Homily: July 25 2016 - St. James, apostle - The Pilgrim Way

Before his martyrdom, Saint James carried the Gospel to the ends of the known world, over 3000 miles from the shores of the Sea of Galilee where he was first called by the Lord. Saint James’ relics are now laid in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where Saint James evangelized. Now, nearly 2000 years later, Christians from around the world make pilgrimage, following in the footsteps of Saint James on what is called El Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim way of Saint James.

I met the holy bishop of Gallup, New Mexico this weekend who is embarking on the Camino with his parishioners this week. Certainly a pilgrimage I would like to make one day.

You may have seen the wonderful movie with Martin Sheen, who makes the pilgrimage in memory of his son. On the course of the pilgrimage he meets fellow pilgrims who touch him and teach him in some way, and as he makes the pilgrimage he faces the grief of his son’s death and comes to a renewed faith.

Art and stained glass windows often depict St. James with the pilgrim’s walking stick and a seashell, which is both a symbol of baptism and pilgrimage.  For the entire Christian life is like a pilgrimage. We walk side by side with our fellow Christians, we urge each other on, we inspire and encourage each other, we help each other when we’ve fallen. The pilgrimage requires perseverance, long hard roads, filled with unexpected turns. The pilgrimage requires that we follow the road-map of Christian teaching, studying the word.  On the long pilgrim journey we distance ourselves from the distractions of the world, in order to focus on the most important thing, the one thing that matters most, our union with Christ—our communion with Him in his mission.

The joys and sufferings of the pilgrimage remind us that striving to be like Jesus in our service to God, is full of both joys and sufferings. Making a pilgrimage, like the Camino of Saint James, can be a way of reigniting our zeal for living and spreading the Gospel. If you are experiencing some dryness in your faith or prayer life, or have a special intention, perhaps you carry a great guilt or a great grief, make a pilgrimage to a shrine or a holy place. Make an intentional spiritual journey to a holy place to seek the special intercession of the saint honored there. 

We recognize that each day we are on a pilgrim journey, through which we are to walk by faith, recalling the need to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, to bear the cross with Him, to spread the word with Him, to suffer and die with him that we may be raised with him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.