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Because St. Ignatius referred to himself as the “pilgrim,” this word resonates in a special way with practitioners of Ignatian spirituality. Like Ignatius, we are called to action this year—to put on our boots and go forth into the world. Remember also that when Ignatius set out on his pilgrimage, he was freshly out of months in bed recuperating from the cannonball hit. There was likely no physical therapy in those days, so we can assume that when Ignatius hit the road, while cabin fever must have had him raring to go, he was probably physically deconditioned. He was severely out of shape and had a new, permanent disability: a limp caused by his shortened leg, which threw off his gait. There had to be more than a little pain involved in his pilgrimage.
Likewise, the call to pilgrimage that we hear this year is not just for those fit pilgrims who have trained for months to walk the Camino de Santiago or the Camino Ignaciano. This call goes out to everyone, both the spiritual athletes and the walking wounded. All are called.
—Excerpted from “The Jubilee’s Promise of Renewal”
by Rebecca Ruiz
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