It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just a few weeks away. Advent is a wondrous gift of our Church. We sit waiting with anticipation the birth of Christ anew in our lives. Thousands of years ago the Holy Family made a pilgrimage, a journey, to Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph went with faith and trust where they were called. I remind myself often that this faith and trust doesn’t mean they weren’t afraid, concerned or anxious. Nevertheless, they journeyed forward along the path that brought them to the unassuming town of Bethlehem and a humble shelter shared by animals.
The purposeful journey of a pilgrimage, like that made by the Holy Family during the first Advent season, is a gift of our Church. When undertaken and offered to God as a testimony of faith and trust, we can be open to gifts we cannot even imagine. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem and found themselves holding a baby, the Savior of the world, in their arms. What gifts might the Lord have in store if we were to take a pilgrimage?
This coming year brings us a unique opportunity to find out! January 2025 opens the Jubilee Year declared by Pope Francis and a call to be pilgrims of hope. Bishop John released his first pastoral letter in October titled TILMA – Testify o Church to the Light of the Mystery of Love. In the letter, Bishop John invites us to journey to one or all of six holy sites in the diocese to prepare our hearts, our families and our communities for what God has in store for us. Like Mary and Joseph so many years ago, God has plans for us. My heart yearns to find out what He has in store.
I’ve never made a pilgrimage and my mind races with questions: Will I ‘do’ it right? Am I worthy? Will my prayer life be deep enough, rich enough? Will I journey alone or with my family or my parish? I don’t know the answers yet, but I do know that I will go!
I am excited to unwrap the gifts of these pilgrimages. What will I find in my own backyard at St. Mary’s Basilica and Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix? What might I discover when traveling to places I am very familiar with like the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona and Sacred Heart in Prescott? How will I experience these sites not as a visitor this time, but as a pilgrim. What will God reveal to me when I journey to less familiar places like St. Mary’s in Kingman and St. Anthony’s in the Gila River Indian Community?
My heart beats with anticipation at the possibilities. I seek transformation in my relationship with the incarnate God so I can better testify to the Light of the Mystery of Love!
Fellow pilgrims, will you join me? Will you be bold and ask your family to join you? Might you organize in your own parish community an opportunity for others to join you? Let’s be a pilgrim people this Advent and Jubilee Year. I can’t wait to witness the personal gifts the Lord has in store for each one of us. May your Advent and Christmas seasons be full of anticipation and joy!
