Dear Friend,

Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D.

I was blessed last year to walk the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrimage route that leads to the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela where the remains of Saint James are venerated.  For years, I had dreamed about making the Camino.  I read books, saw movies, and finally made plans to embark on this journey of faith.  I was not disappointed.  It was a life changing experience for me.  While the transformation took place while I was walking (before, during, and after), it was a consequence of God’s grace working in my heart all along.   

The photo above is from one of the first days of my Camino.  It is of two of my companions along the Way.  I was struck then by the great power and comfort of accompaniment while walking.  During this Advent Season, the same lesson of hospitality along the way is palpable and inviting for you and me.  Today’s first reading from Mass presents a strikingly similar picture for us: 

“A highway will be there called the holy way … 

It is for those with a journey to make, 

And on it the redeemed will walk.” 

(see Isaiah 35:1-10) 

We are those people with a journey to make.  We walk this journey with and in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord.  Through the presence of others with us on the journey, Christ calls us to a deeper awareness of His loving and saving Presence, most especially in the Eucharist.   

Pope Benedict XVI captures this dynamic beautifully: 

“We should recall that no man is an island, entire of itself.  Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together.  No one lives alone.  No one sins alone.  No one is saved alone.  The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve.  And conversely, my life spills over in that of others: for better and for worse.  … It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain.

Advent is an opportunity for us to welcome the presence of others in our lives and to grow in our capacity to give and receive hospitality.  On the level of faith, Advent is our annual time to renew our capacity to welcome the presence of the One who came among us to heal and to save and to restore, Jesus Christ.   

Reflection: 

Do I see my life as a journey, or is it more of being stuck in one place?  Who are those people God has blessed me with, whose lives “spill over into mine” along the “holy way”?  Do I have a sense of my own need for healing, saving, and restoration?  Am I ready to welcome all of this?   

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Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity, Seton Hall University, and former Rector/Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.