By Novice Rintu Mondol
St Ignatius called himself a pilgrim. In the beginning his pilgrimage was a
physical journey but gradually it became a spiritual journey. Following the footsteps of St Ignatius we,
the novices of the Calcutta province, made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Mother
Teresa.
We started our journey at 4 in the morning after
a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits, under the guidance of Fr Sajeev
Painunkal, our socius. As we walked out
of the campus, we had a short stop at the statue of Our Lady, praying to her
and asking her for her assistance all through the journey. We walked in groups of two. All through the way we were praying, reciting
the rosary and sometimes making spiritual conversations with the spiritual companion. We took nearly four hours to reach the Mother
House from Dhyan Ashram, a distance of about 20 kms. It was a tiring walk, but our prayer gave us strength
and enough energy to walk and filled our hearts with great delight. In the middle of our journey we had a short
break. Those lagging behind for lack of energy
once again restored the strength with a cup of tea and a packet of
biscuits. After that we resumed our walk
and around 8 o’clock, we reached our destination.
After reaching the Mother House we offered
our prayers and petitions through the intercession of Mother Teresa. Meanwhile the good sisters arranged the altar
for a mass next to Mother’s tomb. Soon
after that we entered into the Eucharistic celebration with great
devotion. The mass was the climax of our
pilgrimage. Fr Sajeev reminded us that
the pilgrimage is not in the walking; it is in why we walked! We offered all our intentions and petitions with
the concsecration of the bread and the wine.
I felt a deep union with the Lord during the doxology. I really encountered God in the silence of my
heart. I remembered Mother Teresa and her
abounding love to satiate the thirst of Christ among the poorest of the
poor. We thanked God for the gift of
Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity to the world.
After the mass and after visiting the small
exhibition, we walked to Prabhu Jisur Girja and Br Christu had arranged a good
breakfast for us. It was a nice time to
relax after the tiring morning. Then Fr
John Rojerse took us to the LTS Centre and explained to us the history and work
of the movement. After that we were on
our way back. We reached Dhyan Ashram
right in time for lunch. As we entered
the campus, we spent another few moments in prayer at the statue of Our Lady,
thanking her for her assistance during our pilgrimage.
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