We don't say "goodbye" we say see you again.

We have had some lovely tour guides on this trip (Yanni, Melina, Aret and Paola) and have become quite attached to them. They travel with us, eat with us, amaze us with their knowledge, joke with us and teach us some of their language. But they never say "good bye" when we move on and they never call us "tourists". They always say "see you again" and we have been regarded as "guests" in their countries.
Sadly, I am heading home early following the passing of my father-in-law Bob Stoddart. It's time to be with my family and pass on the beautiful support that I have received at this time from my wonderful fellow pilgrims. I'd like to thank them for their friendship, companionship, knowledge, sense of spirit, humour and open hearts, and could not have asked for a better group of people to journey with. A special thanks goes to Dr Dan White for his vision in making this pilgrimage possible. It's a wonderful initiative where a group of people can travel spiritually together regardless of workplace or the positions that we hold. We were simply all pilgrims on the same journey. I highly recommend it if the opportunity becomes available again. Thank you also to Cardinal Pell. It had been an absolute privilege to have come to know him and learn from him. Each day when we celebrated mass the readings and homilies built on each other, giving us a real sense of what St Paul was on about and discerning what really is important. I'd like to mention Deacon Sam who is also a wealth of knowledge and very willing to share his insights as well as support the Cardinal throughout this journey. I wish him all the best for his ordination in August. Any parish would be lucky to have him! Chris from "Harvest" has been the man behind the scenes and has travelled with us with patience, kindness and friendship. I'd especially like to thank him for his concern and efforts to get me home quickly and safely.
I hope that this blog has given you a small insight into the life of St Paul and might encourage you to find out a little more about him. He was the first true evangelist and was a superb model of faith, courage and persistence.
At the end of this trip I have been thinking about what the all encompassing Message for me has been and I think it is this: our Catholic faith and tradition is very special and very real. There have been many people throughout history who have made it their life's work to grow and preserve it. Many of them have been martyred in their attempts to do so.We are lucky in Australia that we are free to practice our religion openly and should do all we can to treasure it so that it will always be possible. There's no denying that numbers in our church are on the decline and we are called to be brave like St Paul and spread the message of one true God and His Son Jesus.

If you want to see how the other pilgrims finish up please visit: www.footstepsstpaulceo2012.posterous.com
Highlights will include: Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel and Assisi.

Signing off,
Rachel x