The road to Christian unity
It’s long. It’s rewarding. It involves Gatorade.

Day 64, Feb 17, 2007: Clear with Fernando and Junior, sons of a single dad who live in a small tin shed on their modest piece of land near Sua-Sua in Venezuela. Clear met the family at 9pm the previous evening as he walked past their farm. They offered him food and a place to hang the hammock he carries for sleeping. (Photos courtesy Samuel Clear/Walk4One)   A closer look at Samuel Clear: Favorite book: The Simple Path by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Favorite movie: “The Shawshank Redemption” Favorite food: “My mom’s shepherd’s pie. And fresh fruit. I love fresh fruit.” Favorite band: U2 Favorite song: “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 Favorite saint: Saint Francis of Assisi. “Unity is about renewing the Church, which is what Francis is all about. When he said, “I’m giving everything away,” he truly did. He’s one of my heroes. Also, Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.” Best advice he ever received: “When you don’t know what to pray for, ask the Lord, ‘What should I pray for?’” Favorite sports: “I love cricket. I also like Australian rules football. My team won the Grand Final this past season. It’s the first Grand Final they’ve won since 1963, so I’ve still never seen them win.”

“As we draw closer to Christ we draw closer to one another…. It’s important for us to be united with those who are less fortunate, who are struggling, and to go outside of our comfort zone.”

Samuel Clear is not the kind of person who shies away from adventure. Growing up in Tasmania, a small island off the coast of Australia, Clear, 29, enjoyed mountain climbing, hiking, and riding his motorbike across his island home and the country’s mainland. Still, it was not until December 2006 that Clear first traveled outside of his home country. And he hasn’t been back since.

Clear, a Catholic, is in the process of walking around the world in an effort to promote Christian unity. With little more than a backpack filled with gear, a couple of walking poles, and a whole lot of faith, Clear has journeyed thousands of miles and met hundreds of Christians of all denominations in an effort to increase awareness of his cause. He plans to make it back home to Australia by July to attend World Youth Day in Sydney. Catholic Digest caught up with Clear during a rest day in Poland to discuss his missionary work, men with knives, and why he loves Montana.

CD: So you’re in Krakow, now. How are you enjoying it?

CLEAR: I’m enjoying my rest day. Poland has been interesting. I feel a lot safer here than I did walking across Russia and Belarus. But unfortunately the reception at the churches hasn’t been terribly good.

CD: In what sense?

CLEAR: I’ve had quite a few priests actually throw my calling card back at me and tell me to get lost. But then I have other priests who, as soon as they hear what I’m doing, they usher me inside and they want to feed me, and they invite people around to meet me and to extend the call to pray.

CD: Did you expect everyone to welcome you in, or were you thinking it would be up and down like it has been?

CLEAR: To be honest, I thought that because I’m a Catholic missionary I would instantly be accepted within the Catholic Church, and I thought that I might find some opposition to praying for unity from non-Catholic churches. But there have been some days where I’ve been shown very little interest at all from a Catholic church and then a Protestant or Evangelical church has welcomed me with open arms and invited people around so that we could speak and pray together and invite people to pray for unity.

CD: What do you think has accounted for the different reactions?

CLEAR: I think it’s personal. Some people carry the love of Christ in their hearts and some people you just catch on a bad day. Sometimes I really do have to go on the defensive and say, “Look, I’m not asking for food; I’m not asking for money,” because as soon as I open the door they start saying, “There’s a restaurant across the road.”

Day 97, March 22, 2007 Clear crossing the Andes mountains in northern Venezuela. (Photos courtesy Samuel Clear/Walk4One)   In Sam’s own words Visit Sam’s blog at http://walk4one.blogspot.com/

CD: What motivated you to take this approach to promoting and praying for Christian unity in the first place?

CLEAR: Well, I ride a motorbike, so I thought maybe I would ride my bike around the world or do something like that. But in the end, walking gives me an opportunity to meet more people and it also brings more attention to the need to pray for unity. A lot of people have become quite interested in what I’m doing simply on the basis that I’m walking.

CD: How did praying for Christian unity become the focus of your message?

CLEAR: I’m a mechanical engineer, but I worked with Youth Mission Team Australia, a Catholic organization, for the five years prior to starting walking. I’ve been confronted many times by people from non-Catholic churches saying, “You can’t call yourself Christian and be Catholic at the same time.”

