“We are but travellers here.”
Saint Mary Mackillop
In 2011, our first group of pilgrims journeyed to Peru to spend time with the Sisters of Saint Joseph. There were seventeen of us; fifteen students and two staff from Clairvaux Mackillop College in Brisbane. We walked in the charism of Saint Mary Mackillop, a Founder of our College, through working alongside the Sisters, and through our morning and evening prayers and critical reflections. In 2013, we returned with nine students and three staff, and in 2015, sixteen students and five staff, forging strong ties with the sisters and the people who they lived amongst.
In her own life, Saint Mary MacKillop understood what it meant to be a pilgrim, someone journeying, on the way to a new destination. With her family, Mary travelled long distances. When she established the congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph, Mary travelled far and wide to visit her sisters, to encourage them in their own faith/life journeys, to support them with her love, care and example of serving the poor. Mary’s journey through life as a pilgrim showed her complete faith and trust that God would provide her with all that she needed to do God’s work. During her travels, Mary appreciated the hospitality shown to her by many people; she also enjoyed opportunities to share something of her work with other people, as well as to simply enjoy their companionship.
For us too, our trip was a journey of relationships; we nurtured and strengthened bonds of love and care, celebrated special events, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a journey of hospitality where we were challenged to receive gratefully the kindness and generosity of others. It was a journey of unity where we worked for the betterment of our world and affirmed the dignity and value of every person. It was a journey of learning, enriching our understanding of other ways, other cultures. It was a journey to sacred places that provided a haven for us to encounter our God anew and be refreshed and energised through our time apart from the demands at home. We were not tourists. A tourist goes somewhere to see something new. We were pilgrims, going somewhere to become someone new, to be transformed in the journey itself.
This year, 2018, we have sixteen pilgrims, all adults mostly from Colleges affiliated with the charism of Saint Mary MacKillop, as well as one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. We invite you to travel with us, in spirit, on our journey.
Peru Pilgrimage 2018 