<p><!-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --></p>
<p> <br />
</p>
<div>
<p>A riveting journey of Providence, following Jesus down the Ohio River &#8230; </p>
</p></div>
<div>
<p>I missed the boat.</p>
<p>Well, I didn&#8217;t <i>actually</i> miss it. However, some logistical issues made it impossible for me to be on it …</p>
<p>Thankfully.</p>
<p>Of course, I’ll never know what it was like, but I now know what it’s like to chase a boat in a pickup truck.</p>
<p>It all began at the airport counter of the car rental place. It turned out that the cheapest vehicle on the lot was a brand-new, full-size, quad-cab, 4&#215;4 Dodge Ram pickup truck. Scratching my head, I asked the girl helping me how it was possible that this behemoth of a vehicle was cheaper than the subcompact sitting beside it, which could easily fit in its bed.</p>
<p>She shrugged.</p>
<p>I shrugged.</p>
<p>So be it.</p>
<p>Little did I know how valuable this monster-sized truck would be.</p>
<p>So, as I peered down at the cars around me, I left for Steubenville, Ohio, to meet up with the Seton Route Pilgrims, who were about halfway through their <a href="https://www.eucharisticpilgrimage.org/">Eucharistic Pilgrimage</a>.</p>
<p>The boat I’d be trailing was an old “sternwheeler” named the <i>Sewickley</i>. Aboard would be Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, the bishop of Steubenville, Ohio, the bishop of Wheeling, West Virginia, <a href="https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/father-roger-landry-eucharistic-pilgrimage-25-year-anniversary">Father Roger Landry</a>, a few clergy, and the “Perpetual Pilgrims.”</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_2"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240627090616_8e1f6344b0a007c2e418797cce4f8fe8f4a05769736a71ce54c8018c791f7c5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240627090616_8e1f6344b0a007c2e418797cce4f8fe8f4a05769736a71ce54c8018c791f7c5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1456" height="971" loading="lazy" alt="Upon arrival, Bishop Lohse hands Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to Fr. Roger Landry aboard the vessel ‘Sewickley.’"/><figcaption>Upon arrival, Bishop Lohse hands Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to Father Roger Landry aboard the vessel ‘Sewickley.’<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_2"} --> </p>
<p>In a first, in an encyclopedia of firsts, since the pilgrimages began, they would be sailing down the Ohio River about 30 miles and blessing several groups and locations at various points on the river’s banks.</p>
<p>I’ve never been to Ohio … or West Virginia … which was where the stops would occur. All I can say is: Thank God for GPS.</p>
<p>After the boat departed Steubenville, I traveled from location to location and met different communities of faithful: different, but the same, in that they were all awaiting Jesus on the gently flowing banks of the Ohio River.</p>
<p>Stunningly scriptural, I thought.</p>
<p>One stop was at a bridge … and this is where the megalodon of a truck came in useful.</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_3"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240627090616_8a86570dea2caccadb2b452c765714fa58e11058525112c2d281a83e810b019a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240627090616_8a86570dea2caccadb2b452c765714fa58e11058525112c2d281a83e810b019a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1456" height="972" loading="lazy" alt="Jesus aboard the Sewickely. "/><figcaption>Jesus aboard the Sewickely.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_3"} --> </p>
<p>It would have been a long walk to the center of the span …</p>
<p>But no signs read, “No Stopping” or “No Parking” …</p>
<p>So I rolled the dice.</p>
<p>As the boat approached some hundreds of feet below, I pulled the monster truck over mid-span, hopped out, stood up in the skyscraper-high bed, and gazed at the majestic view before me. The photo wasn’t so majestic, but it’s undoubtedly one of a kind.</p>
<p>So, in celebration of this feat and realizing that this was now officially an adventure, I stopped for a cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake because adventures like oversized pickup trucks require fuel.</p>
<p>Hours later, after covering all the stops, the pickup-boat chase came to an end. As the gathered awaited the boat’s arrival, I looked around: Countless folks of all ages were kneeling out of a soul-deep love and adoration for Christ, anxiously awaiting His arrival.</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_4"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240627090612_7bcccd166c91d0dd576a2821bfbbeba8ff221b6ce05e654822b86bf807be7d47.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240627090612_7bcccd166c91d0dd576a2821bfbbeba8ff221b6ce05e654822b86bf807be7d47" data-rendition-name="original" width="1456" height="971" loading="lazy" alt="The faithful await as well."/><figcaption>The faithful await as well.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_4"} --> </p>
<p>The boat docked, and a walking procession began.</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_5"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240627080652_43f5d24f199467fd1648a842e2fdd1502883a56e10a9cb469d9d66a366163c0d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240627080652_43f5d24f199467fd1648a842e2fdd1502883a56e10a9cb469d9d66a366163c0d" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Finally, the boat arrives in Bellaire, its final destination, where the Knights of Columbus await in formation."/><figcaption>The boat arrives in Bellaire, its final destination, where the Knights of Columbus await in formation.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_5"} --> </p>
<p>No more boats.</p>
<p>No more trucks.</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_6"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024062709064_a0859612a74045fc7a6de08adecc600164e1e2c96b0a91017580db604db05214.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024062709064_a0859612a74045fc7a6de08adecc600164e1e2c96b0a91017580db604db05214" data-rendition-name="original" width="1456" height="971" loading="lazy" alt="The procession begins its journey on-foot. "/><figcaption>The procession begins its journey on-foot.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_6"} --> </p>
<p>We were now all walking the same road … following Jesus.</p>
<p>I’ll leave it at this:</p>
<p>You’ll never be let down when you give your heart to Christ.</p>
<p>Sometimes, it may be beautiful … which draws us into His Joy.</p>
<p> <!-- EMBED START Image {id: "editor_7"} --> </p>
<figure><img src="https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024062709060_215a6a64b9eadc2ee26ff68105f78762b3470ff4946fa478c64c0ceb12291e82.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2024062709060_215a6a64b9eadc2ee26ff68105f78762b3470ff4946fa478c64c0ceb12291e82" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="The procession continues from the boat to the cathedral"/><figcaption>The procession begins under threatening skies.<span>(Photo: Jeffrey Brunno )</span></figcaption></figure>
<p> <!-- EMBED END Image {id: "editor_7"} --> </p>
<p>Sometimes, it may be painful … which draws us into His Passion.</p>
<p>And sometimes, it may be unpredictable and uncertain … which binds us closer to Him.</p>
<p>And sometimes that’s the best part.</p>
<p>Because you know what else is filled with unpredictability and uncertainty?</p>
<p>An adventure.</p>
<p>And who doesn’t love an adventure, especially when your guide is Jesus Christ.</p>
<div class="embed-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I missed the boat.</p>
<p>Well, I didn&#8217;t actually miss it. However, some logistical issues made it impossible for me to be on it…</p>
<p>Thankfully.</p>
<p>Of course, I&#8217;ll never know what it was like, but I now know what it&#8217;s like to chase a boat in a pickup truck.</p>
<p>It all began at the airport… <a href="https://t.co/PIKes07HOL">pic.twitter.com/PIKes07HOL</a></p>
<p>— Jeffrey Bruno (@JeffreyBruno) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffreyBruno/status/1805381204704735704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2024</a></p></blockquote></div>
</p></div>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br />
<br /><br />
<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/blog/chasing-jesus-on-a-boat-in-a-pick-up-truck-eucharistic-pilgrimage">Source link </a></p>
<p><!-- END THEIA POST SLIDER --></p>

Chasing Jesus on a Boat — In a Pickup Truck| National Catholic Register
