Pilgrims to the Lord

Merry Christmas! In two days, Pope Leo XIV will close the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, officially bringing to a close the 2025 Jubilee. This Jubilee has been a blessing to me, as I had the privilege and joy to take three pilgrimages to Rome during the Jubilee, passed through all four Holy Doors, attended the Funeral Mass of Pope Francis, and attended the Canonization Mass of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis. The Jubilee year called the entire church to journey (even if only spiritually) together to renew ourselves as pilgrims of hope, bearing in mind always that Hope [in Christ] does not disappoint.

Pope Benedict XVI described a pilgrimage in this way: “To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art, or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendor and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.” In a way, the Magi, whom we commemorate today on the Feast of the Epiphany, were pilgrims too. Despite not even belonging to the Jewish religion, they undertook a journey from distant lands, not on an expedition or to conduct trade, but because they were called by a God they did not yet know, through the manner He revealed Himself to them in the heavens: a star of shining splendor. Through the culmination of this journey, they came to believe in Him, behold Him as the Christ child, and adore Him. They did not come to admire treasures, but instead offer their treasures to the King of the Universe.

These treasures were gold, frankincense, and myrrh: gifts offered in sacrifice with rich symbolic meanings, and illustrated in the hymn We Three Kings:

“Born a King on Bethlehem plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again, King for ever, Ceasing never Over us all to reign. / Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity nigh: Prayer and praising All men raising, Worship Him God on High. / Myrrh is mine; its bitter perfume Breathes a life of gathering gloom;— Sorrowing, sighing, Bleeding, dying, Sealed in the stone-cold tomb.”

These pilgrims journeyed to the Lord to see Him, offer Him gifts truly fit for God incarnate, and experience a conversion of heart and blossoming of holiness in their souls. I hope during this 2025 Jubilee, you too were able to stand firm in the Hope of the Lord, journey closer to Him, offer your best gift (your heart) to Him, and feel His love and mercy in that encounter.