It is a pilgrimage that we are embarking on in ten days’ time, and pilgrimages can be very unsettling things. They remind us, for one thing, that we have no abiding city here, but that our lives are spent on a journey towards our home in God. So it reminds us that our wealth, good looks, power, or O-level results, are only relative; and since we spend so much time fussing about them, that can be a little disconcerting. At the same time, of course, pilgrimage reminds us of the relativity of other things: so all the pain and suffering, for example, that we shall encounter in Lourdes, though a great evil is not the end of the story, but only a stage on the journey. And, we should not forget, if we listen attentively enough during this pilgrimage to Lourdes, there will always be some lifting of the veil, some glimmer of hope, to help us on the pilgrimage that is our life.
Scripture readings:
Isaiah 49: 8-11
Thus says the LORD:
"In a time of favour I have answered you,
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I have kept you and given you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages;
saying to the prisoners, ‘Come forth,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways,
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by the springs of water will guide them.
And I will make all my mountains a way,
and my highways shall be raised up."
Luke 9: 57-62
As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."