During my months as a volunteer in Magdala, I dedicated a bit of time each day to meditate in front of the altar at Duc In Altum, shaped like a typical first-century boat, while contemplating the Sea of Galilee. These were moments full of silence and peace that always felt too short. I liked (I like) to imagine Jesus preaching his parables or sailing with his disciples on that sea, sometimes calm and barely wavy, sometimes stormy with strong winds. Just like life. Like the serene experiences and complicated situations that make our journey through life a pilgrimage in constant agitation and tension.
We must remember that our pilgrimage is not individual but communal: we cannot go alone in the boat of life because we would surely sink. We must count on each other, helping, accompanying, and supporting each other in prayer as Pope Francis recommends in his magnificent document "Teach Us to Pray" for the preparation of the Jubilee 2025, whose logo perfectly represents this idea: four figures embracing and navigating together, braving the waves by clinging to the cross and the anchor.
To align with the jubilee theme "Pilgrims of Hope," I would like to focus on the anchor in the logo, as it is the most essential part of a ship. Sailors consider the anchor a symbol of safety and, since the early centuries of Christianity, a symbol of hope and, in turn, of Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ becomes the hope amid a storm. Jesus Christ is the hope that never fails for those who believe in Him. Jesus Christ is the anchor and the lifeline to which every Christian must cling. As Peter does in Matthew 14:30-31, in which, sinking into the waters of the sea, he cries out to Jesus in anguish: "Lord, save me," and Jesus grabs him with his hand. In this scene, beautifully depicted in one of the side chapels of Duc In Altum, we can see a firm, solid, and completely serene Jesus amid the storm. Jesus saves Peter (and those who believe in Him) from physical and spiritual drowning and fills him with hope. Hebrews 6:19 says this hope "is like a firm and secure anchor for the soul," just as the anchor keeps the ship steady.
In short, Jesus is the anchor that we must never let go of. Let us cling to Him! Let us keep our hands united with Him! Let us sail together towards heaven in Jesus' boat! Let us be "Pilgrims of Hope." Let us be pilgrims anchored in the anchor. Let us be pilgrims full of hope not only for today but also to look to the future with hope; as Pope Francis says, for whom the anchor is one of his favorite Christian symbols, “Our life is like an anchor that is in heaven, fixed in the place where we will arrive."
