By Father Joseph Chan Wing-chiu
This year is a holy year and many of the faithful in different countries are participating in pilgrimage activities. Apart from overseas pilgrimages, the Diocese of Hong Kong also has nine churches designated as pilgrimage sites. During this month, I had two opportunities to go on pilgrimage to Our Lady of Joy Abbey on Lantau Island where I found myself being a pilgrim on the one hand, and a host on the other.
The former, obviously, because I am a pilgrim being received by the brothers of the monastery, and the latter because there are other pilgrims who arrive at the place later than me. So to a certain extent, I do some basic hospitality, such as pointing out toilets or places to rest so that they can settle down, or showing them the way to the person they should be in contact with.
I was also able to serve as a host for a short period of time while the pilgrims were travelling on the pilgrimage. This experience led me to reflect on the fact that in ancient times, the early pilgrims were in fact maintaining a relationship with the God they believed in, and that their own experience called them to that moment and place, to return to the roots of their faith, and to be willing to meet God again. Whether it was the Jews who went to the Temple for their feasts or the early Christians who returned to Jerusalem to walk in where Jesus’ footsteps, these are pilgrims’ intentions; to return to the roots of their faith and establish a deeper relationship with it.
When the faith in Jesus Christ began to spread, it travelled to faraway places. The believers there also wanted to be in the place where Jesus had lived and to visit the tomb from where he ressurected. The early Christian pilgrims travelled to Jerusalem from all directions and across thousands of mountains.
Later, due to religious persecution, many of the apostles moved to more distant areas to avoid disaster and to spread the good news of the gospel to wider areas. Later generations of believers also travelled to their places to commemorate their sacrifices and contributions for the faith, and gradually other pilgrimage routes and destinations were formed.
Pilgrimage is not about the places we go, but about what we seek, that is, God. Therefore, it is also very important. The life of a pilgrim is in fact a pilgrimage. We meet our Lord Jesus Christ at different places in our lives. When he meets us, we can either be received or we can receive him. Because he is still walking with us on this journey.
Sometimes we meet with other pilgrims and help each other to find the Lord in our hearts and to have an encounter with him, so we really become pilgrims and hosts each time. We help every pilgrim, including ourselves, draw closer to the Lord.
So whether we are in the workplace, or meeting with friends, or in the church or on other occasions, when we help people to encounter God, to find Christ, the source of their faith, we are also pilgrims and hosts on this pilgrimage.
