Join Me In France!
Big news & callings that come full circle
I’m jumping into your inbox with an extra email to let you know the big news in case you missed it on social media: I’m thrilled to announce that I’m leading a pilgrimage to France from Oct. 12-22, 2022!
Join me for The Sacred Way: A Pilgrimage Across France. We’ll journey from Paris to Lourdes—with a 5-day river cruise down the Seine on the way.
We’ll visit St. Thérèse’s home in Lisieux, follow St. Joan of Arc’s footsteps in Rouen, explore Omaha Beach in Normandy, and join pilgrims from around the world in Lourdes.
Check out the trip itinerary & registration details here. I’ve pulled together a FAQ here, too.
The reason I’m sharing this news now is that Select International Tours is offering a rare deal to celebrate their 35th anniversary this month.
You can get $350 off per person on all new registrations booked between February 1-18, 2022. All you need to do is register and pay your deposit within these dates. This offer won’t be available again, so be sure to sign up before Feb. 18th for the best deal!
What feels like a lifetime ago, I studied French and art history in college. I lived in Paris for a semester and then spent a year in France serving with the Sisters of the Assumption.
So when Select International Tours asked me to lead this pilgrimage to France, I nearly laughed out loud. I figured it would be ages before I ever got to return to the city where I studied and the country where I learned to serve.
To say that I’m excited to return to sacred places that changed my faith is an understatement. I’m delighted at the prospect of journeying as a pilgrim with you. I hope you’ll pray about the possibility of joining us this October!
Let me know what questions you have—or feel free to share the news with a friend who might like to join.
As I’ve started preparing for this pilgrimage, I’ve remembered how my favorite vocation stories are the callings that come full circle. Once in a while, the calling you set down years ago—for good reason—becomes the gift you get to take up again.
Today I’m brushing off my French and praying for whomever might feel called to join us this fall.
I’ll leave you with these words I wrote years ago, when I first felt the stirrings that kept this calling alive:
When we spend years chasing one dream, plowing into the work and sacrifice it takes to strive for a worthy goal, then even when we turn and take up another direction, the pathways do not close completely behind us. There’s still electricity waiting to leap across the now-dark abyss.
In all my work on vocation, these are my favorite stories. Not I knew I wanted to be a doctor from the time I was 5 years old. Not I stumbled into this work, though looking back I can see God’s hand.
But I had this dream once, and I thought I let it go, I thought my life turned in a very different direction, but then it turned out that years later, I did get to follow that dream after all.
Peace,
Laura