When the Jewish people established themselves in land God gave them, they began making several pilgrimages, particularly to the City of Jerusalem, because it contained the Temple of the Living God. Annually, three major pilgrimages were held to Jerusalem: the Passover in remembrance of the Jewish people’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage; the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), fifty days after Passover, in remembrance of when God gave the Commandments to His people through Moses, which also marked the beginning of the wheat harvest and offering of the first fruits to God; the other festival is the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), which takes place during the harvest in autumn and commemorates the forty years the Israelites wandered in the desert, living in temporary dwellings such as tents and huts.

Until the destruction of the temple, every Jewish family was expected to make at least one of these pilgrimages. A clear example is given to us by Luke the Evangelist, who recounts the time when Mary and Joseph lost Jesus during one of these pilgrimages, after which they found Him in the Temple (Lk 2:41-52). Even as an adult, Jesus took part in these pilgrimages and festivals, as we find recorded in detail in the Gospel according to St John.

These pilgrimages expressed the longing of God’s chosen people for His Holy City to celebrate these festivals close to the ‘place’ that God had chosen to dwell in on earth. There’s a good reason why the Psalmist sang: “My soul yearns and is filled with longing for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (Psalm 84:2-3).

There are fifteen Psalms associated with these pilgrimages—from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134—known as the Songs of Ascents that the pilgrims would most probably sing on their way to Jerusalem. They are called ‘of Ascents’ because Jerusalem is built on a mountain. And, just as life is full of ups and downs, in these Psalms joy is mingled with sorrow, and enthusiasm with lethargy. The journey is difficult and arduous, illustrating life’s struggles and challenges. But throughout all this, there is a joy that is not superficial and does not ebb away quickly. This joy comes from a strong hope in the Lord’s strength, through which we overcome—or rather God Himself overcomes in us—the obstacles we encounter, including temptations, influences and distractions that come to us externally and make us forget the aim of the pilgrimage.

With their visceral concreteness, these Psalms show us that hope does not mean optimism! Optimism limps along the road because it focuses only on the positive side of reality, while hope goes further by placing both our feet on the ground. Hope opens our eyes to see the whole of reality as it truly is, with both its beauty and its ugliness, just as God sees it. As Pope Francis observed during the General Audience of December 7, 2016:

Optimism disappoints, but hope does not! We have such need, in these times which appear dark, in which we sometimes feel disoriented at the evil and violence which surrounds us, at the distress of so many of our brothers and sisters. We need hope! We feel disoriented and even rather discouraged, because we are powerless and it seems this darkness will never end.
We must not let hope abandon us, because God, with his love, walks with us. “I hope, because God is beside me”: we can all say this. Each one of us can say: “I hope, I have hope, because God walks with me.” He walks and he holds my hand. God does not leave us to ourselves. The Lord Jesus has conquered evil and has opened the path of life for us.

Francis, General Audience of December 7, 2016.

Psalm 124: God alone saves his people
¹If the LORD had not been on our side—
let Israel now proclaim—
² if the LORD had not been on our side
when our enemies attacked us,
³ then they would have swallowed us alive
as their wrath was kindled against us.
⁴ The waters would have washed us away,
the torrent would have swept over us,
⁵ and we would have drowned
in the raging waters.
⁶ Blessed be the LORD,
who did not give us as prey to their teeth.
⁷ We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare was broken,
and we escaped.
⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 124