We are all pilgrims

CEBU, Philippines - Most of us have been pilgrims. We go on a journey.

But how is a pilgrim different from being a tourist? Fr. Huang enlightened the faithful that a pilgrim “goes on a journey in the hope of encountering God, or meeting him in a new way” (based on the definition given by a certain N.T. Wright).

“Our lives, in fact, are a pilgrimage,” he further said. “Such is a metaphor or image of human life that is always on the move, or always changing. We are on a journey from birth to maturity to death. We are not at home, as we are on the road to God.”

So what can we learn from St. Ignatius, who had taken delight in calling himself “the pilgrim”, in this life journey?

Fr. Huang said that the following three points can best mirror the relevance of St. Ignatius in today’s “noisy and multitasking world”:

* The mystery of Vulnerability. St. Ignatius’ pilgrimage began when his plans for his life were shattered. From being a vain, ambitious soldier with dreams of gaining earthly glory, he became wounded, helpless, and bored in his suffering. This was when he started reading the “Life of Christ” and the “Lives of Saints.” Afterwhich, his dreams began changing. For it is in going badly and in his weakness that he found how God would want to talk to him. What happened to him happens to many in times of suffering. God is seeking us, especially when we have lost our way. God speaks in our suffering. God is able to reach us when our defenses our down and we are more open, more ready to listen. When his legs were shattered by a cannonball in Pamplona in 1521, leading him to a life of boredom and emptiness, he started giving up his dreams.

* Freedom. St. Ignatius’ path after his conversion kept changing. His original plan was to serve God in the Holy Land. So this means that the idea of a religious order came after almost 20 years of changes. The Society of the Jesuits was founded in 1541. He was free to follow wherever God led him. He was detached from his own plans. This shows that God wants us to be happy. But we can only be happy if we are free. When all things are taken from us, and yet we remain calm, that’s freedom. When we don’t get the way we want things to happen, and yet we remain composed and secure, that’s freedom. The happiest people are the freeist. This has something to do with the search for unconditioned happiness, or acting against our desires.

* Charity. St. Ignatius gathered a group of friends. This tells us that he was not a solitary pilgrim. There was Francis Xavier - young, confident and ambitious; one who would want to use the priesthood to gain social status. There was Peter Faber - insecure and always doubting about his vocation; and Simon Rodrigues, a Portuguese from a noble family who is a social climber, erratic, and self-centered. Despite the flaws, St. Ignatius was able to bring out the best in them. He showed great patience and kindness toward them, most especially to the difficult Simon Rodrigues. According to him, there are just people who are difficult and that we cannot change. It was St. Ignatius who decided to change ways, from being a young warfreak (yes, he had a police record for getting himself into a brawl) and that arrogant soldier, he became the saint who espoused AMDG in everything we do. Ad Majorem, Dei Gloriam!

From “Spiritual Exercises” he had written, St. Ignatius taught that “it should be presupposed that every good Christian ought to be more eager to put a good interpretation on a neighbor’s statement than to condem it. Further, if one cannot interpret it favorably, one should assess how the other means it.”

“Many of the problems with our fellow pilgrims come from not heeding Ignatius’ advice. We are intelligent, full of bright ideas, brimming with creativity, but we cannot seem to work harmoniously with people. It’s the same everywhere - family, our workplace, the community,” Fr. Huang underlined.

“This stems from giving a bad interpretation. From reacting without asking nor clarifying what’s the point or what did one mean? We see action but not the intention.”

Then, Fr. Huang quoted one Philip Endean who said that the Presupposition is the most important ecclesiological principle of St. Ignatius. It teaches us to look at other pilgrims with the eyes of love.

The goal of the pilgrimage is God

We are so stressed thinking about our future. We worry about our plans. But in the end, we all go home to Him. St. Ignatius gives us wisdom for this journey.

“First, St. Ignatius advises us not to travel with loads, demands and expectations. Second, he encourages us to see good in each other. Third, to find God in all things,” Fr. Huang reiterated.

Afterwhich, he posed this question: “So before I close this talk, contemplate on this: Where is God calling us in this stage of our pilgrimage?”

“St. Ignatius is still very much relevant in our noisy world. He guides us to look up from where the falling, crashing flower pot has come from.” (FREEMAN)