Regencia, Lyle Ariane M.

1-O
Reflection Paper on the Article by Timothy Radcliffe OP:

I Will Awake the Dawn

In Chapter 1, Timothy Radcliffe OP, asked what is the point of being Christian? In which
our life is shaped by some ultimate goal that gives them meaning? Questions akin to this, which
plague our mind on what, are the meaning of what we do or what is our purpose, if we are at the
moment of pointless and not have an answer at hand, a natural tendency for human is to keep
pursuing on the endeavour while searching a source of hope while on the path of struggle. In the
aspect of religion, when one person loses his religious inclination, a natural expression of this
religious hunger is to go on pilgrimage (Radcliffe, 2005).
Pilgrims came from different parts of the world. They become pilgrims because of certain
reasons, some to have a faith renewal, some to strengthen their faith, some to feel closer to God,
some to travel and explore. The Philippines is the bastion of Christianity in Asia with 93% of
Filipinos is Catholic (Guzman, 2011). During Holy Week, millions of Filipinos went to
pilgrimage, Kamay ni Hesus and Mount Banahaw in Quezon were one of the famous
destinations, some walk for more than ten hours wearing their boards shorts and carrying their
bags with their salbabida to reach Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Church in San Jose del Monte,
Bulacan. But do they really walking and struggling to renew, strengthen their faith with God? Or
they would only travel and go to the Grotto Vista Resort near the church? What is the meaning or
point of walking for ten hours to church? The only person could answer this question is the
pilgrim himself, which could be related to the Christian hope.
In the Article, that society believes that it was on its way to a glorious material future. We
believe that the road carried on a bit further, to the kingdom of God. Radcliffe gave the Last
Supper as the paradox of Christianity. That before the last supper, the disciples were very
optimistic about the Kingdom of God eventually, when Judas sold Jesus, everything collapsed
and the disciples disintegrated (Radcliffe, 2005). In recent history of man, the world suffers from
different acts similar to how Judas sold Jesus. Some of which were the Holocaust in Auschwitz,
9/11 Twin-Tower bombing, the Rwanda Genocide, or the sexual abuse by some clergy. This
betrayal cause or produce disintegration in the world. However, there are still instances which
uphold the road to the kingdom of God. For example, in 1966 when Pope Paul IV and
Archbishop Michael Ramsey celebrated together an ecumenical liturgy in St. Paul without the
Walls, in Rome, this instance creates expression and gesture of reunification of churches. In
Cairo, Egypt, where after hard work, the children walk back to their home see paintings of Christ
in glory, Christs resurrection, his ascension to heaven and his coming at the end (Radcliffe,
2005). This is what the author is trying to illuminate in the title of the chapter, I Will Awake the
Dawn. That though the world is facing numerous, different, and grave betrayals, there is still the
acts and instances which provide us, the wandering pilgrims to the kingdom of God, Hope and
optimism to pursue and continue the struggle, because we know that in the end of the tunnel. We
would reach the kingdom of God.
Bibliography
Guzman, L. d. (2011, December 21). Inquirer. Retrieved August 11, 2o15, from Philippines still
top Christian country in Asia, 5th in world:
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/21233/philippines-still-top-christian-country-in-asia-5th-
in-world

Radcliffe, T. O. (2005). What is the Point of Being a Christian? Chicago: Burns & Oates.