Using technology in service to the faith in this way is truly remarkable . It has opened up tremendous possibilities to Catholic leaders . More people will likely participate in the 2019 WYD through digital media and local gatherings than going to Panama . This is both a challenge and opportunity for dioceses / eparchies , parishes , and religious groups to find effective ways to engage with WYD from home .
Putting Pilgrimage in Context When people go on pilgrimage , where are they coming from ? What is going on there ? What are the blessings and burdens of the community or nation from which they came ? These are not the questions that are usually asked about pilgrims . The main question usually is , “ Where are they going ?” The stories told about pilgrims are typically stories of their journey to someplace . But as any good storyteller will remind an audience , “ That is not the full story .” Every story starts from some place , and that place matters .
In literature and film , Homer ’ s Odyssey , Geoffrey Chaucer ’ s Canterbury Tales , Frank Baum ’ s The Wizard of Oz , Lewis Carrol ’ s Alice in Wonderland , J . R . R . Tolkien ’ s Lord of the Rings , and C . S . Lewis ’ Narnia series are all examples of a journey . But notice that the stories are not over until the heroes return home ( or arrive at a new home ) to their community . In other words , what can tend to be overlooked is the hero ’ s community . In the same way , a pilgrim does not exist in isolation but in relationships rooted in the community from which he or she comes .
Think also about the Olympics . The stories of the athletes and their relationships and experiences back home form a big part of the media coverage of the Olympic games . There are stories of high school coaches who inspired athletes to do their best , of sweethearts back home who are watching every day , or parents who sacrificed countless things to make an Olympic moment possible for their child . In every city or village who sent an Olympian to compete , the community is often glued to the television , radio , or news reports , waiting to hear the name of their hometown hero .
It is impossible to understand the full story of the pilgrim without knowing his or her context . When pilgrims gather for World Youth Day , they often carry the flags of their countries — the communities from which they came . Pilgrims come from a community , and journey as a community , to encounter the Lord , so that they can return transformed to the community from which they came and transform that community . At the same time ,
7