Friars Walk 300 Miles To Wash Dc

[MithLuin]

I agree that the habits certainly attract attention, but college students have been doing something similar for the past 4-5 years with similar results.

Check out the Missionaries of the Eucharist: [url="http://www.themoes.us/Missionaries_of_the_Eucharist.html"]http://www.themoes.us/Missionaries_of_the_Eucharist.html[/url]

They wear matching t-shirts and carry a processional crucifix and Vatican flag. So, also very, very visible and obviously Catholic. They do rely upon the generosity of others to put them up and feed them, but they try to organize this in advance. So, they know where they're stopping (most) every night, and they have support vehicles to accompany them. Not quite as hard-core as these friars, but they're able to walk from [i]Maine[/i] to DC over a 10-week period in the summer.

This year, they did a shorter 6 week walk that still started in Maine, but will be winding up in NYC on August 9th. That's 800 miles (they take a circuitous route). I imagine next summer they'll be doing the whole thing. So, for those of you who were interested...check them out! They do require that you be at least 18.

I can vouch for them being an awesome group of people with a solid spirituality. They chant lauds, vespers and compline, and have daily mass every day of the Walk. I walked with them for 3 weeks this summer, and yes, people do offer to feed you and invite you into their homes. Maybe not every day...but reading the article, I found the story very familiar. I think that Virginia would be a bit different from New England, and that the habits would evoke a slightly stronger response (for good or ill). But I assure, people not wearing habits can do this!

[jkaands]

[quote name='Gregorius' post='1935198' date='Jul 29 2009, 09:25 PM']That is one awesome story. And I've been to the monastery they went to multiple times. But I did not notice this story until jkaands pointed it out. Perhaps it's because I don't get a daily paper. how sad...[/quote]

I saw this online. I think that it was reported in my news summaries on my earthlink account...on Earthlink, you can customize your home page and I include various news summaries--this was in the national news summaries, I think.

[Skinzo]

I saw the friars at the National Shrine the other day. The friars of the Holy Land are really a great group. Be sure to visit the monastery if you are ever in D.C. They have a special calling to care for the churches in the middle east such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, and even Syria and Lebanon. They have confession available all day, every day of the week except Sunday morn.
The Church in Washington is a replica of the Church at Mt. Saint Sepulchre in Jerusalem and has a beautiful garden besides.
See: [url="http://www.myfranciscan.org/Default.aspx"]http://www.myfranciscan.org/Default.aspx[/url]

S.