PILGRIMS
The title of my homily is, “Pilgrims.”
I thought of this topic on this the feast of St. James - “Santiago”.
Today - July 25th - I assume extra pilgrims will arrive at
Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
Each year, for the last 30 years, a couple of hundred
thousand pilgrims make their way to the city of Santiago de Compostela in
Northwest Spain - the Galalcia region.
There are several ways or routes to take: the Portuguese, the French,
the English and the Spanish ways.
Different pilgrims - different routes.
The idea is simply to make the pilgrimage - short, long
or medium length - or break it up for different times in one’s life.
Three thoughts.
FIRST: EGO FREE
Reflecting on today’s gospel about wanting to be number
1, a pilgrimage is the opposite of being all ego - or trying to be number one.
I went to Santiago de Compostela once - but we didn’t do
the walking. We arrived there by bus -
which we got on - from our cruise ship.
Close to the city of Santiago de Compostela, we were looking out the bus window - watching
and wondering about these nameless pilgrims. They were carrying heavy back packs
as they were arriving at the city.
We finally arrived at our destination: the big cathedral
of St. James. We got out of the bus and headed for Mass where we saw all these
nameless folks.
So a first message would be to be nameless, to be ego
free, to simply be a pilgrim - a learner, a watcher, a listener - on the
journey of life.
When I’m on a tour, the one person I don’t like on our
bus or tour is the show off. They are
the type who have to let those with them know that they know all about
everything. We use the classic label: the know-it-all.
Translation: use ears and eyes more than mouth.
When it comes to Santiago de Compostela, there are about
300,000 pilgrims each year. I sense that
such a trip should be an ego free moment. For a week, a month, or even a 50 day hike, one puts one foot in front of
the other - head is down as one walks step by step in pilgrimage to Santiago de
Compostela.
SECOND THOUGHT: CHRIST CENTERED
I assume that those who do a holy pilgrimage should become
more Christ centered.
I assume one meets and thinks good stuff - Christ stuff -
and they begin to deepen their faith and their following of Christ.
The gospels feature Christ on the road - many roads - that eventually
lead to Jerusalem.
The symbol one receives at the end of the journey to
Santiago de Compostela is a shell.
A shell can be a symbol for many things.
Here it can symbolize one’s baptism - being dipped into
the waters of Christ - as James was called that day near the waters of Galilee.
He was called that day - along with his brother - to walk with Jesus - much to
the delight of his mom as we heard in today’s gospel [Cf. Matthew
20: 20-28.]
So that’s my second point: a pilgrimage ought to get us
in touch with what we ought to be doing with our life - to
get us in touch with our callings.
THIRD:
DISCOVERING ONE’S GIFTS AND DIFFERENCES AS APOSTLES
In being a follower of Christ - one slowly compares oneself
with fellow walkers - and talkers - along the way - and one sees one’s
differences - one’s uniqueness, one’s
gifts.
Traveling together can be a wonderful learning
experience.
I think of the difference between the apostles: Peter becomes
a leader - who tends to put one’s foot
in one’s mouth. Thomas is seen as a doubter. Andrew brings people to Jesus.
Philip brings food to people who are looking for Jesus. John poetically imagines Christ.
In other words, we start off as a we - as a Christian -
but we also become a me - like James.
There is an anonymous - a face in a crowd - aspect to us
- but there is also a particular, a unique side to all of us.
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily has been “Pilgrims”.
Think Spain. Think Santiago de Compostela.
Think Rome, Lourdes, Chartres, Fatima and Israel.
