Today we observe Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent in our life of faith, the beginning of our journey with Jesus on his way to the cross. I am always edified each year by the number of Catholics who come to mass today to get the smudge of ash on their foreheads, to publicly express their desire to accompany Jesus during Lent.
In January, we ended the Jubilee year that we had been commemorating throughout 2025. Pope Leo XIV stated that although the Jubilee year has drawn to a close, the hope that the Jubilee year has given us should not leave our hearts, as we are to remain pilgrims of hope.
The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from the second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium, states that as pilgrim people, we are to be mold in Christ’s likeness, we are to trace the path that he walked here on earth as a pilgrim people, making ourselves one with his sufferings, united into his Body, suffering with him and being glorified with him.
Many of the Catholic faithful traveled on pilgrimage during the Jubilee year to places that have spiritual significance in our Catholic faith, such as Rome or Lourdes or Fatima. Pilgrims visit these place with a motivation and a perspective that is very different from tourists, as they go on pilgrimage to better understand one’s spiritual journey here on earth.
At first glance, the destination of a physical pilgrimage is easy to understand. We travel to a specific place where God has revealed himself in a unique way. When a pilgrim visits the Holy Land he or she explores the land of Jesus, visiting places like Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. However, there is a distinct difference between a pilgrimage and a tour of religious sites. For the tourists, his motives can be varied, perhaps to escape the reality of life back at home or for rest and relaxation.
During Lent, we must keep our spiritual destination in focus. If we are not intentional about our pilgrimage of accompanying Jesus on his journey to the cross, we might reduce Lenten observances to practices that bring us enlightenment or enrichment, but that do not accompany Jesus on path of holiness.
St Ignatius saw the spiritual life in simple terms, of either leading us toward God or away from God. There is no such thing as remaining stagnant in the spiritual life. Are we moving toward God or away from God? Where are we going on our pilgrimage of faith this Lent?
Our Gospel today calls us to the familiar Lenten disciplines of charity, prayer, and fasting. May our Lenten practices not be ends in themselves. May these practices lead us closer to God on our pilgrimage journey of faith.
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