20160703 WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A PILGRIM?
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Isaiah 66:10-14 ©
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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.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm
65:1-7,16,20 ©
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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.
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Second reading
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Galatians
6:14-18 ©
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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.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jn15:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends,
says the Lord,
because I have made
known to you
everything I have
learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 10:1-9 ©
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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
