July 2003

Over the summer months many of you will no doubt take part in one or more of the pilgrimages our various priories have organized here in the States or even abroad. Those who make the sacrifice to participate receive many graces. But whether or not you take part remember that all of us are pilgrims. As Saint Peter says in his first epistle "Beloved, I exhort you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal desires which war against the soul." We have been made for heaven, our final home. Therefore here on earth we are "strangers and pilgrims" and we must act accordingly.

To do this we must first of all realize that, in fact, we are pilgrims. Those who travel away from home often grow enamoured of the strange land they are in and seem to forget, for a time, their own country to which they must return. The Christian pilgrim often acts the same. He engrosses himself in the goods and pleasures of time; meanwhile forgetting the object of his creation and position on earth. Thus he neglects the affairs of his soul and the interests of eternity. His first duty will be to correct this and recognize his position as a pilgrim.

Besides pleasure, journeys also entail difficulties. Whether it is the cold or heat, fatigue or actual danger, the traveler must set out prepared. Likewise the Christian pilgrim has trials to bear. There will be the temporal crosses such as sickness and misfortune. And there will be the spiritual difficulties such as temptations, passion or tepidity. The Christian pilgrim must be prepared to meet them all with fortitude and courage. Like gold purified by fire in the crucible, our souls must be purified by the fire of charity on the crucible of the cross —a cross which God in his goodness puts into each day. Nor do these trials compare with the glory to come as Saint Paul says: "Our present light affliction, which is for the moment, prepares for us an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all measure." (2 Cor. 4:17.)

The traveler’s habits and language are seen as strange to natives of other countries, but he passes on and takes no notice. The Christian pilgrim will also be despised by the world. His practices of piety are ridiculed, his virtues thought odd and old fashioned. "We are made as the refuse of this world." (I Cor. 4:13.) He must not heed the world but stand as proof against human respect as Saint Paul says: "It is a small thing to be judged by you." (I Cor. 4:3.). It is this willingness to stand up against the world which will convert it. G. K. Chesterton reiterates this thought when he writes: "It is the paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint that contradicts it most."

The traveler also, even though he enjoys the lawful pleasures and distractions of his travels, often thinks of those at home and longs to return. Likewise the Christian pilgrim should often think of his true home in heaven. There God awaits him with all His Angels and Saints. Friends and relations, secure of their own salvation, are anxious for his return. Unless he longs for Heaven, he will not take the means to reach it; since a real desire for salvation is the first step towards obtaining it.

Indeed God calls all of us to return to our true home. By answering this call the saints grew daily in their desire for heaven and thus detached themselves from this land of exile. They had no rest, but labored day and night, both avoiding anything that might prevent their obtaining the eternal treasures and positively working for merit, whereby increasing their hope and assurance of success. They were so full of this hope and assurance that, instead of grieving over the evils that befell them, they exulted, knowing that, if they suffered well, they had all the more reward to expect at the end.

Let us, in like manner, strive to be successful pilgrims. Like the saints, let us promptly answer the call to return home by accepting the trials along the way and avoiding anything that might lead us from the path. In doing so our desire for heaven will increase as will our assurance of success.

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