November 1979
A pilgrimage is not a single event. It demands long preparation and continues to bear fruit long after, in the rhythms of everyday life.
Before we set foot on a road or board a train, each of us must take a first step: leaving behind the small world of our small habits. To depart, we must shed what holds us back.
"Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, and ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money." (Mark 6:8)
What conversion am I called to? What path of hope and exhaustion will draw me forward to meet the Other?
Testimony of Maria Varoli (Parma)
God loved me by giving me a fragile daughter. Through her, He showed me that the world, people themselves, still overflows with goodness, and that brotherly love has not vanished in this age of selfishness, cruelty, and violence.
Compassion for those who suffer still lives. The young pilgrims—especially those who, though burdened by no family or personal hardship, followed this journey out of pure generosity—proved this to us through their admirable dedication and care.
And I am certain: more young people will come after them, and more still. They will free the goodness from their hearts, the goodness we all carry within us, though some of us have suffocated it beneath material and fleeting possessions.
Reflection by Françoise Lacoste (Belgium)
"To be a pilgrim means to depart with others, to travel stripped bare and available, and to return filled with peace, joy, and love—then to shine that light on everyone around us."
Why Have We Chosen to Celebrate Easter 1981 in Our Own Countries?
Since Lourdes in 1971, our thinking has evolved greatly. Local celebrations with handicapped people and their parents are now possible—something unimaginable ten years ago. We will give thanks for this at Easter 1981!
We have chosen to celebrate Easter in our own parishes or cathedrals, in union with all the other Faith and Light communities, whether they remain in their home countries or journey to Lourdes.
Why stay home? There are economic reasons, certainly, but they are not the essential ones. Was not the costly perfume poured by a woman on Jesus's feet a gesture of love, not waste? We stay because the smallest among us deserve to celebrate Easter with their shepherds—their priests and bishops.
We stay to live four days of encounter at the local level, to share them with those who have not yet known the special gifts of the handicapped person, to weave lasting bonds with young friends in our own city.
This would also allow those living in psychiatric hospitals to join in the Easter celebration. Some would be too fragile in health to travel to Lourdes.
We could invite them to join us—perhaps at the Easter Sunday celebration in the cathedral—while we visit them on Friday at the hospital.
Teresa de Bertodano (England):
They are baptized. They too have the right and the need to take part in the life of the Church. Could preparing and celebrating Easter together become a way to forge real bonds with their parish?
An English mother:
The most important pilgrimage for me is walking with my child from our front door to the church door down the street.
Marie Jo Sambardier (France):
(mother of Jean Pierre, age 22)
It was at Lourdes in 1971 that we discovered our son's inner life. We accepted his spiritual journey and the fact that, in his own way, he announces the Good News. We noticed how he responded to the gestures of Lourdes—the sign of the cross, the water, the fire. We spoke often of Jesus, of Mary. Now it is completely natural that he speaks to us about them. We have also received the grace to live more deeply with our handicapped son. The difficulties remain, the worries do not disappear, but we find ourselves on a path lit by a light "so much stronger."
Meditation in My Own Way
"Pilgrimage: a word from yesterday, perhaps, but also a necessity of today!" I said to myself the other day. Congresses, study days, round tables, debates of every kind! What profession, what political movement, what group does not have its days of gathering? Regional, national, international, worldwide!
This immense hunger to come together, to share—it rises everywhere. So is not a pilgrimage, which is an encounter, also a response to the reality of our time? Is not the traveler, the pilgrim, a person of today?
Looking at all these labors—speeches, tons of printed paper, moderators, microphones, disputes, millions of words—I asked myself: faced with the flood of words and their limits, does it not answer a real need to restore the gesture, the act of "living together," of "opening our eyes"?
Is not a pilgrimage a way to give a path of encounter to those who have no voice, and to bring back to what matters those of us surfeit with words?
Suggestions for Your Community
- Reflect on how a pilgrim must let go of everything to walk—both spiritually and concretely.
- What does it mean to be a traveler without luggage? Do we drag comfort, prejudices, or the past along with us?
- What is our community's plan? Where will we celebrate Easter 1981? (taking into account each person's hopes and capacities: some may go to Lourdes, others will celebrate here at home.)
- What name shall we give our community? (Please inform the regional or national coordinator.)