”Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
Who desires not worthless things,”
From Psalm 23(24).
A pilgrim is one who takes a potentially transformative journey to a place deemed to be of significance in some way or other. In the spiritual life, we consider “climbing the mountain” to be a metaphor for our journey to union with God – the implication being that the journey is upwards and possibly difficult at times.
A physical pilgrimage is often made in the hope of spiritual, psychological or physical healing. Perhaps it is to be made in the hope of an epiphany of some sort, the journey providing time to slow down and take time to pray and discern God’s will. It may be made as an act of penance in the hope of forgiveness for regrettable actions. Maybe it could be for thanksgiving or is done out of loneliness or sadness at a time of mourning. It could be simply out of the desire for companionship in faith along the way.
As with many events in life that we look forward to, pilgrimages don’t necessarily provide you with what you think you need or desire – anything can happen and it is God who knows what you need!
A pilgrimage might take the form of a religious journey to a holy shrine, but it could also simply be your journey to Mass.
You could say that the whole of our life is made up of a multitude of pilgrimages, both physical and spiritual or you could say our life is one long pilgrimage to God.
We can plan a physical pilgrimage before embarking on it to an extent, but we also have to be open to the unexpected. Our spiritual journey to God has to be made similarly, needing to make practical plans but ultimately leaving ourselves in God’s hands in faith and trust, we cannot know what will actually happen –life often throws up unexpected challenges, just as any pilgrimage can.
Sometimes, going to visit somebody you know who is unwell or suffering can give you an opportunity to consider your journey to them as being a pilgrimage.
You intentionally pray to be held in God’s presence along the journey to their side so that you can in effect bring Jesus – the healer, the consoler, the source of love, compassion and tenderness – to visit them. Your pilgrimage is about bringing God to somebody else in an intentional way.
Our whole life journey, our pilgrimage as Christians, is punctuated with places where we are the givers of help and consolation, and places where we are the recipients of it. There are steep hills of difficult times to labour up and strugglethrough, and times of strolling along in a calmer, happier or more routine way.
The journey up the mountain can bring us to a stumbling block which sends us back down again as in a game of snakes and ladders. We have to keep re-climbing some of the difficult impasses until we find the way to progress – God will keep sending us the same challenges until we find out how best to approach and conquerthem. At times the best way to deal with this is “letting go and letting God” – stopping trying to control events that challenge us, but instead trusting with acceptance that God has it all in hand.
On the journey there will be times of resting and taking stock, contemplating the journey so far and perhaps anticipating that which lies ahead. Sometimes the way seems clear and at other times shrouded in thick mists. At times the path is straight and at others it twists and turns. Sometimes it branches off unexpectedly, leaving us with choices to make.
At each time of choice when we do not know which way to go, we do our best to discern God’s will – what is he wanting us to choose? Sometimes, no matter how much we try to discern what God wills for us, our prayers for answers, no matter how fervent, receive a resounding silence. Perhaps God sometimes doesn’t mind which choice we make?
Sometimes there is not a right or wrong choice or answer – it is about the way that we tackle whatever choice we make that matters, and it is just about making that special space for God, into and through which he can pour his grace.
As St Teresa of Jesus said “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing make you afraid. All things are passing, God alone never changes. Patience gains all things. If you have God you will want for nothing. God alone suffices.”
Rosie Bradshaw TOC
Note: This is our final reflection from our current series, “Steps on the Journey.” We would like to thank all those from the Carmelite family who contributed, and all of you who have journeyed with us over the past year. We will let you know when the next series will start. Keeping you in our prayers