Then, for personal faith building, I picked up a book compiled by Patrick Madrid called Surprised by Truth. It contains testimonies from different people about their journey to the Catholic Church. But what hit me was there were two testimonies in a row, one from an evangelical, one from a Pentecostal who had become Catholic. In becoming Catholic, both had lost their friends and family. It really ripped at me. In that moment I caught a glimpse of Christ’s pain at the broken Church. It’s as though we’ve crucified Him again through the breaking of the Church. It was almost devastating for me.

A couple of weeks later, I was kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament before Mass and I basically had it out with God and said, “You’re on your own. The problem’s too big. I can’t fix it.” And then once I’d shut up I just felt God saying, You’re right, you can’t fix it. But I can. I need you to pray. So I started praying for unity. My friends and I started to pray for unity every day at 4:01 p.m. — at 4:01 we prayed for one [Church].

As it started to build it started to take over my life. I resigned from work. I sold everything, and I spent a year planning.

CD: What did you do to prepare?

CLEAR: I basically bought about $400 worth of maps. I figured out my starting point and finishing point, then I drew a line around the world at the quickest route possible. I made a schedule with every single day mapped out. I did some work with the Youth Mission Team, even though I’d resigned. I also set about doing a little fitness training.

CD: What did you do to train?

CLEAR: A bit of everything. I played basketball. I went swimming. I did weights three nights a week. I went for a 40-kilometer walk (approximately 20 miles) every Saturday, and I’d go for a jog maybe once a week.

CD: How did your friends and family react when you told them about this idea?

CLEAR: The first people I spoke to about it were those on my youth mission team. The reaction was a unanimous, “Go for it!” That was a great boost. Mind you, they were all missionaries, so the reaction’s going to be a little bit more that way. Mom and Dad? The first thing Dad said was, “Well you better buy some good gear ‘cause it’s a long way.” He’s been really supportive. I think it’s Mom that’s carried the worry. Dad was concerned about me walking across Russia. He did point out a few times that neither Hitler nor Napoleon was successful in walking across there.

CD: You do seem to have gotten into some precarious situations, based on the stories from your blog. Did you expect that?

CLEAR: Not at all. I was completely ignorant of that part of it, but It’s probably a good thing that I was. I probably would have really had a second thought about doing it if I’d known how many times I was going to end up looking down a gun barrel or having a knife put to me, or having people trying to bash me up.

CD: Does it every discourage you and make you say, “All right, enough of this, I’m going home; I’m going back to my bed in Australia, and I’m locking the door?”

CLEAR: There hasn’t been any time where I wanted to go home. There have been times where I have been pretty scared. In Belarus I was on a quiet country road — no one else around, with forest on both sides — and I caught a glimpse of two men running through the forest, chasing me. Then they just came up to me. One of them kept reaching behind him — whether he had a gun or a knife, I don’t know. I got them both to the ground and that’s how I got away. As I was running I was meditating on the Passion and a Rosary and my reaction. It wasn’t really the same docile reaction that Christ had to his attackers. In those sorts of moments I have to very quickly resort to prayer. I’ve changed a lot since I started walking.

Day 59, Feb 12, 2007: Clear escaping the midday sun under an indigenous bus stop on the Grand Savanna in southeastern Venezuela. (Photos courtesy Samuel Clear/Walk4One)   Where’s Sam now? For a look at where Sam has been and where he’s headed next (or to download a detailed spreadsheet of his itinerary) visit http://www.ymt.com.au/walk4one/whereintheworld.html

CD: In what sense?

CLEAR: I don’t think I trusted God as much as I do now, even though now I still don’t trust Him enough. I would really try and take control of the situation very early on when I started walking. Now, in a way I expect that things are going to happen, so when they do I just trust it’s happening for a reason.

CD: Even if it’s some crazy, scary man chasing you?

CLEAR: Yeah, I think I just have to keep coming back to, “God, your will be done. If it’s your will for this to happen, let it happen. I’m not going to enjoy it but, yeah let’s do this and get it over with.”

CD: What are you thinking about while you’re walking? Are you constantly praying? Are you constantly looking over your shoulder, now, hoping no one is coming at you?

CLEAR: In Russia and Belarus, I’d do a shoulder check probably once every couple of minutes, but I hardly do it at all now. When I’m walking I do pray a lot. I pray a Rosary every day. I do sing a fair bit.

CD: Do you ever find yourself bored with the whole situation?


CLEAR: No. You’d think the scenery would change really slowly because you’re walking, but it doesn’t. Maybe my mind’s slowed down. I’m really quite interested in what’s around, the changing scenery, the people I’m meeting. The day seems to fill up pretty quickly. Plus, there’s the added benefit of being in agony and pain as you’re walking.

