A Lifelong Pilgrimage

Yesterday I was listening to an episode from the Poco a Poco podcast where they were talking about life being a pilgrimage.  If you’ve ever been on a pilgrimage before, you know that there are challenges and discomforts along the way, and when you reach the final destination/site, there is a lot of excitement and joy because you’ve finally made it.  Pilgrimages that we go on can be a reflection of our lives as a whole, because our whole lives are a pilgrimage, as we walk towards the ultimate goal- eternal life with God.

One part of the podcast, one of the hosts mentioned that during a pilgrimage, unlike a vacation, we can’t just stop and check into a hotel and says, “Jesus doesn’t teach us to check into the hotel or take it easy” (Fr, Isaiah, CFR, 2024).  When we get tired or want to stop moving, Jesus helps us to continue on.  Our lives are like this too.

The spiritual life is one that must keep moving forward.  If we are not moving forward, we are either staying still or going backwards, meaning that we aren’t deepening our faith or growing in our relationship with Jesus.  We are never going to make it to our destination by staying still, by being stagnant in our faith.  When we are sore, tired, and weak, we keep going.

Sometimes, it seems like having little or no faith would be easier.  To be complacent and not care means that we wouldn’t have to put in the effort.  Not knowing or caring would allow us to live as the world lives, carefree and as if nothing really matters.  While it may seem like it would be easier, our lives would be a lot lonelier, a lot emptier, and a lot more seemingly meaningless.  Even though this pilgrimage we are on is hard, it is completely worth it.  And Jesus walks with us every step of the way.

During a pilgrimage, we are able to encounter Jesus along the way, especially in the trying moments where there is discomfort and suffering.  These moments allow us to lean on Jesus to carry us through.  And just like the pilgrimages to different places we can make, our lives are one long pilgrimage.  As you continue on this week, keep in mind the purpose and where you are trying to go, asking Jesus to be with you,  with the hope that one day we will make it to the final pilgrimage destination.


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Fr. Isaiah, CFR, host. “Life and Mystery”. The Poco a Poco Podcast with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, episode 221, 17 July 2024, https://www.franciscanfriars.com/pocoap