We are a pilgrim people from the day we are born until the day we die. Hopefully, our journey is leading us to God. This belief is at the core of Tekton Ministries’ mission, and what sets us apart from “travel agencies” and “tour companies.”
As a pilgrim, you join Abraham, the Blessed Mother Mary, Paul, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola, Paul VI, and scores of others. They have made the yearning of Paul their own pilgrim’s prayer: “Father, I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have let go of all things, and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ...I continue my journey in hope that I may possess (Him) since I have been taken hold of by (him)...forgetting what lies behind but straining to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the heavenly prize which beckons, God’s call in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:8-14).
For Christian pilgrims, Jesus is our companion to the holy places, and He is also the goal of the pilgrimage. Luke’s Gospel depicts the Lord’s whole life as a journey to Jerusalem. The Letter to the Hebrews describes how, having completed his own earthly pilgrimage, the author beckons those who are still on theirs: “...let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race [read pilgrimage] that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before Him, He endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the Father” (Heb. 12:1-3)
A pilgrimage is a means of following the Gospels, which were written to expand and amplify the words of Jesus: “Come follow Me.” This is a personal invitation to enter into His holiness and is dependent upon the pilgrim’s acceptance. God’s call may vary but the purpose remains consistent: to know God more fully. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John probably never thought they were providing us a road map, but instead, were extending to us the same invitation which they had received.