CD: How are you holding up physically?

CLEAR: Okay. My right knee has seized up a few times. I’ve literally not been able to bend it. There’s something wrong with my right foot; it feels like it’s on fire every now and then. My left pelvis had rotated backwards, but it’s actually gone back in. In the course of one day I might cover 50 to 70 kilometers (Approximately 31 to 43 miles) on a big day, and in that time I can go from being in no pain at all to having some serious problems. Or vice versa.

CD: What are you most looking forward to when you return home?

CLEAR: Probably just sitting there in the kitchen with Mom and Dad with the view. Just talking and taking all of Mom’s abuse for the last two years of agony I’ve put her through. I’m also looking forward to just catching up with my best friend, Dave. Maybe a game of backyard cricket.

CD: Has communication with local people been difficult during the trip?

CLEAR: Not too bad. I don’t need to ask for much. I can say what I’m doing, what my mission is in Polish. I actually learned Spanish that way. I can now stand up in a church and speak for ten minutes in Spanish. But in three days time I have to learn Slovakian and then another week later I have to learn German because I’m going into Austria; and then Italian, then French, and then back to Spanish.

CD: You’ll be able to work at the U.N. by the time you’re done.

CLEAR: No, I’ll just be completely confused. I think I’ll continue learning Spanish, but I think the other languages are all just going to melt into one big blob by the end.

CD: In spite of all these differences and the various reactions of people, have you had a moment when you’ve really that God is present and that you are particularly united with people around you?

CLEAR: I just feel God’s presence the whole time. One of the bigger moments was when I was crossing Shirley Basin in Wyoming; it took me three days. I started walking before sunrise and it was freezing cold, and when the sun rose the clouds disappeared and the chinook — a warm wind — came in and it melted all the snow. My water supply froze that night and the next day I walked for about three or four hours without water. A guy pulled over and said, “Do you need a lift?” And I said, “No that’s okay; I’m walking around the world on foot praying for unity with Christians.” The guy yelled out, “Halleluiah, Jesus!” And he pulled out this massive bottle of Gatorade and said, “I bought this when I left home and I don’t really want it. I haven’t opened it. It’s yours.” People saw me walking over the three days, and when I arrived in Casper there were a couple of media crews who wanted to know more. So I got to share the invitation to pray for unity with Casper through the media.

CD: What about people who aren’t able to do what you’re doing? How can they promote Christian unity?

CLEAR: Inviting people to pray for unity in truth and love, on the truth side of things, is basically getting involved in reading, actually listening during the homily, taking it upon ourselves to learn. As we draw closer to Christ we draw closer to one another. And as we draw closer to one another we draw closer to Christ. It’s important for us to be united with those who are less fortunate, who are struggling, and to go outside of our comfort zone.

CD: What’s been your favorite spot to visit so far on your journey?

CLEAR: There’s no one place. Montana was my favorite place as far as people. Walking through those states really reversed my own personal image of the U.S.

	Day 1, December 15, 2006. Clear starting his journey in Cape Branco the eastern most point of Brazil. (Photos courtesy Samuel Clear/Walk4One)

CD: What were you expecting?

CLEAR: I think I was expecting the rapper lifestyle, the mega-dollars. We see that really affluent lifestyle, the socialites, the sort of Paris Hilton lifestyle.

CD: It’s not our best side.

CLEAR: No it’s not. The thing is, we don’t see the other side. So we think that that is America. And so to walk through Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Montana — the people I met day after day, regardless of what church they were from, were just incredible. They were so friendly, so caring. In Montana I had people invite me into their home 15 days in a row.



CD: How are you financing the travels?


CLEAR: I sold everything. I was really stingy for one year. I had a little money saved anyway so I just put my life’s savings in, sold what I had, and started walking. It looks like I might be able to make it till the end.

CD: It’s sounds you’re like one of the Apostles being sent out with just your sandals.

CLEAR: I have a little bit more than they did — I’ve actually got a backpack with gear in it.

CD: Do you find yourself just translating every distance into how long it will take you to walk?

CLEAR: Yup. Today I actually went and visited the basilica where Saint Faustina Kozlowski was. As we were driving along, I actually looked at the side of the road to see where I would walk, what are the conditions like. So I think it’s going to take a while to get out of that mentality and to stop dreaming about it. I keep having dreams about the walk in different countries. I’m looking forward to that first time I wake up and say, “Where am I? I’m at home.” That will be great. CD

Kerry Weber is associate editor of Catholic Digest.