1 – The path of the ranger and of the rover

We describe the method of the third branch as a “path” which must be traversed. This path is beautiful, but also difficult, since everything that is beautiful and worthwhile demands effort. At first it is the pathway of going from the period of childhood into adulthood; from the pathways around the house out onto the all the pathways of the world. Next, it is a path going from being “served” to serving others. When the branches were green and yellow, others served you, and now you are preparing yourself for service, or are already serving those younger than you as a leader, that is, as a servant for their becoming more mature in all ways, and especially as a servant for their faith in Jesus Christ. The third pathway is the transition from the faith in God of your parents and your environment up until now, to your own personal faith in Jesus Christ, who is Lord of the universe but who longs also to be your Lord.

2 – The path of brotherhood and of wilderness

Euromoot is the entrance onto a special pathway which allows you to experience brotherhood with others, but it is also an entrance into the wilderness, which allows you to have a new meeting with Christ and to enter into communion with Him and also to follow Him in the form of service described by the eight beatitudes. For indeed every ranger’s and rover’s vacation “road” (journey) has these two dimensions: brotherhood and the wilderness. The wilderness always offers the opportunity to experience in a special way the presence of God, and His work, and at the same time the opportunity to renew and deepen love for God and neighbor. The wilderness was the birthplace of the Chosen People and their bond with God. It was in the wilderness that Moses taught the Law of God and led the People wandering toward the Promised Land to the formation of the Covenant with God by which that People became the Lord’s own and the sign of His presence and of His love. In the wilderness, John the Baptist foretold the Messiah and, in the wilderness, Jesus Christ began His public activity, that is, the building of the Kingdom of God on earth. The wilderness is a meeting place with God, of experiencing our own weaknesses and the need for help from God and from our brothers. Euromoot is a retreat circle, or a campfire, which is meant to revive us, but also to straighten out everything which, in our lives, in our relationships with God and with people, has become specious and insincere. This retreat is meant to revive in us the spirit of service of God and of our neighbor.

3 – Three pathways to be straightened

If we carefully analyze the words of John the Baptist, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” which are noted by each of the evangelists (Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:3; Lk. 3:4; Jn. 1:23), we see that the Lord who is coming is Jesus Christ and it is for Him that the way must be prepared. What does preparing the way for Him consist of? First it is to perceive Him in the crowds of people, in the blizzard of things to be done, in the tumult of modern times. We need to discover the face of the One who, being God, became man, so that man might know the face of God, that he might discover that God is near and constantly accompanies man. The Son of God became man and gave His life on the cross, that we might know who God is and discover, in the suffering face of the Son, that God loves us and that we are very important to Him.

God always bestows gifts upon His children, and if He makes requirements, giving us His commandments, He does it only in order that we might be free from all that harms us, and makes us capable of even greater love.