Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Pilgrimage

This is a reflection for the readings of this day (4/26/2013) which may be found here.


The Pilgrimage of Israel to Christ is now the pilgrimage of Christ to the Father.

Thomas asked Jesus to show him the destination, but Christ did not reveal this to us. The only way we can experience the end of a pilgrimage is to make a pilgrimage. Why was it that Thomas, of all Apostles, asked Jesus “We do not know where you are going; how will we know the way?”

Thomas was anxious and doubtful. He had seen the power of God active in his own life but he could not overcome his worries. There are likewise many of us who experience doubts, whether it is the promise of tomorrow or the promise of eternal life. Jesus reassures and challenges Thomas simultaneously: Do not be afraid, if you follow Me you will be exactly where you need to be.

Did not Jesus begin by saying “Do not let your hearts be troubled”? All the same there are many things that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard.”

Jesus asks us to trust him, and should we have any reason to doubt his assurances? Yet even when we do doubt Jesus makes every effort to calm the storm in our hearts. If we are lost he will find us, if we are troubled he will comfort us, and if we rejoice he gently guides us. Perhaps Thomas' worry was that he might lose sight of Christ on this pilgrimage—Jesus reassures him that he would not be able to take the first step if He was not with him. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Apart from Him we do not journey. Let us, then, join the procession of Abraham, the patriarchs, the prophets, and all holy men and women who have walked where we now walk. Truly, on this pilgrimage you are precisely where you need to be.

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