The start of a pilgrim journey with the Holy Father: My Itinerary

Edinburgh Papal Rout courtesy of UK tabloid Daily Mirror

THIS. IS. IT!!!

This is the moment so many UK Catholics have been anticipating for the last year! Today, he arrives at Edinburgh airport at 10:30 where I do believe he will be greeted by the Queen!
Nothing can really describe how excited I am about his Holiness' arrival to this country. Why exactly? Well for so many reasons to do with enhancing and sustaining my faith through his actions and words, and celebrating LARGE with so many other Catholics by storming random parks around the country, but mostly because of the way I see this situation.

Pope Benedict XVI is so deeply hated, so deeply misunderstood. Do you not think that the news of this hatred would not hurt the Holy Father? For my beloved Pope B to see how lost God's children in this country have become? Of course it would. Just like the knowledge of the betrayal of those whom he loved most, hurt our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet Jesus did not shy away from God's will for him. And neither does Pope Benedict. No. Pope Benedict is embracing the hatred, the rejection, and the misunderstanding of the crowds, just as Jesus did 2000 years ago. How much more could one love God's representative on earth, a man who will suffer at his very core when he sees the evidence of men's destruction of the Truth, take that suffering, and offer it to God in reparation for the sins committed? In a funny way, I want this of my beloved Pope. I do not mean this in a nasty way. I'm saying that my wish for him to suffer, stems from my hope that he can save the souls of some of the misguided and impartial in our country, and also save the souls of the faithful too. I'm not expecting that everyone should become fully fledged Catholics, but if this suffering be the result of my fellow people opening their hearts to the possibility of God's love, then what greater grace could have been bestowed on this one man from God? His love for us is being proven by this 83 year old man, who wants us simply to reconnect with each other as human beings, to respect every single soul (and that includes embryos), and to open our hearts. Our society so badly needs someone to bring Jesus back to us - and who better than Il Papa? The world is awaiting the words of my Holy Father. And I pray that today, those precious words shall be delivered with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

And so in 1 hour, I shall be on the tube, making my way to Euston for the 07:30 Glasgow train. If you do see me, say hello! My intention is to capture video and photos of all the joy that will be happening around the Glasgow area of the pilgrims going to Bellahouston. Unfortunately, I will miss the Popemobile journey through the streets of Edinburgh, but if you're in the area, I definitely wouldn't want you to miss it! Above, is a map that the Daily Mirror have allowed me to use. He will be driven through Princes Street, so definitely if you're in the area, head for that street during your lunch time!!!

I have NO IDEA how I will get from Glasgow main transport links to Bellahouston - I'm placing my journey at the hands of our Lord for this one, and hoping some generous group would offer me a lift in their coach or something! *chuckles* I'm a pilgrim, I like to take it easy and see what the Lord has in store for me! Hoping to meet some fantastic people, and share some stories via twitter on the spot.

Then I shall have access to the media area of Bellahouston Park. I'll probably be the only member of press with my face painted in the colours of the Vatican flag... so you can't miss me! I'll be tweeting from the grounds. I'll be uploading mobile phone footage of other pilgrims as soon as I get wifi signal direct to my youTube channel... so subscribe to my youTube channel for some pilgrim joy! I won't be all tweeting however, as I will need my time for prayer too. But, I'm there to share with the world our joy and love for the Holy Father.

After this, I head to the nearest Starbucks to charge my equipment, and upload stuff! Starbucks are about to make a mint out of me as I go into their stores all over the country for the use of their venue, toilets and wifi. I'd feel guilty to go in there and not purchase anything though... so I'll be spending a lot of my holiday money on skinny Hazelnut hot chocolates with a touch of cream on top!

So... do follow me on twitter! My username is @pilgrimclaz. Above is a link to my youTube channel. And don't forget that the best place to watch your papal visit coverage is on thepapalvisit.org.uk (or click here) and the best place to listen to it on radio is heartgivesuntoheart.co.uk (or click here).