DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania - Here is the text of an address given by
Monsignor Walter Rossi, rector of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., to the national convention of the
Polish American Priests Association.
The April 28 address was titled "Pilgrimage and the Role of
Shrines in the Life of the Church in America and the New Evangelization."
As you just heard, I am the Rector of the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. A number of you have been to
the Shrine and some of you may know that the National Shrine is the largest
Catholic Church in North America and among the 10 largest Churches in the
world. We seat over 4,000 comfortably, and during this past Easter weekend we
welcomed over 15,000 people. And so, I'm used to speaking before a large number
of people. But I have to tell that even though there are only 100 people here,
I'm more nervous than when I speak in front of 4,000!
I've been invited to speak with you tonight because I am the
rector of the patronal Church of the United States and our nation's preeminent
Marian shrine and also because I happen to be the president of the National
Association of the Shrine and Pilgrimage Apostolate, not because I'm an expert
in running shrines or an authority on the pilgrimage apostolate. If the truth
be told, I really think that I was invited this evening because my mother is a
first generation Polish American! In addition, I am honored to say that my third
cousin, Tadeusz Dulny, is among the martyrs of Dachau, prisoner 22662, declared
"Blessed" in 1999, by the soon to be "Blessed" Pope John
Paul II.
More to the point, with you I am a worker in the vineyard and like
you, I am always learning and seeking new ways to promote the ministry of
shrines and the Pilgrimage Apostolate.
The topic I have been asked to address is "Pilgrimage and the
Role of Shrines in the Life of the Church in America."
Pilgrimages have always been a significant component in the life
of the Church. Pope John Paul II believed the pilgrimage to be a privileged
moment in the Christian life. I am afraid however, that not enough American
Catholics understand or appreciate the great spiritual treasure found in making
a pilgrimage or visiting a shrine. Our "tourist mentality" limits our
experience of travel to simply making a trip for vacation or sometimes even
business. Rarely do we take the time to make a spiritual journey; a pilgrimage
that opens the way to God.
To go on pilgrimage seems to be more of a European phenomenon.
Just look at the hundreds of thousands of people, especially those of Polish
decent that will make a pilgrimage to Rome this weekend for the beatification
of Pope John Paul II.
Almost a half million people make pilgrimages each year to this
National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa and five million individuals travel
annually, from all over the world, to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our
Lady of Czestochowa, Jansa Gora, in Poland.
During his own pilgrimage to Jasna Gora in 2006, our Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI, compared the Shrine of Czestochowa to the "upper
room" where the Blessed Virgin Mary "teaches us how to pray ... shows
us how to open our mind and our hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit"
and teaches us "how to live from faith, how to grow in faith, how to
remain in contact with the mystery of God in the ordinary, everyday events of
our lives."
It is not at all uncommon for us to make secular pilgrimages;
journeys that we set upon in order to see some place or some thing that holds a
significant meaning in our nation's history. Just think of the many people who
come to Washington, D.C. to visit the various monuments, especially the capitol
building. Ever since 9/11, people want to go to "Ground Zero" in New York.
Some do so out of curiosity, others visit in order to pay their respects, still
others set out for "Ground Zero" because a loved one died during that
tragedy and "Ground Zero" is their immediate connection with this
person.
Then, of course, we have the scores of people that come to
Philadelphia, the birthplace of American Independence, and trace the foundation
of American Freedom from the Betsy Ross House to the Liberty Bell and then on
to Valley Forge.
Pilgrimages are a mode through which we deepen our connection with
God and shrines provide an environment which is conducive to the cultivation of
this great moment of prayer.
I am reminded of the numerous commercials for wireless phone
carriers. People walk around looking for the right zone in order to get a clear
connection with the person to whom they are talking; then they yell that
familiar phrase: "Can you hear me now?!"
Pilgrimages are the moment and shrines are the place where we
deepen our connection with God and have the opportunity to hear his voice
clearly.
The concept of making a pilgrimage and that of a shrine as a
pilgrimage destination pre-dates Christianity. Christians, Catholics in
particular, do not have a corner on the market when it comes to the tradition
of pilgrimage. A cursory look at some world religions shows that the pilgrimage
is an essential part of their faith tradition; in some religions, making a
pilgrimage is an actual requirement. This is seen most clearly with Islam. The
Koran requires its adherents to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during
their lifetime. Hindus living in India make an annual pilgrimage to the Ganges
River during the month of August in celebration of the Monsoon Festival. In
Judaism, the annual religious feasts of the Israelites were typically
celebrated in the context of an elaborate pilgrimage to Jerusalem. If we look
through the Old Testament, we discover additional pilgrimages to places such as
Bethel, Shiloh and Mount Sinai, just to name a few. In the Gospel of Luke, we
read of the Holy Family participating in the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for
the feast of Passover.
Although Christian pilgrimages became part of our religious
practice after Constantine ended Christian persecution in the 4th century, as
early as the second century, the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, were
venerated in Rome.
In this Easter Week it is appropriate for us to consider Egeria
the virgin, whose 4th century diary documents her pilgrimage to Jerusalem and
the services which took place during Holy Week and throughout the Easter
Season.
