Fr. Anthony Lickteig reflected on the gift a pilgrimage can be to one’s spiritual life. He was reflecting on the story of Jesus calling Zacchaeus down from the tree so that he could visit with him. It seems as we end the Church year, it is also the wish of a new liturgical year. Jesus want to visit each of us. Fr. Lickteig in his homily for one of the Pilgrimage Masses said “…I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Lord himself wants to use this week to do something new in our lives, perhaps something we could never have dreamed of. It could happen while visiting a famous landmark, or while seeing the Holy Father, or while dinning with new friends, or any number of ways. We all need to be ready; to sit patiently in that tree and be open to Jesus Christ doing something new in our lives. Don’t take my word for it, listen to what our Lord told us in the first reading: “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”
Reflect this week on how you need to ready your heart and home to welcome the Lord who wishes to dine with you.