Editor's Note   Not the journey I expected   By Darcy L. Fargo

February 11, 2026

I was excited about the trip, but I was also dreading or uncertain about parts of it.

When I described the trip to others in the weeks leading up to our departure, I would say, “my friend and I are going to stay at a Catholic seminary with a bunch of young men studying to be priests so we can go to Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney. You know? Like normal people do.”

In addition to just being weird, both parts of that trip – the seminary and Groundhog Day – had me a bit uncomfortable.

I have never stayed at a working Catholic seminary before, and experience tells me that the best way to feel old is to spend time with a bunch of young people. I thought staying with a bunch of college-aged men – including three of our seminarians, Deacon Tyler Fitzgerald, Deacon Dennis Ombongi and Kevin McCullouch – would be uncomfortable and awkward.

I was wrong.

Just being at the seminary, St. Vincent’s in Latrobe, felt special. It felt like Jesus was there. Attending Mass and evening prayer at the seminary and having dinner with the three seminarians from our diocese along with two from Diocese of Steubenville was fantastic! Instead of being awkward and uncomfortable, being with these young men who love Jesus and share a special fraternity with one another was inspiring and life giving.

Then there was Groundhog Day. I worked for nearly three years for The Punxsutawney Spirit, the newspaper in that community famous for its weather-predicting rodent. I had already been to “Hog Day” twice in my life. My early experiences at the event weren’t all that positive. I strongly remembered getting no sleep and freezing as I stood in one spot for hours so I could get the perfect photo of the moment they pull Punxsutawney Phil from his stump. I thought this year would be similarly unpleasant.

I was wrong again.

While we certainly didn’t get much sleep (my watch said I got two hours and 40 minutes of sleep that night), and it was certainly freezing cold (single digit temperatures), Groundhog Day was fantastic fun!

My friend and I danced as a band played parodies of pop songs themed around Phil. We enjoyed fireworks early in the morning. We chanted for Phil along with a crowd of thousands of people. We booed loudly when the rodent predicted six more weeks of winter. It was wholesome, wild fun!

It turns out, I’m awful at predicting what God will bring my way. Where I expected discomfort, God brought joy.
My experience of that trip has me thinking about how many times in the last couple weeks I’ve told others that I’m dreading Lent.

I dreaded Lent last year, and God used that Lent to change my heart and change my life in countless ways.

While I’m not exactly looking forward to parts of Lent, I’m going to trust God to make this Lent what He intends it to be for me.

I’m excited for that journey.