During the preparation for and the celebration of the Great
Jubilee Year 2000, the Christian pilgrimage experienced a resurgence, a revival
if you will. Pope John Paul II called for "conversion and interior
renewal," stating that "pilgrimages reflect the final destiny of
man," and emphasized "how all our life is a journey to God."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that
"pilgrimages evoke our earthly journey toward heaven" (2691) and
during his own pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariazell in Austria,
Pope Benedict XVI reflected, "This is what pilgrimage is all about ... our
lives have a deeper purpose. We need God ... " Pilgrimages and shrines
assist us along the path to fulfilling our purpose in life and to fulfill our
need for God and to be filled by him.
To make a pilgrimage means to set out in a particular direction
towards a specific destination. The ultimate destination is heaven and shrines
help us to get there. Pope John Paul II thought of a shrine as being like an
"oasis of the spirit" and I like to think that shrines are the portal
to God. The actual pilgrimage itself, the journey from one place to another, is
the bridge over which believers walk to find their way to God, to see the face
of God more clearly, to understand more fully who God is, to come to know his
Son, Jesus, more intimately, and to know who they are in relationship to God. I
believe this to be the role of the shrine in America; in the life of the Church
in America.
Marian shrines like Czestochowa, Fatima, Lourdes, Guadalupe,
Doylestown, and Washington, D.C., have an advantage, because as Pope Benedict
XVI has expressed "Shrines are a source of life and faith" for the
Church and that as "pilgrims go on foot to our Lady," Mary guides us
and teaches us to speak personally with her Son and come into "profound
contact with God."
Shrines dedicated to the memory of the saints, such as those found
here in Philadelphia in honor of Saint John Neumann, Saint Katherine Drexel and
Saint Rita of Cascia, testify that holiness, that sanctity of life is possible.
The saints, who are visible, real-life examples, serve as an inspiration for
those of us struggling along the path to holiness. Their shrines illuminate the
way for everyday people to walk the road that leads to perfection.
In his letter to the Second World Congress on the Pastoral Care of
Pilgrimages and Shrines held at Santiago de Compostela last fall, Pope Benedict
counseled that the role of shrines are to be "sacred places" where
"the Word of Christ, the Son of the living God, can ring out clearly and
the event of his death and resurrection, the foundation of our faith, can be
proclaimed completely."
Recognizing that the world is gradually becoming more secular and
less faith oriented and that the people of the world are experiencing a crisis
in being and living the Christian faith, since the pontificate of the Servant
of God, Pope Paul VI, the Holy Fathers have identified a need for the
re-evangelization of today's world.
Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI have addressed the call for a
"new evangelization." The "vital core of the new
evangelization" Pope John Paul expressed, "must be a clear and
unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching
of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the kingdom which he has
gained for us by his paschal mystery ... everything planned in the church must
have Christ and his Gospel as its starting point."
Recognizing this foundation, Pope Benedict XVI articulated that
the thrust of the new evangelization is "to propose anew the perennial
truth of Christ's Gospel." We are challenged not to proclaim a new Gospel;
the Good News of Jesus is the same "yesterday, today and forever" (Heb
13:8). But our challenge is to present this message anew, once more, in a new
way, a different way, with a "renewed missionary drive" "that
truly makes an impact on people, awakens and transforms hearts." As
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington has succinctly summarized, "the new
evangelization is not a program … it is a mode of thinking, seeing and
experiencing. " It is "a lens through which we see the opportunities
to proclaim the Gospel anew."
There is no reason why shrines cannot be on the ground level of
promoting the new evangelization. In preparation of the Jubilee Year 2000, the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People,
which is the Vatican dicastery that oversees the ministry of shrines and
pilgrimages, issued a "reflection" on the nature and function of
shrines. In this document, the Pontifical Council clearly states that a
"shrine can become an excellent place wherein to deepen one's faith, in a
privileged place and at a favorable time, different from the ordinary. It can
offer occasions of new evangelization ... capable of leading to a dialogue with
God and to contemplate the immense mystery that enfolds and attracts us."
For centuries, shrines have assisted pilgrims in their spiritual
life by providing a place of respite from the challenges, struggles and
busy-ness of contemporary society. Shrines provide an environment where God's
spirit awakens and transforms hearts; where the message of the Gospel is
proclaimed and God's voice is heard. Through personal and communal prayer,
through the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, shrines provide the
avenue, which Pope John Paul II called, "an opportunity for the faithful
to encounter the living Christ" and ultimately, achieve the fullness of
life in heaven with God.
The work of the new evangelization is the seed for the renewal and
revitalization of faith in the Church. I truly believe that the ground is
fertile to receive this seed. Our people are thirsting for a deeper faith, a
more secure faith, a stronger faith, and greater meaning in their lives.
For over 2000 years, Jesus Christ, through the grace of the
sacraments, has been present in the life and growth of his church. Shrines and
pilgrimages help to foster and deepen this life of faith through prayer,
meditation, and the sacraments. It is our challenge to assist people in coming
to this wellspring, this unlimited source of life and renewed faith and
hopefully, our ministry will also assist us through the gates of heaven.
