Plenary, 18 Jun 2008
Meeting date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Official Report
520KB pdf
Time for Reflection
Good afternoon. Our first item of business, as always on a Wednesday afternoon, is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader today is Elizabeth Duffy, who is the young adult development officer for the Roman Catholic diocese of Motherwell.
Elizabeth Duffy (Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell):
Good afternoon. I was reflecting recently on the journey that life takes us on—the many joys as well as disappointments, and the many pilgrimages that people take during their life in honour of God. I have been on a few pilgrim walks over the past three years. One was a 100-mile walk from Lancashire to Yorkshire with a group of young people, and another was a 110km walk across the north of Spain, on the famous way of St James, with a small group of young adults.
The experience of physically walking to a place can be daunting. At times, there may be moments of doubt or feelings of wanting to give up. There can be times of sadness as well as of joy, sharing with the people we meet along the way. Those moments will be with us for a lifetime. The image of a journey encapsulates for me everything about faith. There are moments of sharing, of joy and of hope, but also times of great sadness or despair. One thing that strikes me about a pilgrimage is that the journey has as much significance as the final destination.
There are many forms of pilgrimage. I will be taking 22 young people from my diocese to world youth day in Sydney next month. We will be there with 150 other young Catholics from Scotland, as well as 30 young people from the Church of Scotland, to gather with 500,000 other young people from across the globe to celebrate our faith in Christ. Each person there will have a unique and personal experience, but that experience will be moulded by others who are present. One of the ways that we meet God in this world is in meeting others. Those moments of sharing, and meeting strangers along the way, are moments when Christ is present.
It is on the journey that you are able to open your heart fully to Christ, offer up everything that is troubling or challenging you and give thanks to God for all that is good. The journey allows you to recognise the important things in life—especially when carrying your rucksack and realising the things you do not really need in life—and to let go of the excess baggage and move forward to the future.
Throughout history, there are stories of great pilgrimage and journey that enabled the pilgrim to become closer to God. As someone once told me, a pilgrim does not mind the little interruptions by strangers on the path. Pilgrimage can be a way of life. It is living and sharing the moments we experience, comforted in the knowledge that God is always with us as we journey through life.
I wish you every blessing on your journey.