VANCOUVER — For Simpson Ma, a Jubilee pilgrimage through Vancouver wasn’t just a walk, it was the start of a new journey as a Catholic.
Ma, a recent convert who was baptized in May, said the 5.5 km walk from the John Paul II Pastoral Centre to Holy Rosary Cathedral felt like his first “baby steps” as a new Catholic.
The St. Francis de Sales parishioner, the last of his family to convert to Christianity, joined about 50 pilgrims on a May 24 trek organized by Vancouver’s Chinese Ministry to mark both the Jubilee Year of Hope and the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
Led by Deacon Richard Chau, Ma and his fellow walkers were joined by more pilgrims at the Cathedral. Eventually over 100 people from around the Archdiocese participated in the Chinese Ministry pilgrimage, which ended with Father Paul Chu leading prayers outside the cathedral for the Church in China before the group entered for noonday Mass.
The St. Francis de Sales parishioner told The B.C. Catholic the pilgrimage gave him a more profound insight into the spiritual life. The company of his fellow pilgrims and the experience of walking both taught him about the importance of the journey itself.
“The final destination is not the most important thing,” he said, “even though we know we are walking to the cathedral downtown, the shared pleasure of being on the journey itself — on the walk itself — has truly reminded me of the spiritual growth that I have experienced through RCIA. To make the walk reminded me constantly of the grace that God has given us.”
He also learned a lesson about the value of friends and community, as many of his co-parishioners were surprised to learn that he wasn’t baptized.
“They said, ‘I thought you were baptized already,’” he recounted with a laugh. “I was like a unbaptized Catholic — an undercover Catholic.”
Ma was in RCIA for a year and a half, and the feeling that he wasn’t worthy held him back from being baptized. Finally, he said, he needed to learn to “let it go,” and accept that Jesus loved him.
“After 64 years I think that baptism has released my guilt and now I can make Jesus the centre of my life,” he said. “Walking with the [other pilgrims] and talking with friends really showed me that I have ‘let it go,’ and I have grown in my faith journey.”
The pilgrimage was also planned as an opportunity for Vancouver Catholics to participate in this year’s World Day of Prayer for the Church in China.
Ma grew up in Hong Kong and said although he wants to avoid being political, China’s poor record on religious liberty can’t be ignored. The sheer size of its population and its global influence mean praying for China’s conversion is important. “China has such a huge population, and if more of them could find God it would be better for the whole world,” he said.
More than their political concern, Ma and others are motivated by brotherly love. “The moment I was baptized I had a sense of peace and calm — serenity. I want to help other people in the world find that. We need to pray for our brothers in China, to have the freedom to be able to open that door and feel the love of the Father,” he said.
