).  My hobbies are 4-wheeling around the farm & the UP, hanging out with my friends, & snorkling & fishing with my dad.  I also like keeping up with my style of fighting after 3 years of getting my Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

The most exciting thing I'm looking forward to at World Youth Day is seeing our Holy Father & hearing what he has to say to us.  It's going to be a life-changing trip for us all! 

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Hello!

My name is Emily Kohler!

I am sixteen and I'm home-schooled. I love reading (anything in the fantasy and christian-fantasy genre), writing (I am currently working on a fantasy-type novel that I hope to publish), drawing (or rather, teaching myself to draw (I'm getting better at it) and performing in plays.

I also love hanging out with my family and my friends, going to youth group, adoration, and dressing up in costumes for midnight movie premieres (Yep! I'm a nerd!). One day I would like to be a film director/producer as well as a writer (books and screenplays).

I've never been on a World Youth Day pilgrimage before (I've never even been out of the country before!) so I must admit I'm a little nervous (mostly just about the plane ride...never been on a plane before either). But I know it's going to be great. I'll be with a bunch of really awesome people, so I won't be nervous long.

What I really hope to get out of this pilgrimage is a deeper relationship with Christ and/or whatever He wants me to get out out of it.

I am super excited for WYD! But I know it won't really hit me until I'm actually on the plane (that's when I'll really start freaking out! Haha!).

Adios!

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Hello my name is Jason DeVoir and this will be my first trip to a World Youth Day. I have been blessed to be the Youth Director for St Joseph Catholic Parish for over 3 year now and to be a part of our youth's faith formation. So to continue on this journey with them to WYD is absolutely fantastic! We have such a wonderful group of young people in our area that are hungry for the fullness of Truth that Holy Mother Church can only give. They are proud to be young Catholics and it shows in how they treat others and how eager they are to learn about their faith.

My son Easton who is almost 9 years old and is going into 3rd grade at LMC is my life. Our Father in Heaven has blessed me with him and even though Easton will not be with me on this journey physically he will be with me in my heart, thoughts and prayers. I will miss you to the Moon Champ!

I will be praying for all of my Laker and Parish family, you have helped me through such a hard time in my life I cannot even express in words how much that has meant to me. You all our truly wonderful people and I am blessed to call you friends.

Your Brother In Christ

Jason

"Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

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My name is Jenna Zwiller and I am a WYD pilgrim for the first time! I am a cradle Catholic and was brought up in a strong Catholic family, but I still learn more about my faith every day. Truly the most amazing thing about being Catholic is the richness of our faith!! Before I get too off-topic, here's my bio. I'm a massage therapist that works very part time because I spend most of my time taking care of my 4 beautiful boys: Thomas (9), Aidan (7), Patrick (5), and Colin (3). I am blessed to have found a wonderful husband who is a teacher and a Marine...and we're going on 11 years of marriage already. I am currently going back to school to finish my college degree and will hopefully be majoring in environmental biology. I really love nature and find that it helps bring me closer to my Creator. I enjoy scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, the beach, experimenting with gluten free baking for my kids and did I mention scuba diving?!! I look forward to drawing closer to Christ and His Blessed Mother on this pilgrimage while visiting a new part of the world. Please pray for me and all of the pilgrims as we experience this journey in Christ!

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Karen's biography – Her faith journey

Karen's faith journey began as a child, born into a Lutheran home. The love of Jesus was always apparent in both her parents, who taught her to say grace before meals and to say prayers at bedtime. Some of Karen's earliest memories are of going to church and singing “Beautiful Savior”, and of attending Sunday school and learning that Jesus loves us and died on the cross for our sins.

Karen grew up content to know the basics of Christian faith, but God had bigger plans for her! Never had she imagined that later in her life she would journey to Madrid to attend World Youth Day as a Catholic pilgrim!

The pathway of her journey began to turn when she went to Marquette University, a Catholic Jesuit school. It was there in her senior year that Karen met her future husband, a cradle catholic named Gregory, who was strong in his faith.

Karen and Greg were married in 1988. Within a year, Karen began learning more about the Catholic Church by attending RCIA classes. But it was not a speedy conversion for Karen, and as she neared the completion process, she got cold feet! Even so, God was patient with her, and so was Greg. In 1991 they moved to Ft. Myers, Florida. For about a year of church ping-pong (as Karen likes to put it) going to her Lutheran church one week, to his Catholic church the following week, Karen felt the Holy Spirit gently nudge her once again, and she returned to RCIA classes at St. Cecilia's in Ft. Myers.

This time Karen's heart was fully opened to discover the richness of all the sacraments, and the wonderful truth of the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. Karen came fully into the Church in 1993, one of the happiest days of her life!

Since then her faith journey has led her to a deeper desire to grow closer to God. She participated for several years in the SSCT scripture study, and more recently in the Heart to Heart bible classes in her parish. She is an active adorer at the Sacred Heart Chapel. She has been working for the past two years at the Catholic school where her two daughters attend school; Angela, who will be in 6^th grade this fall, and Gina, who will be a senior. Gina is also a pilgrim attending WYD 2011! Karen is happy to be spending this special time with her daughter at such an amazing event!

Karen has always loved art, drawing and painting her whole life. But in the past two years, she has felt God encouraging her to paint religious art, especially pictures of Virgin Mary. Karen works primarily in watercolors, and wishes to share of her faith in God and the beauty of His creation through her artwork. Karen feels called to use her talent to share His love and plant seeds of faith.

Karen has recently put her artist calling into high gear. You can find some of her artwork for sale at Banner Books. She will be showing some of her art in Kalamazoo at Newman's Bookshoppe for their Art Hop on October 7, as well as at the SVdP Craft Fair at the Rose Center on November 5.

Karen believes her faith journey is far from over. There is still so much more to learn and room to grow in faith. Karen believes that the pilgrimage to World Youth Day is part of God's plan for her. She hopes that through this pilgrimage she will find a deeper trust in God without worrying, a stronger prayer life, and a closer relationship with Jesus and with Mary. God bless!

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