Blog – Harvest Journeys

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Pilgrimage gives us an opportunity to seek what our spirit longs for.
It’s not just travel; it’s travel with purpose and faith that bears lasting fruit.

The Forgiveness Cross at the Heart of Australia

In the very centre of Australia, at the top of a mountain is an enormous Cross that is the realisation of a decades-long dream of the local aboriginal people of Ikuntji. Located near Haasts Bluff, 230kms west of Alice Springs, the 20m Cross made of core-ten steel stands at the top of Memory Mountain (Kurrkalnga Puli).
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Our Lady of Lourdes

The Graces of Pilgrimage

As Australians return to travel, the age-old tradition of pilgrimage calls us to journey with faith and encounter the graces and blessings of visiting the holy places. The night will begin with a Rosary, followed by a talk from Fr Grace on the Graces of Pilgrimage and a testimony from Juliana Elarde.
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Advent Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

In the spirit of Advent, a group of pilgrims led by Bishop Michael McCarthy, Bishop of Rockhampton, reflectively journeyed on an Advent Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. What a unique experience to be in Bethlehem during the Christmas season! See their photos below.
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Tasmanian Spirit Inaugural Journey

Tasmanian Spirit was our inaugural Catholic Roadtrip to the Southern Isle and was blessed by a wonderful group of pilgrims along with our chaplain Fr Michael Twigg OMI. Our pioneering pilgrims were the first to walk the pilgrim pathways of this part of Australia.
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A renewed era of pilgrimage

Engraved in marble along the side of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s tomb at her shrine in North Sydney are her words “Remember we are but travellers here”. Sage words from a woman who made a pilgrim of herself while on earth, travelling the length and breadth of Australia to fulfil her mission of serving the poor and remote, often on horseback in the most challenging conditions.
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Top End Encounters TP2201-1

A pilgrim’s encounter with the Top End

For Grace deZilva from Narrabundah in the ACT, the Top End Encounters journey through Darwin, Kakadu and the Tiwi Islands was enlightening and enriching. Read here her refreshing account and view her album of photos…
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Blazing a Desert Trail from Adelaide to Alice!

Bishop Greg O’Kelly led a group of pilgrims from Adelaide up through the desert heart of Australia with stops in Coober Pedy, Uluru and Alice Springs. There were Masses in underground churches, welcoming encounters with remote parish communities, and even time to hug a joey.
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Red Centre Pilgrimage with Fr Ken Barker MGL

Our First Pilgrimage to the Heart!

Thirty-five pilgrims ventured into the Red Centre on the first Harvest Journey’s Roadtrip from Alice Springs, via Kings Canyon to Uluru.
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Margaret, Pauline, Terry and Fr Michael Dyer

Delighted to be on the road again

Our very first Catholic Roadtrip has been a great success! After two years devoid of travel due to Covid, we are delighted that our pilgrims are on the road again.
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Founding owner Philip Ryall and new CEO Selina Hasham at Harvest's new headquarters in Alexandria NSW.

Harvest appoints new CEO as pilgrimage revival looms

Thirty-three years to the day when the first Harvest pilgrimage departed Australia for the Holy Land, founding owner Philip Ryall has announced it’s time for the company to welcome a new CEO, appointing Selina Hasham to the role.
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Pilgrimage to Mary

A unique kind of pilgrimage While the coronavirus pandemic has made travel unavailable for the time being, we believe there are still graces to be gained by experiencing sacred sites virtually. 
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Elizabeth Lev Sistine Chapel

The Unheard Story of the Sistine Chapel

The Sistine Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings on earth — but there's a lot you probably don't know about it. In this tour-de-force talk, art historian Elizabeth Lev guides us across the famous building's ceiling and Michelangelo's vital depiction of traditional stories, showing how the painter reached beyond the religious iconography of the time to chart new artistic waters. Five hundred years after the artist painted it,...
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Philip on the Jesus Trail, Mt Arbel, Israel

Back where it all began

A heartfelt conversation with Harvest's founder Philip Ryall: "I had a powerful encounter of God as a young teenager where the scriptures were opened up to me in a fresh way at a Christian horse-riding camp."
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Jesus in His Homeland

You’re pinching yourself that you’re in the Holy Land. There’s a sense of peace and tranquillity. You’re moved by an overwhelming need to say ‘thank you'.
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Fatima Portugal

Full of Grace

“We could feel our hearts pounding like we could feel the closeness of Heaven,” says Eugene. Hours later, he wakes at dawn to capture an early-morning photo of the day’s first rays bouncing off the stone and steeples. “The location of our accommodation in so many of the cities we visited was literally at the doorstep of the churches or shrines,” he explains. “Everything was walking distance away. So to...
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Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse, Lisieux

Sojourn for the Soul

Inside a small, unassuming chapel on Rue de la Visitation in Paray-le-Monial about 20 wooden pews face a simple stone altar and a colourfully painted mural depicting the Apparition of Christ to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque. Sitting on one of these pews, Irma De Guzman discovers a profound connection between this French town and her home in Melbourne, Australia.
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Rome and Vatican City

When History meets the Holy

For Maria Shantharam, experiencing the site of Vatican City - The Eternal City - with its sea of travertine paving, towering colonnades and angelic sculptures, was like taking a trip in a time machine. “It was like stepping into an early civilisation. All of our histories came rushing to my mind,” she says. “I immediately felt peace within me.”
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Corinth Greece

Finding Renewal in the Ruins

Even those who aren’t familiar with St Paul’s mission establishing the early Church will know at least some of his writings. Whether it’s the passages about uncompromising love in his letter to the Corinthians, or his encouragement to pray without ceasing in his letter to the Thessalonians, St Paul’s epistles are often quoted and shared – thousands of years after they were first written and read.
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Journeying with Jesus

The road ascending Mount Tabor, is characterised by the hairpin turns that make for a thrilling taxi ride. But as you catch your breath at the summit, you’re struck with spectacular views of the Holy Land. Just as the disciples did when they witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus, you feel the desire to stay and soak in all that your senses will allow, as you stand in yet another place...
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Secrets of the Eternal City

Outside the doors of the Vatican Museum Geoff Nilon follows his Harvest tour guide, Vincenzo, past the queue of people that snakes 200 metres down the Via Vaticano. At the entrance, they sidestep the crowd and the heat to begin their afternoon tour through a historical and spiritual labyrinth of jaw-dropping art. 
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