Introduction
One way or another all of our
lives are spent journeying. Whether it is the daily commute by bus, train or car,
walking to school or whatever, we are always on the move. We travel from here to
there, sometimes quickly, sometimes at a more leisurely pace. Occasionally we fly
to a favourite holiday destination, or like some I know, a great distance just to
do the day job.
In the gospels we read of Jesus
journeying from heaven to earth, from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, Calvary and beyond.
The gospel accounts record some of things that happened on the journey. Who Jesus
met, what was said at the time, what else happened, and more often than not, what
change took place as a result.
If you pause and reflect for a
moment, each of us has this experience on a daily basis. We meet other people, some
known to us, some for the first time, and we journey through the day. Sometimes
we discover new things about ourselves, about the way the world ticks or about life
that affect how we view it, or which affect what we subsequently say or do.
The journey of our lives, our
personal biography is carried with us in our hearts and in our minds. That personal
life story is never static, it is always changing. Sometimes our journeying impacts
on the lives of others in a profound way. Sometimes our journeying has unintended
consequences, sadness and tears for others.
We journey sometimes with a deliberate
attempt to encounter God in a different way, or to strengthen our faith, or to journey
with others and learn from them, or from a place, or at a holy destination. Some
of us are familiar with Walsingham, the English National Shrine of Our Lady, some
of us with Glastonbury, others with Lourdes, the Holy Land and so on. Holy places
are important to us, they focus our hearts on things like holiness, when we feel
it oozing from the very places we visit, at the places of holy revelation, apparitions
or the tombs of the saints. I recall for example a feeling of connectedness with
the church across the ages at the tomb of Justin Martyr in Valencia, among the Roman
ruins near the cathedral. As someone who is called to preach the gospel, I remember
being humbled to stand in the house of St Vincent Ferrer, also in Valencia. The
tomb of St Alban in St Alban's Cathedral stands a stark reminder of the cost of
discipleship in this England, as indeed does the casket of St John Southwell in
Westminster Cathedral. Journeying with holy intent inspires, affects, changes and
strengthens us.
