Life is a Pilgrimage

-
Back in June, on the feast of the Ascension, I had the idea to start this blog, and the name that came to me then was "Pilgrim's Feet." I had just finished watching a video by Fr. Emmanuel from Ascension Presents where he talked about walking the Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James), which is a pilgrimage that ends in Compostella, Spain. After finishing the video, I googled the Camino, and something that I read on one of the websites I visited struck me. It said: all routes lead to Compostella. Reading that, I was reminded of what one of my parish priests said in their homily for the feast day, namely that everything we do needs to be ordered to one end: Heaven. Heaven is our Compostella. It is the end of our earthly pilgrimage, the destination toward which we are heading. Upon realizing this, I thought of my favorite passage in the Bible - Isaiah 49:1-13 - but more specifically verse 11 that reads: "...I will make all my mountains a way, and my paths shall be exalted." No matter where we are in our journey of Faith as Catholics, no matter where we are in the world, we all, with God's abundant Grace and Mercy, can make it to Heaven! Why? Because God has given the Way (camino) to every person in every circumstance: Jesus Christ (John 14:6). By imitating Jesus, by denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following Him, we can be sure that we will not be lead astray. And while "narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!" (Matthew 7:14), we should nevertheless remain hopeful "that He, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus," (Philippians 1:6), for God does not promise things He won't fulfill. And so, if Heaven is our Compostella and Jesus is our Way, life is our pilgrimage. The Ascension not only reminds us of this, but the Assumption as well, which we celebrate today, and every life of every saint. They give us hope, and the courage to say as that "certain scribe" in Saint Luke's Gospel, "I will follow You withersoever thou goest" (Luke 9:57) for You, Lord, are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Ad maiorem Dei gloriam.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Steady My Footsteps..."

-
Well, I did it. I submitted my application to (possibly) go to Tanzania this summer. Yesterday was the last day of the novena I was praying, initially asking for Saint Josephine Bakhita's intercession about applying to go to Kenya with my university. However, around Day 5 or so, I changed my petition. Why? Because as I prayed, the more I realized that I didn't want to go anywhere "just for me." I wanted my trip to serve God and others. For we have so many opportunities for serving God and for bringing Him glory, and travelling anywhere is one way we can do this! Why go on vacation to Italy/France/Japan/India/New York State even when you can make a pilgrimage/mission trip out of it?! We are pilgrims after all in this journey called life. And every moment presents itself as a chance to show our love and praise and gratitude to God. And although I do not feel an assurance or peace that I'll even get accepted, I do know that whatever happens, I am not afraid. For I to...
Read more

"Direct Me in Thy Truth..."

-
"Direct me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art my God and Savior; and on Thee have I waited all the day long."  ~ Psalm 24:5 I am a very impatient person. Usually when some new exciting prospect presents itself to me, I enthusiastically jump right in without thinking only to have it all fall to pieces. I don't like to wait, but to take action. God knows this, and for the past year especially He has been teaching me to learn how to wait, and I think He is finally getting through to me. You see, I decided to learn Swahili. I have wanted to for quite a while now, but the other day I made the decision to stop by the library, pick up both a Swahili descriptive and prescriptive grammar, download Duolingo, and start. And let me tell you, I love it so far! It really is a fun and interesting language. In the midst of my enthusiasm and excitement in learning this wonderful, new language, I found out that this summer my university is going to Kenya and that, as an hon...
Read more

October - Celebrating the Liturgical Year as a College Student

-
 Hey guys! Even though the month is already in full swing, I thought I'd share what I've been doing to celebrate the different feast days for October. First of all, though, I'd just like to say that things are always better when you're not the only one doing them! My best friend has gotten into celebrating the Liturgical Year and they have not only reminded me of why I love celebrating it, but have also inspired me to seek to do it in special, little ways. And so, here's what I've done this month (and yes, for one of the first times, I've actually done it all so far 😄): October 1 - Saint Therese of Lisieux: Pray the Litany of Saint Therese* and make three sacrifices October 2 - Feast of the Guardian Angels: Eat angel food cake (Much thanks to my friend for sharing theirs with me!) October 4 - Saint Francis: Pray the Prayer to be an Instrument of Peace, do something to bear witness to Christ through my actions and not just my words October 5 - Saint Faustina...
Read more