Going rather than getting

Ken Duncan, a famous Australian photographer, once said that some of his best photos were taken on the way to where he thought the best photograph would be. He said that he would often be headed to a particular location to frame a photograph when "out of the blue" another great opportunity for a photo would present itself. Ken even said that some of his family holidays never made it to their original destination because of the great "interruptions" along the way. Ken travels with the camera at the ready looking for inspiration.

The same can be true when on pilgrimage. Sometime we think that God will speak to us at a specific event that we are trying to get to. Yet it is often something that seems like an interruption that God uses to stir something in our heart. We are so focused on the big events of our lives that we often overlook the hundreds of smaller opportunities that present themselves every day to get to know God better.

In his homily at the Pilgrims Commissioning Mass, Bishop David spoke about going on pilgrimage rather than getting to your destination. He shared his experience of getting to the tomb of St James on a tourist bus. He had arrived at the destination as a tourist where as those who arrived as walking pilgrims gained so much more because of going on pilgrimage. Bishop David encouraged all the WYD pilgrims to see that it more about going With God than getting to the destination.

So really the pilgrimage has already begun. The moment that you said you are going to World Youth Day was the beginning of your pilgrimage. For some of us that was three years ago at WYD08 in Sydney. For others your pilgrimage may only be a recent journey. Either way the journey of going on pilgrimage has already started and therefore maybe God is already talking to you. Please don't overlook the journey you already on just because you haven't begun the journey of getting to WYD.

Perhaps you might recognize this sense of already going on pilgrimage by writing journal entries now. What do you feel God is saying to you? What is stirring in your heart about going on pilgrimage? How are you feeling about going deeper with God? Are you planted in Christ, are you being built up by Christ? Are you firming in the faith?

Please leave a comment about how you are feeling about going on this pilgrimage with God.