Faith is a Journey, Meditations for Pilgrims and Wayfarers
Jubilee 2025 Book 1
Pope Francis
ISBN 9781565486546
eISBN 9781565486553
ASIN B0DNRB5H8K
I stumbled upon this volume and a companion volume: A Light in the Night Meditations on Hope early in this Jubilee Year. I was searching for books to read during this year and decided to give these two a try.
The description of this volume states:
“Pope Francis often reminds us that faith “is a road to be traveled, without ever losing the goal,” and this is the theme that forms the background to the meditations contained in this brief anthology. It is a collection of significant passages from the Pontiff’s speeches, given on various occasions of meetings with the faithful, and is intended to offer food for thought in light of the Jubilee 2025 in particular, as its motto is “Pilgrims of Hope.””
The chapters in this volume are:
Introduction
Editor’s Note
Pilgrimage
The Pilgrim Church to the Kingdom
Jesus, Fellow Traveler
Walk According to the Spirit
On the Way
So Many Reasons to Run
Shrines and Popular Spirituality
Walking Together
Not To Be Existential Tourists
Fellow Travelers of Youth
Sources
I highlighted a few passages while working through this book, some of them are:
From the introduction by Pope Francis:
“When I was a priest in Buenos Aires (and I continued this habit as a bishop in my hometown), I loved walking through the various neighborhoods to visit fellow priests, visit a religious community, or talk to friends. Walking is good for you: It puts us in touch with what is happening around us; it makes us discover sounds, smells, and noises in the reality that surrounds us; in brief, it brings us closer to the lives of others.
To walk means to not stand still: To believe means having within us a restlessness that leads us toward a “more,” toward a step forward, toward a height to reach today, knowing that tomorrow the road will take us higher—or deeper—in our relationship with God, which is exactly like the relationship with the beloveds of our life, or between friends: never finished, never taken for granted, never fulfilled, always searching, not yet satisfying. It is impossible to say with God: “Done; everything is fine; it is enough.”
“For this reason, the Jubilee of 2025, together with the essential dimension of hope, must push us to an ever-greater awareness of the fact that faith is a pilgrimage and that we on this Earth are pilgrims, not tourists or wanderers: We do not move randomly, existentially speaking. We are pilgrims. The pilgrim lives their journey under the banner of three keywords: risk, effort, and destination.”
“To walk like a pilgrim means that we have a landing place, that our movement has a direction, a goal. To walk means to have a destination and to not be at the mercy of chance. Those who walk have a direction; they do not wander aimlessly; they do not waste time zigzagging from one place to another. This is why I have often recalled the similarities between walking and believing: Those who have God in their hearts have received the gift of a North Star to strive for—the love we have received from God is the reason for the love we must offer to other people.”
“Rather, if outwardly we know well that we have arrived, inwardly we are aware that the journey is not over, because God is just like that—a milestone that pushes us further, a goal that constantly calls us to continue—because God is always greater than the idea we have of him.”
From the Editor’s Note:
“Pope Francis often reminds us that faith “is a road to be traveled, without ever losing the goal,” and this is the theme that forms the background to the meditations contained in this brief anthology. It is a collection of significant passages from the Pontiff’s speeches, given on various occasions of meetings with the faithful, and is intended to offer food for thought in light of the Jubilee 2025 in particular, as its motto is “Pilgrims of Hope.”
“Believing, therefore, requires a constant, daily commitment made up of an interior search that must be accompanied by a renewed trust in one’s neighbor, in order to make a common journey that leads to happiness and salvation. Those who walk, having the Lord as their traveling companion, are sure of the path they take and the goal they will reach.”
From the chapters:
“The Jubilee Churches along the pilgrimage routes and in the city of Rome can serve as oases of spirituality and places of rest on the pilgrimage of faith, where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope, above all by approaching the sacrament of Reconciliation, the essential starting point of any true journey of conversion….”
“In this perspective, it is good to grasp the kind of continuity and deep communion there is between the Church in heaven and that which is still a pilgrim on earth. Those who already live in the sight of God can indeed sustain us and intercede for us, pray for us. On the other hand, we, too, are always invited to offer up good works, prayer, and the Eucharist itself, in order to alleviate the tribulation of souls still awaiting never-ending beatitude. Yes, because in the Christian perspective, the distinction is not between who is dead and who is not, but between who is in Christ and who is not! This is the point of determination, what is truly decisive for our salvation and for our happiness.”
