Keepin' the Faith

A sturdy pair of sandals, the kindness of strangers and a little faith is all six Franciscan friars needed to complete a six-week, 300-mile spiritual quest this week. The group, which included four young friars and two older mentors, arrived in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday feeling energized by all the people they met on their trek.

"Anything can happen when you live in the moment, one step at a time," Mark Soehner, 51, one of the mentors to the young friars, told The Washington Post. "But to find that out, you have to be willing to take that one step."

The four young friars got the idea for the pilgrimage shortly after completing training in Chicago. Still needing to do some work before taking their lifelong vows, the young men decided to embark on a meditative journey, ministering to one another and to strangers while depending on God — and kindly mere mortals — for food and shelter.

Last month they drove their van from Chicago to a church outside Roanoke, Va., and simply started walking. Their plan began working almost immediately. Although the group agreed they would carry no money, within hours strangers practically forced dollar bills into their hand. (The group agreed to use some of the money to buy food, but anything extra would be donated to the needy.) They walked 15 miles on their first day and at dusk knocked on a firehouse door seeking shelter. They decided to sleep on the giant trampoline in the backyard — not such a wise idea once they all started gravitating toward the center — but the corned beef sandwiches the next morning gave them to pep they needed to keep walking.

In the weeks that followed they spoke to dozens of people, many who sought them out for spiritual guidance, such as college students trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives, or the woman who had been thrown out by her cheating husband.

"Dressed like we are in our habits, it's like a walking sign that says, 'Tell us your life's problems,'" explained Cliff Hennings, the youngest of the friars at 23.

Helping others without demanding anything in return, embarking on a journey without any expectations, seeking peace for themselves and others. Kinda of makes us want to go on a spiritual journey, too.

Photo courtesy of C-Ali via Flickr.