World Youth Day USA Guides Retreat Manual | Page 19

A Reflection on Jesus the Pilgrim

Reader 2: You stepped into the Jordan River
to be baptized by John. The heavens opened

Leader: As we prepare to embark on this

and the Father declared, “You are my beloved

journey to World Youth Day, we remember

Son in whom I am well pleased!”

Jesus was once a pilgrim like us. He walks up
and down the mountain with us, just as he

You were led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

walked with Peter, James, and John. Whether

For 40 days you wandered in the desert, facing

we board a plane to Poland, or pray in solidarity

one temptation after the next.

with fellow pilgrims at home, we recall Jesus’s
journey and reflect on the ways Jesus show us

Nourished by angels and filled with the power

how to be a pilgrim in our daily walk of

of the Holy Spirit, you returned home to begin

faith. Let us listen attentively to the story of

your public ministry.

Jesus who was once a pilgrim like us.
You spent three years as an itinerant preacher,
ALL: Jesus, you were once a pilgrim, too.

roaming the back roads and crossing the sea,
making disciples of fishermen, forgiving

Reader 1: Your life began as a pilgrim, carried

sinners, and seeking out the sick and the lame.

in your mother’s womb from Nazareth to
Bethlehem, to fulfill the word of the prophets.

You walked on water and calmed the storm at
sea. You went off alone, to a quiet place to

You fled with your family to Egypt, entering a

pray. You ascended the mountaintop with three

strange land to escape the hands of King Herod

disciples, revealed to them your glory, and then
journeyed with them down the mountain.

As an infant, Mary and Joseph presented you
to the Lord in the temple at Jerusalem,

You traveled from one small town to another,

where Anna and Simeon gazed upon you

teaching in houses and synagogues. You told

and recognized you as the messiah.

stories and parables, and you spoke words that
everyone could understand.

As a young boy, Jesus, you were separated
from Mary and Joseph in the temple. You

You cured a blind man in Bethsaida, chased

remind us that not all who wander are lost.

away demons in Genessaret. You passed
through Jericho where Zacchaeus waited for

ALL: Jesus, you were once a pilgrim, too.

you in a sycamore tree.
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