Catholic Outlook Magazine Ordinary Time Spring Edition 2022

Looking Deeper
This sense of Church as pilgrim is also central to
Pope Francis. In Evangelii Gaudium, he insists that
the Church is “first and foremost a people advancing
on its pilgrim way towards God.” In a 2021 address,
he says, “When the Church stops, she is no longer
Church, but a beautiful pious association which
imprisons the Holy Spirit.” Journeying is part of our
nature as Christians – Church is not a “what,” it is
who we are. We are pilgrim. Being pilgrim means to
be not at home; to be vulnerable, but also enriched
by the journey.
Pilgrim Church is not meant to be an individualistic
image; pilgrims travel together. In Christian thinking,
we travel with the entire communion of saints. This
sense of “journeying together” is being evoked by
Pope Francis’ concept of synodality. The Preparatory
Document for the 2023 Synod states: “Our
‘journeying together’ is, in fact, what most effectively
enacts and manifests the nature of the Church as the
pilgrim and missionary People of God.” To be pilgrim
is to be synodal.
Aside from this, the Church as pilgrim highlights two
key dimensions of being Church. Firstly, it refers to
the living Church in history, the Church here and now.
The Church is not a great ark sailing untouched and
impervious over the choppy and dangerous waters of
history. Instead, the Church is a pilgrim people, living
in and with the world. This understanding is reflected
by the opening lines of Vatican II’s Gaudium et Spes:
Understanding the Church as pilgrim reminds us of a
certain “now-but-not-yet” that is part of being Church.
As Gaudium et Spes states, in article 48, “The
Church…will attain its full perfection only in the glory
of heaven.” As such, the Church is called always to
conversion and repentance. Repentance is a key part
of being pilgrim, along with the humility to recognise
that we are not yet what the Spirit calls us to be.
Of course, we do not know what the Kingdom will
be like. But Scripture gives us an idea: “See, the
home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with
them; they will be His peoples, and God Himself will
be with them and be their God; He will wipe every
tear from their eyes.” (Rev 21:3-4). For now, we are
a wandering people; but we are walking homeward.
Under the circumstances, what else can we be but a
pilgrim Church?
Dr Antonia Pizzey is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Australian
Catholic University’s Research Centre for Studies of the
Second Vatican Council. Dr Pizzey has a PhD in Theology
from ACU and is a lecturer at the university’s School of
Theology. Her research focuses on Receptive Ecumenism
and the Church as “pilgrim”.
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties
of the people of this age, especially those who
are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the
joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the
followers of Christ.”
As pilgrim, the Church journeys within history, not
outside of it. This Pilgrim Church must be humble,
open to recognising the Spirit at work in other
cultures and languages, not just reinforcing the status
quo. Walking a pilgrim path is one of hardship and
struggle – but also of rebirth through conversion. So,
the image of “pilgrim” reflects the historical nature of
the Church.
Secondly, the Church as pilgrim highlights the
connection between Church and Kingdom. The
Church is not moving purposelessly, like a mouse
running on a wheel, going nowhere. The Church is
journeying always towards the Kingdom of God.
This is what brings hope to the sometimes dark
and suffering journey of the pilgrim people. There
is a destination, a home where we belong, and that
destination is with God.
41