On December 29, the Church begins a Jubilee Year, with the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Maybe this is not a bad place for us to spend a bit of time, this week, as we head towards the celebration of Christmas.
There is a priest in Mayo that I have admired for many years – his name is Frank Fahey. I first came to know Frank when I spent a few summers at Knock Shrine during my seminary days. He was one of those people who influenced without being an ‘influencer’! Good humoured and prayerful, dedicated and encouraging, available and a witness to ministry. As a young seminarian, Frank deepened within me the desire to be a priest. I listened to him, watched him and felt my time was well spent doing both.
I mention Frank in these lines because one of the themes I have heard him return to many times through the years is the theme of ‘pilgrimage’. Since I first met him, his priesthood has been spent in two locations of pilgrimage: initially at Knock Shrine and following on from that his next appointment to Ballintubber Abbey. In both places, he knew what it was to see pilgrims arrive for a day or few days’ prayer and reflection. Some came on buses, others by cars and many walked. In arriving at Knock Shrine or Ballintubber Abbey a destination was reached but, in many ways, the journey had just begun.
The distinction Frank liked to make was one between ‘tourist’ and ‘pilgrim’. In some cases, the person arriving to either place, might well be a tourist – one visiting Ireland or Mayo and feeling that Knock or Ballintubber Abbey should be visited. A noble choice, for sure, but the distinction remains. In his telling, the tourist might visit to take a photo, pick up a souvenir, light a candle and maybe say a prayer. Later, the photo might be put in an album, labelled, “Visit to Ireland”, in which many photos find their place. The Guinness Factory, Mountains of Mourne, Book of Kells, Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Stone, Ring of Kerry, Wild Atlantic Way and more, would occupy space and might even be captioned. “I did the Ring of Kerry” … “I kissed the Blarney Stone”. Past tense, boxes ticked, and memories made. The tourist!
In Frank’s telling, the tourist comes to see something, to create a memory, enjoy and remember. The ‘Pilgrim’ on the other hand, journeys in the hope of change – maybe even, in the need of change. He or she leaves something open in the self that allows for change. This may well take the pilgrim to a deeper place called reflection and to a recognition that because of the pilgrimage, things will never be quite the same again. Far from the journey becoming a memory, it becomes the journey, travelling the roadways of life, accompanying on dark days and brightening the brightness that is God’s presence in our lives.
Isn’t Pilgrims of Hope a wonderful title for the year and opportunity ahead? In your parish and diocese, there will be many opportunities to engage with this year. Some may well take you on pilgrimage to local or far away destinations. Others will invite you to spend a bit of time in your own parish church. Some will see you walk and pray with fellow pilgrims, and others, will take you to a quiet place and the necessary words: “Bless me Father, for I have sinned…” All of this – yes, all of this – done as pilgrims, open to being changed and in the name of hope.
So, as the Holy Year begins, which box will we tick ‘tourist’ or ‘pilgrim’?
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Destination reached!
There’s an old story told of a taxi driver who was asked to take a tourist to “Christ’s Church Cathedral”. Caught in heavy traffic, the taxi driver decided on an easier location and drove to a nearby parish church. As he looks at the church, the passenger calls out: “This is not Christ’s Church Cathedral – that’s where I asked you to take me.”
The taxi driver replied: “If Christ isn’t in there, he’s out of town!”