“Dear friends, when we think of this magnificent reality awaiting us, we become aware of how marvelous a gift it is to belong to the Church which bears in writing the highest of vocations! So, let us ask the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to keep constant watch over our journey and to help us to be, as she is, a joyful sign of trust and hope among our brothers and sisters.”
“Very often we have heard that Christianity is not merely a doctrine, or a way of behaving, or a culture. Yes, it is all this, but it is, first and foremost, an encounter. A person is Christian because he or she has encountered Jesus Christ and has let him or herself be encountered by him.”
“May the Lord give us all this grace to meet Jesus every day, to know, to be aware that it is really he who is walking with us in all the moments of our lives. He is our pilgrim companion.”
“The Spirit is the guide for this journey along the way of Christ, a wonderful but also difficult journey that begins in Baptism and lasts our entire lives. Let us think of it as a long excursion to the mountain heights: it is breathtaking, and the destination is attractive, but it requires a lot of effort and tenacity.”
“This does not mean that the evil present in the world disappears, or that the negative impulses of our selfishness and pride diminish. Rather, it means that belief in God is always stronger than our resistance and greater than our sins. And this is important!”
“It would be a mistake to assume that those who go on pilgrimage live a spirituality that is not personal but “mass.” In reality, the pilgrim brings with him his own story, his own faith, the lights and shadows of his life. Everyone carries in his heart a special desire and a special prayer. Those who enter the shrine immediately feel that they are at home, welcomed, understood, and supported.”
“To go on pilgrimage is to feel called and compelled to journey together, asking the Lord for the grace to change past and present resentments and mistrust into new opportunities for fellowship. It means leaving behind our security and comfort and setting out for a new land that the Lord wants to give us. To go on pilgrimage means daring to discover and communicate the mystique of living together, and not being afraid to mingle, to embrace, and to support one another.”
“To go on pilgrimage is to commit ourselves to ensuring that the stragglers of yesterday can become the protagonists of tomorrow and that today’s protagonists do not become tomorrow’s stragglers. And this, dear brothers and sisters, requires a certain skill, the art of weaving the threads of the future.”
“Lent, Pope Francis concluded, is a propitious time to consider whether we are on the journey or instead “have come to a standstill.” If so, we must repent. Or if we “have taken the wrong road,” then we must go to confession in order “to set out on the right path once more,” or lastly, we are “theological tourists,” like those who wander through life but never advance. “Let us ask the Lord for the grace,” Pope Francis urged, “to get back on the road, to set out on the journey toward the promises. As we consider this, it will benefit us greatly to reread chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews “for a correct understanding of what it means to walk toward the promises which the Lord has made.””
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. It is an edited selection of works from Pope Francis, pieces ranging from a General Audience in 2014 to the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year 2025. The pieces are drawn from General audiences, refection’s, homilies and addresses. It is a small volume but backs some great information for the Jubilee year in 2025. There is also a companion volume: A Light in the Night Meditations on Hope, which I have picked up but not read yet.
This was an interesting little read. Good as a primer for the Jubilee Year. It can easily be read in a sitting or 2 over a large mug of tea. If you are looking for a small volume to pick up this Jubilee year and give a read this could be a good starting point.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
Jubilee of Hope 2025 Book List:
A Light in the Night Meditations on Hope - Pope Francis
...
Notes on Prayer Series:
1. Prayer Today: A Challenge to Overcome - Cardinal Angelo Comastri
2. Praying with the Psalms - Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi
3. The Prayer of Jesus – Juan Lopez Vergara
4. Praying with Saints and Sinners - Fr Paul Brendan Murray, OP
5. The Parables of Prayer – Msgr Antonio Pitta
6. The Church in Prayer - Carthusian Monks
7. The Prayer of Mary and the Saints Who Met Her - Sr Catherine Aubin, OP
8. The Prayer Jesus Taught Us: Our Father - Fr Ugo Vanni
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