Returning from Pilgrimage

Dear Parishioners,

Now that I have returned from pilgrimage, I wanted to share some of the graces of those days—not simply to tell you where I went, but because I hope that something of what I encountered might help all of us grow closer to the saints.

One of the gifts of pilgrimage is the opportunity to pray at the places where the saints lived and at their tombs. The Church reminds us that the saints are not simply figures from the past whom we admire. They are alive in Christ. Having been perfected in the love of God and neighbor, they continue to intercede for us. To visit their tombs, then, is not simply to remember them, but to ask their prayers and to allow their witness to challenge our own lives.

The heart of the pilgrimage for me was Assisi. I had first visited there in 2018 for the tenth anniversary of my priesthood, and I was grateful to return as we approach the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis.

I expected Francis to be at the center of my experience, but I was surprised by how much I was drawn to St. Clare. Her humility, simplicity, purity, and love for the Eucharist stayed with me. Though her vocation was very different from that of our patroness, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, something about Clare reminded me of her. She gathered women around her and formed them above all to love Christ and to serve His Church.

We also prayed at the tomb of St. Carlo Acutis. There was something striking about standing before the body of a saint who lived in our own time and died so young. I am forty-five, and St. Francis had already completed his earthly life by forty-four. Being so close to these saints left me with a simple and uncomfortable question: What am I doing with the life God has given me?

As we continued through Siena, Todi, and Orvieto, that question took different forms. St. Catherine of Siena lived only thirty-three years, yet her love for Christ bore remarkable fruit in the Church. Jacopone da Todi gave poetic expression to the longing for God that marked the Franciscan tradition. In Orvieto, the beauty of the cathedral and its connection to Eucharistic devotion pointed again toward Christ present among His people. Different saints, different places, different vocations—but the same invitation to allow our lives to be transformed by love of God.

That became especially powerful in Rome.

On October 1, the feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, we were at St. Peter’s Basilica for the ordination of eighteen men to the transitional diaconate. Thérèse once said, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth.” Five of those men had been seminarians during my years serving in priestly formation, and it was a great joy to see them offer themselves for service to the Church. The saints are not only witnesses from centuries ago. Christ is still calling people now, still forming them, and still inviting His people to give their lives in love.

One saint I continue to think about since returning is St. Philip Neri. He lived during a difficult period in the life of the Church, yet he became known for joy. Through friendship, prayer, humor, confession, and a deep love of Christ, he drew people toward the Gospel. I hope I can imitate something of that joy.

I was also grateful that my mother was able to make most of the pilgrimage and that my father cared for her so faithfully throughout the journey. They celebrated fifty-two years of marriage while we were in Italy, and their quiet fidelity offered another kind of witness to holiness—one much closer to the ordinary lives most of us are called to live.

That is perhaps what I most want to bring home from the pilgrimage. The saints are not given to us merely so that we can admire extraordinary lives from a distance. They show us what the grace of God can do in a human life, and they pray for us as we try to follow the same Christ whom they loved.

Pope Francis often spoke about the “saints next door”: ordinary men and women who allow Christ to be present through the way they love, sacrifice, forgive, persevere, and serve. We may never travel to Assisi or Siena or Rome, but we do not have to travel far to encounter the call to holiness. Through our Baptism, God has already begun that work in us, and in the Sunday Eucharist He continues to feed us with the Bread of Heaven.

So I hope that sharing a little of this pilgrimage does more than introduce you to a few places I visited. I hope it encourages each of us to know the saints more personally, to ask their intercession more confidently, and to believe that the holiness we see in them is not something belonging only to another place or another age.
May they pray for us, and may their friendship help us become the saints Christ is calling forth here and now.

Ahora que he regresado de la peregrinación, quiero compartir sobre todo una gracia: una cercanía renovada con los santos. En Asís, Siena, Orvieto y Roma, tuve la oportunidad de rezar en las tumbas y lugares santos relacionados con San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Carlo Acutis, Santa Catalina de Siena, San Felipe Neri y otros. Los santos no son solamente ejemplos del pasado. Están vivos en Cristo y continúan intercediendo por nosotros.
Sus vidas también me desafiaron. San Francisco murió a los cuarenta y cuatro años; Santa Catalina, a los treinta y tres; San Carlo, aún más joven. Su testimonio me hizo preguntarme cómo estoy usando la vida que Dios me ha dado.
Una peregrinación no consiste solamente en visitar lugares santos, sino en regresar a casa de una manera distinta. Espero que estos santos nos ayuden a acercarnos más a Cristo, a pedir su intercesión con confianza y a convertirnos en los “santos de la puerta de al lado” en nuestras familias, parroquia y comunidad.

Maintenant que je suis revenu de pèlerinage, je voudrais surtout partager une grâce : une proximité renouvelée avec les saints. À Assise, Sienne, Orvieto et Rome, j’ai pu prier auprès des tombeaux et des lieux saints liés à saint François, sainte Claire, saint Carlo Acutis, sainte Catherine de Sienne, saint Philippe Néri et bien d’autres. Les saints ne sont pas seulement des exemples du passé. Ils sont vivants dans le Christ et continuent d’intercéder pour nous.
Leur vie m’a aussi interpellé. Saint François est mort à quarante-quatre ans, sainte Catherine à trente-trois ans, et saint Carlo encore plus jeune. Leur témoignage m’a conduit à me demander comment j’utilise la vie que Dieu m’a donnée.
Un pèlerinage ne consiste pas seulement à visiter des lieux saints, mais à revenir chez soi transformé. J’espère que ces saints nous aideront à nous rapprocher du Christ, à demander leur intercession avec confiance et à devenir, nous aussi, des « saints de la porte d’à côté ».

Giờ đây, sau khi trở về từ chuyến hành hương, tôi muốn chia sẻ một ân sủng nổi bật nhất: được gần gũi hơn với các thánh. Tại Assisi, Siena, Orvieto và Rôma, tôi đã có cơ hội cầu nguyện tại các phần mộ và những nơi thánh gắn liền với Thánh Phanxicô, Thánh Clara, Thánh Carlo Acutis, Thánh Catarina thành Siena, Thánh Philip Neri và nhiều vị khác. Các thánh không chỉ là những gương mẫu của quá khứ. Các ngài đang sống trong Đức Kitô và vẫn tiếp tục chuyển cầu cho chúng ta.
Cuộc đời của các ngài cũng khiến tôi suy nghĩ. Thánh Phanxicô qua đời lúc 44 tuổi, Thánh Catarina lúc 33 tuổi, và Thánh Carlo còn trẻ hơn nữa. Chứng tá của các ngài khiến tôi tự hỏi mình đang sử dụng đời sống Chúa ban cách nào.
Hành hương không chỉ là đến những nơi thánh, mà là trở về nhà với một tâm hồn được đổi mới. Xin các thánh giúp chúng ta đến gần Đức Kitô hơn và trở nên những “vị thánh bên cạnh nhà” ngay trong gia đình, giáo xứ và cộng đoàn của mình.

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