Saturday Morning with Vdei - Walking as Pilgrims of Hope
By Sr. Sandra Seow, FMVD. Posted on 08 Mar 2025.
Pope Francis has declared 2025 as the Jubilee Year, centered on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” To celebrate this special occasion, on the bright and sunny morning of 8th March, 17 of us set out on an 8 km mini-pilgrimage from Sommerville Road to Good Shepherd Cathedral.
We gathered at Verbum Dei Missionaries’ house, nestled at 4 Sommerville Road. Joan, a lay disciple of the community, gave a short input about the Jubilee Year logo. Her input resonated deeply within us, reminding us to hold onto Christ as our living hope as we navigate the twists and turns of our life’s journey. Here is an excerpt from her reflection:
“As I was praying with this logo while preparing for today’s sharing, I was particularly drawn to the red figure hugging the anchor. This image reminded me of an instance when I was about 7 years old when I ran to my mom and clung onto her after seeing a crow flying towards me. Being with my mom made me feel safe. I was certain that the crow would not hurt me.
Similarly, throughout life, we are always looking for something to cling to, to make us feel safe and secure. For some of us, it might be a promotion, getting good grades or the opportunity to go on a holiday…We need to ask ourselves: “Isn’t there something more beyond all these?”
Today, Jesus invites us to embrace this “something more” which is Christian hope…Jesus invites us to use Him as our anchor of hope. We often associate “hope” with something distant and out of reach, but Jesus desires to be near and encounter us now in the present. We see this in the cross extending down to the level of the figures, before being firmly planted in the waters. Jesus wants to be our living hope in our day-to-day lives, an “anchor for our souls that is firm and secure” as St. Paul mentions in Heb 6:19… To conclude, hope is not meant to be kept for ourselves but to be shared with others. When we use Jesus as an anchor while sailing through life’s ups and downs, our lives become testimonies of Christian hope. This is the message we see with the rest of the figures embracing the one clinging onto the anchor. In the same way, when we ourselves experience hopelessness in our lives, seeing those who live with hope can inspire us to hope again…”
After a brief moment of reflection on Joan’s insightful input, we recited a decade of the rosary, praying for our personal intentions and that Christ would be our anchor of hope in the ups and downs of life. With determination, we embarked on our journey to the parish of St. Michael. Arriving at the grotto area of the parish, we took a moment to pause and pray for peace in the world and in families.
We then began the trek to the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes, filled with eagerness and excitement. The walk stretched out before us under the blazing sun, and for an hour, we walked towards our destination. Despite the heat, our spirits remained high. Laughter and cheerful conversations filled the air as we shared stories and experiences, each step deepening our joy in this shared adventure.
When we reached the parish of our Lady of Lourdes, we gathered at the tranquil grotto and prayed two decades of the rosary, lifting our intentions for migrants and the sick. We also took a moment to pray for Pope Francis’ recovery. After a short rest, we continued on toward our final destination, the Shrine of the Jubilee Crucifix at the Good Shepherd Cathedral.
The joy that enveloped us upon stepping into the Cathedral grounds was palpable. Standing before the statue of the Jubilee logo at the Grotto of the Blessed Mother, we took time to share our reflections and experiences from our journey. Together, we concluded our final decade of the rosary, asking Mother Mary to help us to become missionaries of hope for others. With hearts of gratitude, we then entered the Cathedral, where we silently prayed before the Jubilee Crucifix of Hope, a powerful reminder of God’s love.
Below are two pilgrims’ fruits of the mini-pilgrimage:
“The word anchored (being anchored in Christ) spoke out to me in the morning sharing about the logo of the jubilee year. As I participated in the walk and engaged in conversations with fellow pilgrims in the community, I found time passing by really quickly and also a sense of peace in my heart. Suddenly, the challenges of the past week and the doubts I have about the future are no longer consuming my head. I realised the word anchor doesn’t just refer to anchoring in Christ, it could also mean “presence” and being anchored to the moment. Though the common understanding of hope is to look forward to something in the future, what I realised today was that being present in the moment could also bring us that joy and hope for the future we seek as we start to better appreciate the little graces and blessings the Lord has blessed us with in each moment in time, allowing us to better trust in God’s goodness and providence. I pray for the patience and grace to be able to better appreciate each and every moment God has blessed me with, even in periods of dryness and desolation.” ~ By Jonathan Mui.
“I was grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the Pilgrim of Hope Walk with Verbum Dei. As someone who is not really an outdoor person, I was hesitant at first whether I could make it through the entire walk, which seemed quite long. Yet, with an open spirit, I found myself having fruitful and meaningful conversations with old and new friends on the walk, which kept me going. This experience reminded me that we don’t walk alone as pilgrims on the journey, but we do so together with a community of like-minded people who are also searching for God and for hope.” ~ By Beatrice Yeo.