In an interview with Most Rev. Socrates Villegas, Archbishop Elect of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, as published in the Philippine Star of Oct. 25, 2009, this question was posed to him. “What is the significance of a pilgrimage to modern-day Filipinos?”
The answer he gave has further deepened my understanding of this religious activity. And so I quote: “A pilgrimage is actually a departure from the self to God. Sometimes it is a departure from comfort to a moment of sacrifice, like the pilgrimage of the Way of the Cross. The important thing to keep in mind is that God is walking with us and God will be our destiny. For me, however, the most important pilgrimage that we need to make is not to the holy sights, but the pilgrimage to Jesus in our midst. In other words, we don’t need money to make a pilgrimage. What is important is for you to have love. So from your house, you can make a pilgrimage to a government hospital to visit a sick person, or someone who has been forgotten by his loved ones. Or to an orphanage, or to a home for the aged. That is also a pilgrimage.”
Reflecting on the answer of Archbishop Socrates there are four important points that further enlightened me and broadened my concept of a pilgrimage.
1. It is a departure of self to God.
2. God is walking with us and He is our destiny.
3. The most important pilgrimage is to Jesus in our midst.
4. Love is what we must have to make a pilgrimage.
The first point stresses an attitude of unselfishness, of dying to oneself. This I believe is what our Lord Jesus Christ meant when He said: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn.12:24) In my understanding one has to give up any vestige of selfishness and make a complete surrender of oneself to the Will of God. To partly fulfill the call of dying to oneself, I have made it a habit to pray every time I visit the Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament so that with His grace I can heartily say: “Here I am Lord, I come to do Your Will.” and then go out of my way to be of help to whoever God sends my way.
The second point makes me aware that God, indeed, is with us. He is travelling with us and is our final destination. It means that we are never alone, because God in His infinite goodness is ever ready to help us. This reminds me of the story of a man in the “Footprints on the Sand”. Given the privilege of looking back at his past life and seeing two pairs of footprints he was told that the other pair of footprints belongs to the Lord. Then he noticed that when he was in great trouble there was only one pair of footprints. So he questioned: Why, Lord, have You abandoned me when I needed You most? The Lord answered: “When you were in great trouble it was then that I carried you in my arms.” Verily, God never abandons anyone.
The third point makes me realize that Jesus Christ is very much alive in this world, for He said: “I am with you always until the end of this world.”(Mt.28:20) By the power of the Holy Spirit He lives in us and therefore He should be the Center of our life. Like St. Paul we can strive to say: “It is no longer I that live but Christ Who lives and reigns in me.”(Gal. 2:20)
The fourth point which is love gives the very reason for our existence. We were created out of love and our life can only be meaningful if we love. The essence of love is unselfishness which is actually the opposite of sin, the essence of which is selfishness. This brings us back to the first point which requires a departure of self to God.
In a nutshell, a pilgrimage is a journey towards our permanent address- HEAVEN, where we shall live with God forever.
By: Salvador "Buddy" Cagurangan
Date: Nov. 1, 2009
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