Coming Down from the Mountain : Accompanying Pilgrims on the Return Home
Nourishing the pilgrim ’ s experience of discipleship after WYD requires intentionality and forward thinking . Without effort on the leader ’ s part , WYD may become an isolated experience that does not lead a pilgrim to a deeper faith in Christ .
WYD is meant to strengthen the faith of pilgrims . Like Peter , James , and John at the Transfiguration , World Youth Day pilgrims have a mountaintop experience and they may want it to last forever . But Jesus reminded Peter , James , and John – and he reminds pilgrim travelers today – that they cannot live on mountaintop experiences alone . Returning home to the United States does not mean that everything is finished ; rather , leaving Panamá is just the beginning of the next phase in the pilgrim ’ s lifelong journey of faith .
In Luke ’ s account of the Transfiguration , when Jesus speaks with Moses and Elijah , he “ spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem ” ( 9:31 ) – pointing towards the work that still needed to be accomplished after this moment of glory . WYD likewise is meant to give pilgrims direction and formation for the tasks they lay ahead of them . In order to put into motion those dreams and hopes begun in Panamá , the pilgrim must come down from the mountain . He or she ought to look forward to the next step of the journey , but leaders may need to accompany and support someone through the melancholy that can descend when the excitement is over . Helping pilgrims to see WYD as a stop along the way instead of the end goal will help to ensure that the pilgrimage is an encounter with God that bears fruit . The pilgrimage leader ’ s work , then , is not over when everyone is back in their home ; the work continues .
Go Make Disciples One of the ways to assist pilgrims in the return experience is to introduce them to the understanding that they are missionaries . Keeping the 2019 WYD theme in mind , the pilgrims are to be servants of the Lord , saying “ yes ” to God ’ s will as they are sent forth . In Pope Francis ’ final homily in Rio de Janeiro at the Closing Mass of the last WYD , he sent pilgrims forth with the theme of the 2013 encounter : “ Go … and make disciples of all nations ” ( Mt . 28:19 ). He said :
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