Fr Brendan Quinlivan with members of the Killaloe diocese on their pilgrimage Pilgrimage is a time for young people to encounter God, writes Fr Brendan Quinlivan
One of the great films that explores the theme of Pilgrimage is The Way, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father Martin Sheen. At the heart of the film is the famous pilgrimage, or Camino, to Santiago di Compostela.
A father makes the pilgrimage, not necessarily from any religious motive, but rather in memory and tribute to his son with whom he had a fractured relationship.
In the early part of the film the son dies tragically as he begins the pilgrimage and his father undertakes the journey, scattering his son’s ashes at various points along the pilgrim way.
For the father, the pilgrimage is a quest for healing – a healing of his broken heart, healing of the broken relationship with his son.
At one point on the journey as he sits at table with fellow pilgrims he hears an echo of his son’s voice which says: “You don’t choose a life, Dad, you live it.” Could the same not be said of faith or spirituality? These things are not static but rather dynamic and active. Pilgrimage is a reflection of that notion.
In a time when many traditional forms of prayer and devotion do not seem to have the same resonance for Irish young people, it is interesting that they can still find great meaning in one of the most ancient and traditional of acts of devotion, namely Pilgrimage. That’s certainly our experience in the Killaloe Diocese.
Two of the key pillars of our youth ministry programme in the diocese are the annual pilgrimages to Taizé and Lourdes.
Over 100 young people drawn from every parish and secondary school in the diocese participate in these events each year.
Preparing for the journey
Every January the Youth Director of the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage, Fr Michael Geraghty of Nenagh, invites schools and parishes to nominate a young person between 16 and 18 years of age to participate in the pilgrimage.
In the early years it was simply a way of getting people to help with the sick and assisted pilgrims. It was a way of recruiting strong and energetic young people to push wheelchairs or pull the blue chariots that are synonymous with transporting the sick pilgrims in Lourdes.
Time and experience have given it a deeper significance. It has become so much more. It is now a time when these young people engage in self-reflection and catechesis while at the same time exercising a practical and lively Faith in a spirit of youthful joy and friendship.
The young people who participate in the Lourdes pilgrimage each year make many sacrifices to be part of the experience.
On a practical level they may engage in fundraising to help meet their expenses but also will attend a series of preparatory meetings with the youth leaders to prepare for the journey. The youth leaders include people who themselves made the pilgrimage as young people in the past and have returned year after year to share their experiences and assist those making the journey for the first time. Some are seminarians also discerning their vocation and others are involved in education or have experience in working with young people.
Learning for life
The basic role of the young people on the Lourdes Pilgrimage has never changed. Their primary purpose is to provide help and companionship for the sick and assisted pilgrims. It is a remarkable dynamic and something truly wonderful to see. A relationship that begins tentatively and shyly when they first meet at Shannon Airport grows into something memorable and beautiful over the five days of pilgrimage.
The pace at which our young people live their lives is truly remarkable but here in Lourdes, they learn to slow down and wait. They learn to be more attentive to the needs of others and above all they learn to listen to the experience of a life that may be very different to their own.
Here they discover an intimacy with the reality of suffering that may not have touched their lives before now. While they may gain a renewed sense of gratitude for the ways in which they themselves have been gifted, graced and blessed with good health and well-being, more importantly they discover they have hearts with enormous capacity for love, care and compassion.
As one young pilgrim put it: “I came to help but I was the one who was helped. Some of the things I worried about don’t seem so important now. I have seen courage that I never thought possible.”
Pilgrimage Director, Fr. Tom Ryan (himself a former director of the youth section), is fond of the Gospel parable of the sower. “In Lourdes,” he says, “seeds are sown in the hearts of our young people that may not take root today or tomorrow but, by the grace of God, will someday flourish and bloom in their lives at the time when they will need it most”.
Pilgrimage within pilgrimage
It is important that our young people have time to interact with each other and that it’s not all just about the work. Real growth happens at these times of relaxation too. We’re not just talking about the sitting outside a café sharing crêpes filled with Nutella and bananas. A number of years ago, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly began a tradition, one continued by Bishop Fintan Monahan, of leading our young people on a hike to the village of Bartres about 6km from Lourdes.
It’s a village where St Bernadette spent some of her childhood as a shepherdess. The hike, or pilgrimage within pilgrimage if you like, is a great opportunity for bonding and friendship.
In a time when many young people complain of ways in which the institutional Church is distant from them this is an opportunity for them to connect with the shepherd of the diocese.
Different groups or individuals will take time to fall into step with the bishop in the course of a few hours and speak about whatever is on their mind from the trivial to the essential.
After a cup of Barry’s tea and a scone made from an Irish recipe at the café in Bartres, they have the opportunity to do it all again on the walk back to Lourdes.
Youth Synod
The regular hike to Bartres was put on hold this year as the Lourdes Shrine authorities invited our young pilgrims to participate in a preparatory meeting for the upcoming Synod of Bishops.
Pope Francis has called a Synod for October to explore how best the Church can minister to young people and help them in their vocational discernment. Gathered in a parliament style assembly our young pilgrims engaged in some personal reflection before breaking into small groups to answer key questions and make suggestions for issues to be considered by Pope Francis.
All present were impressed by the seriousness with which the young people engaged with the process.
While some of the suggestions that emerged from the small groups reflected some of the views prevalent in mainstream media such as the ordination of married men and women other more practical ideas were proposed as well.
The young people expressed a desire for a presentation of Scripture and Church teaching in a way that was more accessible and relevant to their lives and experience. They also sought encouragement for a more active role for young people in the liturgical and pastoral ministry of the Church. Ideas for a diocesan youth forum and the formation of parish youth pastoral council were also proposed.
Our young people participated with enthusiasm and can have the confidence of knowing that the opinions they expressed will form part of the deliberations of the Synod that will take place in Rome next October.
More importantly they received feedback from Bishop Fintan who assured them that their concerns and suggestions had been heard and that what could be achieved at a diocesan level would be worked upon.
Step out of ourselves
On a visit to the Cathedral of Santiago di Compostela in November 2010, Pope Benedict XVI reminded all pilgrims that: “To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history.
“To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.”
Lourdes is one of those places where God will reveal himself to those young people in a myriad of ways. As they make their pilgrimage through the world, may he be their constant guide and companion.
Fr Brendan Quinlivan is a parish priest in the Diocese of Killaloe.