How did I get here?

What led me to Beatitudes Missions and what it means to serve

Hi. You're probably wondering how I ended up here. You may have heard of The Community of the Beatitudes and Beatitudes Missions, or you may have never heard of either of those things. Either way, I would love to share my experience with Beatitudes Missions and how I came to serving with them.

I first came into contact with Beatitudes Missions at Benedictine College in my junior year. Fr. Anthony, the director of Beatitudes at the time, and a team of interns visited my campus to celebrate a Byzantine Divine Liturgy and teach college students about the rich history of the Catholic Church in the East. I was so impressed by the interns and their respect for the liturgy, as well as their sense of adventure. They described their experiences in Israel and the graces they received there with such excitement that I couldn't help but want to travel there. They described their mission, the way they lived out of backpacks, and their journey to Beatitudes Missions with both excitement and an emphasis on the relationships that led them to where they were now. Instead of seeming flashy or attention-grabbing, they seemed humble and unassuming despite the amazing experiences they had already gone through. I met with one of the interns for coffee and she seemed genuinely interested in my life and getting to know me. Though I was immediately interested in Beatitudes Missions, I knew that I was a broke college student and didn't have the money to spend on a pilgrimage. Besides, I was driven to get an internship that summer in a field that I wanted to work in and couldn't "waste" a summer traveling. I put Beatitudes Missions on the back burner and focused on applying for internships.

Three months went by, and I had been rejected from every internship that I had applied to. On the last weekend before finals, I received a message from Father Anthony letting me know that he was returning to campus for a quick visit. Still pessimistic about the chances of working with him, I set up a meeting with him. On a beautiful afternoon in May, we took a walk through campus and talked about Beatitudes Missions. I expressed my frustration at not finding an internship and my inability to pay for travel. Father's simple response to my worries was "do you want an internship?" This question began my involvement with Beatitudes Missions.

Summer 2021 Internship

During that summer, I traveled to Denver to work with the intern team and begin the main tasks I was assigned over the course of my internship. I lived in the rhythm of community, went on outings with Father Anthony and the other interns, and settled into editing and writing for the various projects I was assigned. After a couple weeks in Denver, I returned home to work remotely with the hope of traveling to Israel later in the summer. However, due to COVID travel restrictions, I was unable to reach the Holy Land. Despite the unforeseen changes, I was able to return to Denver and participate in their hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains. While I was there, I was able to reconnect with the other interns and rediscover what initially attracted me to Beatitudes Missions. We stopped by the side of the trail to sing our daily prayers, celebrated Mass on the shores of mountain lakes (and in the rain) and prayed the Stations of the Cross while ascending our final (and steepest) incline of the entire trip. Other hikers on the trail joined us at times in prayer or in song. There was a sense of normalcy and routine in what we did, an almost matter-of-factness. At the same time, in the quiet moments between preparing for meals and discussing our hiking route, there was a sense of awe and wonder at the place we found ourselves in. At times the trip did not feel like a mission, and I worried that I was less of an intern and more of a vacationer. However, speaking to the others who had gone on the trip and seeing the ways they had been impacted, I gained insight into the approach of Beatitudes Missions. Though the scenes of nature were beautiful and the trip was breathtaking, every person was taken out of their element. All of the hikers in our group were forced to rely on each other. This gave everyone the chance to be Christ for the other in the smallest ways. Whether it was volunteering to make food, or set up tents, or even being willing to listen to another hiker as they vented about their ailments, each person had the opportunity to set aside their concerns and care for another person.

{After a long day of hiking, we celebrated Mass next to the lake near our campsite. Our altar was comprised of a few backpacks balanced on top of each other, and we pushed through our hunger for dinner until afterwards.}

{A group of us took an afternoon hike up to a mountain pass, climbing over 1,000 feet in elevation to reach the top! Pretty sure I almost passed out, but managed to revive for a group pic :-) }

As Father Anthony drove me to the train station at the end of my stay in Denver, we debriefed on my summer experience and the other plans for the interns as they continued to work for Beatitudes Missions. Though my concrete plans with Beatitudes had come to an end, Father Anthony suggested that I could come back and serve through a year-long internship after my graduation from college. Though I did not think much of it at the time, the seed had been planted. Through the following months at school, I kept coming back to the idea of another internship and devoting a year of my life to serving God through their ministry.