Journey has long been a metaphor for life

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Good morning! As long as I can remember, I’ve gone on pilgrimage. One of my earliest memories is my parents piling my four brothers and I into our bright red Fiat Strada for the long journey to the Marian Shrine of Knock in the west of Ireland. This was long before the European Union generously provided for the beautiful network of motorways we now enjoy. No, back in the 1980s we went through every town and village, and felt every bump on that long road – my poor parents. Pilgrimage as a practice is found in nearly every major world religion, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Sikhism. as well as indigenous and ancient faiths. Pilgrimages serve as journeys to sacred sites to reinforce faith, seek blessings, or fulfil religious duties. Journey has long been a metaphor for life. Sacred texts are full of journeys, while in literature from ancient epics to modern fiction, the journey represents a quest for self-discovery, growth, and transformation. T.S. Eliot wrote: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Perhaps he was making the point that true understanding comes not from endless searching, but from returning to your origins with newfound wisdom. Realising your starting point was more profound than you knew, and seeing it with fresh, enlightened eyes. It’s a paradox: exploration is essential to gain the perspective needed to truly comprehend the familiar, making the familiar new again. I pray for wisdom to see the journey often brings us back to where we began, but transformed by experience, we recognise it with deeper insight. Amen.