Learning to lead others to walk with Jesus in joy

A group of St. Juan Diego Perpetual Pilgrims walk towards the entrance the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama on their leg of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. Three Houstonians walked on the pilgrimage, including Mackenzie Warrens. (Photos courtesy of Mackenzie Warrens and by James Ramos/Herald)

Editor’s note: ‘Revival Begins Here,’ is a series featuring reflections by Perpetual Pilgrims from Houston who walked on the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage this past summer, as well as those who attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.

The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage created opportunities for people to experience communion with both God in the Eucharist and neighbor, both of whom make up the Mystical Body of Christ. Our mission as perpetual pilgrims was to bring Jesus in the Eucharist to people who might not meet Him otherwise so their hearts could encounter the Sacred Heart and be transformed.

I got to experience that with my team as we lived in an authentic Christian community — an experience that has profoundly changed me.

My experience of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage was different from the average perpetual pilgrim’s experience because I was the team lead of the Juan Diego Route. My grave duty was to love and serve my team so they could love and serve the public. This reflection is an insight into life as a Juan Diego pilgrim and how the Lord touched my heart through my beloved teammates.

In February, all of the perpetual pilgrims from the four routes met in Minneapolis-St. Paul for our formation retreat. It was the first time I met my team: my beloved Juanitos. I knew from the instant we met that they were an exceptional team, but I had no idea what the Lord actually had in store for me. As I have told my pilgrims countless times, I could not have been given a better team. Tears often fill my eyes as I think about my team, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for them. Truly, they are a gift from the Lord.

One of my duties as team lead was to step in and help resolve conflict as needed, following the Matthew 18 principle. I never had to intervene. Not once was I concerned about team dynamics going south. Whenever there was conflict, the two pilgrims worked it out themselves with great maturity and the love that is seen in saints, which makes sense, as every Juan Diego pilgrim is striving for sanctity with their whole heart. When one Juanito (what we called ourselves on the pilgrimage) hurt another, that pilgrim acknowledged their failure to love, sincerely apologized, affirmed that they love their teammate, and asked how they could better love their teammate going forward.

Warrens, who served as a team leader for the St. Juan Diego Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage that began in Brownsville, carries an icon of St. Juan Diego at the opening session of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, where the pilgrimage concluded in July.

I was blown away when my team decided this was how we would approach conflict resolution. I did not impose this on them. I was even more amazed every time when they actually did it.

I was told countless times that halfway through, we would be counting down the minutes until we parted ways. Those predictions could not have been more inaccurate. At the midpoint, we had a mini-retreat at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. We told our chaplain that we wanted to go deeper. We went much, much deeper together in love as we vulnerably shared our hearts, asked for prayer, cherished each other in our vulnerability, and prayed over each other. Now, we are counting down the days until Jan. 11, when we will be reunited at my consecration: the Mass where I will marry Jesus and become a consecrated virgin.

Another aspect of the Juan Diego love that stands out is joyfully playful childlikeness. If any other route laughed more than my team, they would still be at the starting point, curled up in a ball and crying from laughing so hard. Truly, we enjoyed the great adventure that the Lord was taking us on. Whether we were wearing fake mustaches to a coffee shop, climbing trees, playing Bananagrams in any minute of downtime, jumping off 50-foot towers (attached to an auto belay), or stopping at every Buc-ee’s we passed, we had a blast. The Juan Diego childlikeness could not be better captured than when we shared the fun and silly Jesus Jive dance at the very formal closing banquet with benefactors and bishops. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and must be shared!

During Adoration on the last night of the formation retreat in February, the Lord said to me, “This is the beginning of the rest of your life.” I eagerly look forward to the adventures and communion that He has in store, especially as His (soon to be) bride, and bringing that joyful, childlike Juan Diego Christian community to the Archdiocese.

Mackenzie Warrens, who hails from Kansas City, Missouri, is in her 7th year of her Ph.D. in experimental atomic physics at Rice University in Houston. She attends St. Vincent de Paul Parish and is also set to become a consecrated virgin in January 2025.