WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PILGRIM?

20160703 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PILGRIM?

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

Isaiah 66:10-14 ©

Rejoice, Jerusalem,

be glad for her, all you who love her!

Rejoice, rejoice for her,

all you who mourned her!

That you may be suckled, filled,

from her consoling breast,

that you may savour with delight

her glorious breasts.

For thus says the Lord:

Now towards her I send flowing

peace, like a river,

and like a stream in spate

the glory of the nations.

At her breast will her nurslings be carried

and fondled in her lap.

Like a son comforted by his mother

will I comfort you.

And by Jerusalem you will be comforted.

At the sight your heart will rejoice,

and your bones flourish like the grass.

To his servants the Lord will reveal his hand.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 65:1-7,16,20 ©

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God all the earth,

  O sing to the glory of his name.

O render him glorious praise.

  Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

‘Before you all the earth shall bow;

  shall sing to you, sing to your name!’

Come and see the works of God,

  tremendous his deeds among men.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

He turned the sea into dry land,

  they passed through the river dry-shod.

Let our joy then be in him;

  he rules for ever by his might.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Come and hear, all who fear God.

  I will tell what he did for my soul:

Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer

  nor withhold his love from me.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Second reading

Galatians 6:14-18 ©

The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. It does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him to become an altogether new creature. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, who form the Israel of God.

  I want no more trouble from anybody after this; the marks on my body are those of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my brothers. Amen.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 10:1-9 ©

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PILGRIM?

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Isaiah 66:10-14; Ps 65:1-7, 16, 20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12.17-20 (or >< 10:1-9) ]

In the first reading, we read of Isaiah’s vision of the Church as the mother of all humanity.  The Church as the New Jerusalem is called to be mother for all.  From her, will flow the blessings of peace for the nations; from her, will humanity be consoled and comforted.  Indeed, the Church is called to be the mother because from her, we are fed, nourished, nurtured with food from heaven.   In her, we take our refuge and find our strength.   This is the calling of the Church, to be a mother for all of humanity.  She is the Sacrament of love and unity.

As pilgrims along the way to the New Jerusalem, we who travel in this pilgrimage of life are called to meet our Mother Church as we meet fellow Catholics from all over the world so that we see once again the glory of the Church as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.  The beauty of undertaking a pilgrimage is that we meet people of all nations, races and language sharing the same faith and love for each other.  We can be proud to belong to the Catholic Church of which she is our mother.  From her, we hope to receive new inspiration, a renewed hope for the Church and for the world.  From her, we hope to be enlightened and recover our common faith in Christ so that we can be evangelizers for Christ in the world.

Indeed when we go on a pilgrimage, we must shake off the attitude that we are tourists.  We do not go for sightseeing or simply to distract ourselves.  We are not even going for our friends but we are going there to meet Mother Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and most of all to meet our Lord who is present in the shrines we visit.   Regardless of whether we are literally going on pilgrimage or spiritually in pilgrimage, it is clear that we are like the 72 disciples who were sent out to proclaim the gospel.   We travel as pilgrims on the way to the Eternal Jerusalem, whether as a group or individually.

How, then, should pilgrims travel?  Firstly, we must travel light.  This was what the Lord instructed His disciples.  He said, “Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.”  Of course, we need not take these words in crude literalism but the spirit of the teaching is clear.   If we are called to travel light, it is because the journey is long and urgent.  As such, the Lord does not want us to be burdened with unnecessary baggage that prevents us from travelling with Him and our brothers and sisters.  This baggage is not simply the clothing and essential items we bring for the journey, but most of all the spiritual luggage of attachment to our loved ones at home and the comfort of our homes and most of all the sins that weigh us down.  We must also go for this journey without any preconceived ideas and expectations.

Secondly, we are called to depend and rely on the Lord.  This is why the Lord asks us not to carry too many things.  When we are at home, we have all our needs but as pilgrims we are deprived of many things except what is truly essential. When we enter into the spirit of such a pilgrimage, living on the essentials, we will come to discover the love of God and the freedom of the Spirit.  Quite often, it is because we are so attached to our way of life and our comforts that we feel that we cannot do without them.  Yet surprisingly in a pilgrimage, we come to realize that we need very few things to survive and be happy. We learn how to make do and make the best of what we have.   Somehow, we learn how to adapt, adjust and enjoy ourselves according to the constraints we are in.  More often than not, there will be many situations when we would have no one to depend on except the Lord.  This is the reason why the Lord does not want us to be self-sufficient but to trust in His divine providence.

