Bishop inspired by pilgrims on ‘The Way of St. Juan Diego’

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I have been on plenty of pilgrimages during my life, but one of the best was two weeks ago, when our diocese was blessed with a memorable experience as we went on a Walking Pilgrimage in Annandale, “The Way of St. Juan Diego.” I will not forget it! More than 700 pilgrims walked the nine-mile journey in imitation of the nine miles that St. Juan Diego regularly walked from his home to get to his catechism lessons while becoming a Catholic in Mexico in 1524.
Pilgrimages are an ancient practice of the Church and even took place in Old Testament times. They are journeys for a sacred purpose, to remind the pilgrim that on this earth he or she is on the way to heaven. In ancient Israel, the Jewish faithful had to go on a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem every year. Even Jesus, with Mary and St. Joseph, made that sacred pilgrimage, and we read in the Scriptures about Jesus being lost on one of them.
Besides Jerusalem, many pilgrimage sites arose in the history of the Church such as the Camino Santiago Pilgrimage (the way of St. James) in Compostela Spain to the tomb of the Apostle, James, St. Peter’s in Rome with the tomb of St. Peter, as well as many of the Marian apparition sites, including Guadalupe where many from our diocese are traveling during our year of Spiritual Awakening in preparation for our consecration to Jesus through Our Lady of Guadalupe.
These pilgrimages are meant to provide a snapshot of our eternal pilgrimage to heaven. That’s why pilgrimages are different than vacations, as these trips often involve sacrifices and are usually done in groups, so we help one another carry our crosses. Likewise, we usually have guides on our pilgrimage to lead us on our way, as we did on Sept. 21, in Annandale with the police and young volunteers providing us with safe passage through the streets.
As we walked, we carried our prayers and intentions along with us, asking the Lord to make us His disciples, witnesses, to lead others in our diocese to Him, too. On pilgrimage, we try not to be weighed down, so we only take essentials with us, what we need to sustain us. Of course, Jesus encourages His disciples to approach our life on earth in this same way. Our ultimate pilgrimage on earth is to lead us to heaven, and to take along as many others as we can.
So when we go on a pilgrimage we go with a goal in mind, we are going someplace, and we went on our Walking Pilgrimage to prepare for the consecration of our diocese on Dec. 12. We went with the Lord, in prayer, ending with our final Mass on the grounds of Immaculate Conception with a Mass with more than 1,000 people in attendance. What an inspiring sight!
It was edifying to see so many families, youth from our Catholic schools and religious education programs, many of our seminarians and those in consecrated life from our diocese, and even many seniors making this pilgrimage. St. Juan Diego’s heart burned in love of Jesus, Mary and His Church. Nothing was going to stop him from making his pilgrimage for his catechism lessons to prepare him for his first holy Communion. Certainly, I prayed that we, too, would have such love in our hearts for Jesus, His Church and Our Lady!
The Walk actually began at 11 a.m. with everyone praying the rosary together, then singing hymns and songs of praise and worship along the walk. We were blessed with 23 priests who accompanied the pilgrimage group along the route in prayer and offered to hear confessions. An outdoor Eucharistic Holy Hour in a park along the way was a memorable highlight, and the final three miles included carrying the Eucharist in procession back to Immaculate Conception Church in Annandale.
It truly was a joy-filled day, bringing together people from across our diocese. The Church was indeed alive, inspiring and full of hope! The Office of Evangelization, which largely organized the day under the leadership of Jodie D’Angiolillo, who had served as our department director for many years, as well as her staff, did a wonderful job organizing the pilgrimage.
Father Tim Christy, our Vicar General, was involved every step of the way, from the planning to the walking! From our diocesan center, Laura Ferreras, John Glynn, and Sister Anna Nguyen, SCC, tended to the many details of the pilgrimage together with Deacon Tom Griffoul, who also charted the route. They were assisted by more than 40 people working on a core team who generously gave of themselves over the past 18 months to make this spiritual project come to fruition. Father Jay Toborowsky, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Annandale, graciously hosted us along with his good and faithful parishioners and the Knights of Columbus. The barbeque after Mass was a relaxing, delicious end to the day many participants will always remember.
Yes, Our Lady always wants to lead us into deeper union with Her Son, and she did just that this past weekend. As we continue with our year of Spiritual Awakening, we ask Mary to look on us with love and to carry our petitions to her Son, who always wants to give us what we need to assist us on our way home to Him!
I look forward to going on pilgrimage next month to Mexico City and to Mary’s Shrine there. I encourage you to join us in daily prayer as we prepare for this next pilgrimage, most especially during our diocese’s Week of the Rosary, Oct. 6 to 13. See page 14 for more on this special week.
Knowing that our pilgrimage to Mexico will be a very powerful experience, I want to invite everyone in the diocese to send your prayer intentions to my office so we can take them to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and prayerfully present them to her confident she will take them to her Son.
As always, know that I am praying for you and your loved ones, too. May our year of Spiritual Awakening bring our diocese abundant graces. Know, too, of my love for all of you. God bless you!