Tourist or Pilgrim?
Vacation is a welcome component of
life. Months before the actual vacation is to take place, people spend a good
deal of time planning and preparing for their annual vacation. Vacation is an
important and necessary part of our lives. It helps to revitalize us
physically and spiritually, and it allows us to be re-created so that we can
put forth our very best self to whatever duties our station in life requires
of us.
In discussing vacation plans it is not an uncommon occurrence to hear someone
say that they are going on a pilgrimage to Rome, to the Holy Land or to the
Shrines of Canada, Mexico or France. Recall the thousands of young people who
gathered in France for World Youth day in August 1997 or the thousands who
daily arrive in Rome. Annually, one-half million people come to the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Some come as tourists, some come as
pilgrims. Hopefully, all leave as pilgrims.
When people hear the word "pilgrimage" some frequently equate
pilgrimage with a glorified form of vacation or consider the use of the word
pilgrimage, semantics. People honestly confuse going on pilgrimage with going
on vacation. While the two are not mutually exclusive, there is a difference
between being a pilgrim and being a tourist. Tourists go on tour or vacation
to see things. Pilgrims go on pilgrimage not necessarily to see something, but
to receive something, such as renewed spirit, greater devotion, or a closer
relationship with God.
From the earliest times, the graves of the martyrs were visited on the
anniversary of their martyrdom. The excavation beneath Saint Peter's Basilica
in Rome reveal that the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul were visited by
the local community as early as the beginning of the second century. The diary
of the Spanish virgin, Egeria (c. 350) documents the pilgrimage to Jerusalem
and the services held there during Holy Week and throughout the Easter Season.
Pilgrimages in the early Church were undertaken for a number of reasons, among
them being as penance for sin, to obtain some favor, for divine assistance, in
thanksgiving, or for spiritual growth and devotion. Through the mortification,
self denial and discomfort involved in the pilgrimage, one atoned for sin,
fulfilled the needed self purification for the favors sought and was
spiritually disposed to receive the blessings God bestowed. A pilgrimage was
undertaken for a specific purpose and it certainly was not a holiday nor a
spectator sport.
Pilgrimage is one of the principle spiritual practices highlighted by Pope
John Paul II in Tertio Millennio Adveniente as a means of preparing for
the Jubilee Year 2000 and in celebrating the Jubilee Year itself. The Holy
Father encourages pilgrimages to the holy places of the world and expresses
his own desire to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land (TMA, 24).
As the Jubilee Year 2000 draws near, it will become easier to encourage people
to go on pilgrimage, especially to the Holy Land or Rome. However, we will
also be faced with the question or challenge as to whether these journeys are
a vacation or a pilgrimage?
"The Pilgrimage in the Great Jubilee" published in April 1998 by the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People,
highlights the aim of the contemporary pilgrim as "first of all a meeting
with God....the pilgrim meets the mystery of God and discovers his countenance
of love and mercy. In pilgrimages, people acknowledge that from the very
circumstances of his origin, man is invited to converse with God." (#33)
The challenge that is set before those involved in the promotion of
pilgrimages today, is to recapture for the contemporary pilgrim the ancient
pilgrim's understanding of a pilgrimage as a journey to draw closer to God.
This will only happen if we are successful in turning tourists into pilgrims.
People naturally want to see things that the trip they are making is unlike
other trips. This trip is a spiritual trip, a journey undertaken for a
spiritual purpose with a spiritual end.
To place things in proper perspective, it might be beneficial to remind the
participants that they are not tourists, they are pilgrims. This mind set is
established prior to departure. When they are packing their bags and checking
their lists, pilgrims should be reminded that the most important thing they
take with them on the pilgrimage is a sincere attitude of seeking God. They
must be open to God's presence and activity in their lives, before, during and
after the pilgrimage. The result of the pilgrimage will not be the amount of
souvenirs brought home or the number of places visited, but the transformation
that has taken place inside the person. If we are successful in delivering
this message, then we will be successful in turning tourists into pilgrims.
by Reverend Walter R. Rossi, Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception, Washington D.C. Originally Published in Jubilee 2000,
the Newsletter of the USCC Secretariat of the Third Millennium and the Jubilee
Year 2000.
__________________________________
Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women & Youth
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000
October 03, 2001 Copyright © by United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops
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