World Youth Day USA Guides Stateside Pilgrimage Leaders Guide | Page 8

Putting Pilgrimage in Context

possible. In every city or village who has an

When pilgrims go on pilgrimage, where are

Olympian going to compete, everyone there is

they coming from? What is going on in that

invested and glued to the television, radio, or

place? What are the blessings and burdens of

news reports during the international

that community from which they came?

competition, wherever that might be.

These are not the questions that are usually
asked. The main question usually is, “Where

The story of the pilgrim without the context

are they [the pilgrims] going?” The stories so

of the community is incomplete. A million

often told about a pilgrim are the stories of

people gather for World Youth Day carrying

the pilgrim's journey to someplace. But any

flags of their countries—the communities

good storyteller will remind her audience,

from which they came. A full pilgrimage

“That is not the full story.”

encompasses not just getting from point A
to point B. Pilgrims come from a community,

All stories start from some place, and that place

and journey as a community, to encounter the

has an impact. The story is not over until the

Lord, so that they can return transformed to

hero returns home, back to his or her

the community from which they came and

community. What can tend to be overlooked

transform that community.

is that community. The pilgrim does not exist in
isolation but is surrounded by an abundance

A pilgrim is only a pilgrim when put

of relationships rooted in the community

in context of the community.

from which he or she comes.
Our modern culture often gets lost in the role
The Olympics clearly demonstrate to us the

of the individual. However, deep within the

role of community. Much of the media

Judeo-Christian tradition is a notion called

coverage surrounding the Olympics is the

corporate identity. The Jewish people, like many

stories of the athletes and their relationships

ancient people, saw the world through the

and experiences back home. We hear the

lens of the community first, not the

stories of the high school coach who never

individual; what happened to one, happened

got rich, but always inspired others to do their

to all. The Jewish people held three annual

best, or maybe the sweetheart back home who

feasts in Jerusalem. These feasts were also

is under hardship or the parents who

pilgrimages, as the Hebrew word “hag” is

sacrificed everything to make this moment

translated both as feast and pilgrimage. In
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