Thirdly, we are invited to be open to the Lord for the surprises that come our way. We must abandon our expectations in our daily pilgrimage.  As pilgrims we travel with an open mind and a receptive heart.  We have no expectations except for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ into our lives as we journey with Him and discover Him in new ways, in new relationships, in sharing, in worship and in prayer.  The Lord comes to us in so many ways and therefore we must be alert and be receptive and not preempt how He wants to surprise us. We are told that when “the seventy-two came back rejoicing.  ‘Lord,’ they said, ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’”  Indeed, they were amazed at how the Lord used them for the proclamation of the Kingdom and empowered them even to cast our evil spirits and to heal.  So too, let us allow the Lord to surprise us and not dictate to Him how He is to perform miracles for us.

There will be some failures and hiccups as well.  This was what the Lord warned them. Not all would welcome them! They would face rejection.  Sometimes, they would not be successful in reaching out to everyone.  Not all are ready to welcome the Good News.  The Lord pre-warned them saying, “But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, ‘We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.’ I tell you, on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town.”  In other words, don’t take failures to heart.  Don’t take rejection to heart as well.  We must take everything in stride.  Things might not turn out the way we want them to.  But we should not be unduly worried because the Lord will take care of us.  We must turn every disappointment into another opportunity.

Fourthly, we must be one with the people wherever we are.   As pilgrims we are going to a different culture.  We must therefore immerse ourselves with them and not impose our standards, customs or ways of doing things on them.  This is why Jesus instructed the disciples as follows, “Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you.”  Indeed, we must not be selective and choosy.  We must not act superior.  Be humble and accommodating to what is given and the situation we are in.   We need to embrace the people, their culture, their food and their customs.  Identifying with the people is how pilgrims travel so that in every place, we are united with the people.  Only when we are identified with them, can we discover the beauty of their language, culture and customs.  As a result, we see the beauty of God, the wonderful ways people express their love for God.   We have much to learn from our host when we visit their country.

Fifthly, as pilgrims, we are to bring with us the peace and the love of God wherever we go.  Like the apostles, we are the messengers that the Lord has sent before us to prepare the way for the gospel to be preached.  But proclamation of the Word requires the soil to be prepared.  This is the work of pre-evangelization.  We need to sow the Good News through works of charity and compassion.  This explains why Jesus ordered His apostles and disciples to proclaim the gospel to the poor, to heal the sick, cast out demons and to proclaim the message of peace. “Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you.’”

Finally, we must be alert and take precaution.  We must not be too naive for the Lord reminds us, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”  As pilgrims we must therefore travel together and assist each other along the way.  We must look out for each other so that none of us will be eaten up by wolves.  We must not think only of ourselves but always be concerned about our fellow pilgrims.

Indeed, St Paul says, “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, who form the Israel of God.”  If we follow the guidelines set out for us by the Lord, then this pilgrimage, be it our daily pilgrimage on earth or literally taken, will indeed lead us to our Mother Church and bring many along with us on the way.  By our witness of love, of charity, and most of all unity, people will see how much we love and care for each other, and will be attracted to the Lord.

Yet, in the final analysis, the joy of this pilgrimage is that whilst bringing Jesus to each other and to the world, we find Jesus ourselves.  That is why, Jesus told the disciples, “Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.”  To know that we are counted among the saints of God and children of the big family of God with the Church as our mother, will make us proud to be Catholic and grateful to be one so that we will stand up for Jesus more and more.   Indeed, as St Paul says, “The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. It does not matter if a person is circumcised or not; what matters is for him to become an altogether new creature.”  When we become a new creature in Christ, then we can say that this pilgrimage is truly a success because we have learnt to die with Christ along the way during the pilgrimage and come back anew in the Spirit of the Risen Lord.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved