Knowing Him Better

            Throughout the pilgrimage, we have heard the constant refrain, “A pilgrimage is an outward journey to stimulate an inner journey.” Some of the men who have gone before us have told us that, after the pilgrimage, one never reads the Bible in the same way again. This Christmas was proof positive that we are further on the interior journey and can, almost literally, see the Bible in a new light. As a pilgrimage group we attended Midnight Mass at Bethlehem University. One of our deacons chanted the gospel, which is the story of the birth of Christ as found in the Gospel of Luke (Lk 2:1-14). It was amazing and powerful to hear this story proclaimed in the very town in which the events occurred. As the Gospel was being proclaimed, many of us could vividly see in our mind the story taking place. We have prayed in the grotto in which Christ was born. We have heard the story of the shepherds in the fields in which they tended their sheep and learned that their shepherd had been born. After the mass, one of the faculty members remarked, “This is why we came here.” Indeed, this is why we came to the Holy Land, to see those places where Christ walked in order to be able to more closely follow in his footsteps.

            When someone desires to get to know another better and to grow in a relationship with him or her, it is important to see the actual places that are significant to the other. In this pilgrimage, we have been seeing various places that were important to many of those who have gone before us in faith, people such as Abraham and Sarah, David, Mary and Joseph and most importantly Jesus. In doing so, we have been able to more deeply reflect on their lives and have been further inspired to live out the best virtues that they have shown. We are able to grow in our understanding of who Jesus was and is, and are thus able to grow in our relationship with him. While Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem are a profoundly beautiful way to grow closer to our Savior, it is not the only way to grow closer to Christ. Rather, we must continue to come to know Christ as he is made present in our world today. We are called to continue to make room for Christ to dwell in each of our hearts. In a sense, every day should be an image of Christmas in Bethlehem. In order to live with Christ in the life to come, we must receive him into our hearts, as he was received by Mary and Joseph into the world, every day of our lives.