XXII — PILGRIMS OF GOD

Third Sunday after Easter

Presence of God. — Grant, O Lord, that earthly things may not hold my heart so as to prevent me from aspiring to heaven.

Meditation

1 — Today the liturgy begins to turn thought toward the Lord’s coming Ascension: “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you... Yet a little while and you will no longer see me... because I go to the Father.”

This expression is taken from the discourse the Lord made to the Apostles during the Last Supper, to dispose them to the prospect of the Passion; but the Church loves to present it as Jesus’ farewell discourse to us before his departure.

Having now accomplished his mission, He returns to the Father who sent him; one day it will be so for us too: earth is not our lasting dwelling, but only the place of our pilgrimage. And Jesus said it: “Yet a little while and you will not see me... then again a little while and you will see me.” These words, obscure for the Apostles who did not understand them, are today very clear for us: “yet a little while,” that is, yet the time of our life - which, before eternity, is truly little - and then for us too will come the moment of leaving earth to follow him into heaven, where we shall see him in glory. And then, as the Lord said: “your heart will rejoice, and no one shall take your joy from you.” But before arriving at this happy end, one must pass through the trials, struggles, and sufferings of earthly life; though all this is “little” before the “immeasurable weight of glory that awaits us” (cf. II Cor. 4, 17), the Lord knows that for us, caught as we are in the events of earthly life, it is “much,” it is painful, and so he warns us lest we be scandalized by it: “you will weep and lament, and the world will rejoice.” The world rejoices and wants to rejoice at all costs, wholly immersed in the pleasures of the present life, with no thought for what awaits it beyond. And if it cannot escape life’s inevitable sufferings, it seeks to stifle pain in pleasure, contriving to draw from every passing instant all possible enjoyment. Not so the Christian: he imposes on himself a life of sacrifice and renunciation in view of a happiness beyond this world: “you, however, will be in sorrow,” says Jesus, “but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

2 — The Epistle too exhorts us to live on this earth with our gaze turned toward heaven: “Beloved,” says St. Peter, “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly desires that war against the soul.”

The pilgrim cannot linger enjoying the comforts and joys he meets on his way without compromising the good success of his journey and also running the risk of not reaching the goal. So the Christian, pilgrim of God, cannot let himself be stopped by earthly goods; he may indeed use them and even enjoy them, if Providence places them on his path, but with a detached heart that at once goes farther on; nothing can weigh down his step because he hastens to reach the end. The Christian’s life is the life of the traveler in a foreign land, who never stops because he is anxious to arrive in his homeland.

Very aptly, today the Secret of the Mass puts on our lips the following prayer: “May the power of these mysteries, Father, restrain earthly desires in us and teach us to love heavenly things.” A prayer we very much need because present satisfactions and goods, with their character of immediate concreteness, always have the possibility of taking hold of our senses and our heart, so as to hold back its impetus toward heaven and make us forget somewhat the perishability of all that is earthly. Another characteristic of the pilgrim is not being satisfied until he has reached his homeland, and this casts a veil of sadness over his life. The Christian too, pilgrim of God, cannot be fully satisfied until he has reached heaven and possesses God. Today he runs longing for Him, quickening his step toward Him, sustained by the hope of meeting Him one day “face to face”; but this very hope includes a sense of sadness because he hopes for what he does not yet possess. It is the holy sadness of those who seek God. Let us thank the Lord if He lets us experience it: it is a good sign, a sign that our heart is taken by his love and therefore earthly things can no longer satisfy it. And, once again, let Jesus’ word comfort us: “your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

Colloquy

“My delight, Lord of creation and my God, how long shall I have to wait to be able to see you in your presence?

“Oh, long life! bitter life! life that is not lived! Oh, desolate solitude for which there is no remedy! When, then, Lord? when? when?... What shall I do, my Good, what shall I do? Shall I perhaps desire no longer to desire you? Ah, my God and my Creator, You wound and do not give the remedy: You wound and the wounds are not seen; You kill so as to leave one more alive! In sum, my Lord, powerful as You are, do what pleases You. Let it be so, Lord, because You will it.

“I want nothing but to love you.

“O Lord, my Creator! The pain I suffer makes me go out of myself and compels me to recognize that my evil will be without remedy until it pleases You to put an end to it. My soul is shut in prison: it desires freedom, but on condition of not departing from what You will. Oh, either let its spasms increase, my Glory, or bring a radical remedy.

“O death, death, in you there is life, but I do not know how one can fear you! But who will not fear after having passed his days without loving his God? And since this is my case, what do I ask and desire? Perhaps punishment that I have deserved for my sins? - Do not permit it, my Good, for it cost You too much to redeem me!

“My soul, let your God’s will be fulfilled, for thus it is fitting for you. Serve Him and hope in his goodness, and He, when you have done penance for your sins and merited some pardon for them, will bring relief to your pain. Do not wish to enjoy before first suffering.

“But not even this am I capable of doing, O my true King and Lord, unless You sustain me with your strong hand and with your greatness. Helped by You, everything will be easy for me” (T.J. Excl. 6).