Philadelphians Walk — and Pray and Tweet! — with Purpose

Philadelphians are constantly in motion preparing for the World Meeting of Families this September that will bring Pope Francis to town. This is a major event for the city, which you know if you’ve encountered the Pope in Philly milkshake at Potbelly, for one of many things. The place is abuzz and Catholics are chatting, volunteering, opening their homes, and praying. At noon today will be a Twitter chat with some of the speakers. Earlier this week, women from the group Walking with Purpose prayed the Rosary around the site of the Meeting (the convention center).

Meet the Speakers! Visit tomorrow's twitter chat for new details @WMF2015 Congress. Follow #wmf2015 Wed., 1-2 PM ET pic.twitter.com/px27dOHOfh

— World Meeting 2015 (@WMF2015) May 20, 2015

Jillian Buhl organized the Rosary walk (which was conceived while talking with Lizanne Pando of the World Meeting of Families during a Catholic Voices USA Saturday prep event a few weeks ago) and talks with me about it:

KJL: What is Walking with Purpose?

Buhl: Walking with Purpose (WWP) is a Catholic women’s Bible study that aims to bring women to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ by offering personal study and small group discussion that link our everyday challenges and struggles with the solutions given to us through the teachings of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.”
It is an amazing seven-year-old, lay nonprofit organization, the materials are written by convert, mother of seven, ever-inspiring Lisa Brenninkmeyer.

WWP has nothing to do with walking. And I could actually talk about WWP for days!

KJL: What was the walk you did Monday praying the rosary? What was the purpose?

Buhl: A prayer walk — we started with the WMOF prayer, litany of St Gianna, litany of possibilities (I created for the WMOF prayer walk) and of course the rosary — the perfect walking prayer, the perfect prayer for Catholics to come together in universal familiarity and a beautiful witness as we carry our rosary beads.

I head up building the WWP national prayer team, and one of the ways I love to pray is over all the practical aspects for an event or details of a situation. Before an event we gather women to pray over each chair and for the woman that will sit in it, for all the equipment and technology, for them to be able to actually make it out the door and have some sacred time to be fed by their faith and their savior.
It just seemed obvious to me that we pray over this very large sacred space, for the people who will be speaking, hosting, planning, celebrating, and learning etc.

KJL: Who was there? What were some highlights?

Buhl: There were three ways to participate: On your feet — walking with us on the streets of Philadelphia — on your knees, and on your screen. We had 15 (it’s a start — and 15 for 2015!) mostly WWP women from the Philadelphia region walking with us and many more united with us in prayer — the prayers had been emailed out to the WWP prayer team.
A very special highlight was the periscope streaming of the rosary as we prayed in the cathedral and walked up the parkway. It was also very special when we got to the top of the art museum steps and looked back at the city and thinking is this where the altar will be for the Papal mass? — how grand — God’s plans are perfect and sometimes the perfect elements have been put in place decades and centuries ahead!

KJL: What’s the World Meeting of Families and why is it important to Philadelphia, the U.S., and the world?

Buhl: It is a celebration and a re-education of God’s holy creation of the family, an intimate community that is the foundation of community, culture and civilization. The family is in crisis, if it were an animal it might be on the endangered species list. We need to swoop in, protect what we have left and nurture it to a new beginning, stronger, smarter and understanding its value.

Lopez: As a Philadelphian, what does the pope’s visit mean to you?

Buhl: An outpouring of grace upon our city and all our people. The pope has presence that spans far beyond Catholics, this is an attention getting moment in time to ignite souls and rekindle our churches.

KJL: What will you be doing in and around the visit?

Buhl: I will be on call for Catholic Voices and will be part of a team hosting a booth in exhibitor’s hall for the Walking with Purpose ministry- we are very excited to have this opportunity to reach the hearts of women.

KJL: How can we all better walk with purpose this summer in preparation for the pope’s visit?

Buhl: Stop, be still and connect with the creator of heaven and earth that took time out to create you. Read scripture and find something that opens your heart, I am encouraging people to read Love Is Our Mission the catechesis for WMOF, its a beautiful teaching on the family.

Lopez: What are you grateful for?

Buhl: I can go on forever on this topic, but my quick response is: I am grateful that I can worship freely privately and publicly and that there is such a wealth of beautiful writing and tradition in the Catholic church to feed my curiosity and my hungry heart for the rest of my earthly days. I am a convert –18 years! — and I absolutely love my faith and God has given me the privilege to be able to plug in in a creative and exciting way.

Can I share a prayer?

Litany of Possibilities
Praise You, Jesus, you give us faith, help us live it.
Praise You, Jesus, you give us freedom, help us keep our eyes on you.
Praise You, Jesus, you planned this journey, guide us.
Praise You, Jesus, Give us understanding not division.
Praise You, Jesus, bless us with Vocations- holy and numerous.
Praise You, Jesus, lead us to renew our parishes.
Praise You, Jesus, protect our Children, encourage and form them in Your love.
Praise You, Jesus, Inspire our Young Adults to create community
and change our culture.
Praise You, Jesus, bless us with Global Communities serving and rescuing
in Your love and mercy.
Praise You, Jesus, Teach and inspire us through technology.
Praise You, Jesus, help us create Global prayer networks.
Praise You, Jesus, heal the sick and comfort the brokenhearted.
Praise You, Jesus, bless us with courageous Leadership that bridges
church and commerce.
Praise You, Jesus, ignite the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our youth.
Praise You, Jesus, help us build Christ centered community.
Praise You, Jesus, help us create Public displays of Faith where they
see our bold testimonies.
Praise You, Jesus, help us train Lay leaders for family centered formation.
Praise You, Jesus, bless us with Christ centered political leaders.
Praise You, Jesus, help us bring Catholics back to the sacraments.
Praise You, Jesus, let them see that our Joy is from the Gospel and
our love is from You.
Praise You, Jesus, open our hearts to huge displays of mercy.
Praise You, Jesus, equip us so the face of Christ be known to all.
Praise You, Jesus, we are blessed to live in a land of freedom
help us take it to the world.
Praise You, Jesus, that we live each day closer to You, Your Mother and the Saints, on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament! Amen

(Full disclosure: I helped found Catholic Voices USA, which has been collaborating with the World Meeting of Families and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to prepare Philadelphia Catholics for the event.)

UPDATE: From the Twitter chat:

@WMF2015 A3: 50% of our presenters are from outside North America! #wmf2015

— Dr. Mary Beth Yount (@WMOFDrYount) May 20, 2015

@WMF2015 Home for the Wounded Heart; Church Role–Mother, Teacher, Family. Panel will give hope! wmf2015

— Pat McCormack (@PatMcCormack5) May 20, 2015

@WMF2015 Q8 – I hope that we can show how grandparents have a key role in passing on the faith and keeping prayer at the heart of family

— Phil Butcher (@philfbutcher) May 20, 2015

@WMF2015 A6: Our mission to love includes times when we can't be together. we can be a witness to the world of unity and communion #WMF2015

— Joseph White (@JosephOSV) May 20, 2015