It seems very clear that Saint Yves was a very good walker. And, very probably, Christ Himself was too, for He did travel the Holy Land far and wide in order to proclaim the Good News of God’s Kingdom coming.

Actually, Saint Yves had sold his horse to feed the poor who beset Him in times of famine. Then, he was required to walk a lot to join his successive parishes of Tredrez and Louannec, the bishopric of Treguier, which is where he had to sit as the judicial vicar, his mansion of Kermartin, where he personally took care of the beggars and … all the many other places where he had to preach through the whole of Brittany. Most likely, these long walks provided him with the opportunity for meditating and deep prayer.

Other saints were famous for this too; Saint Francis and Saint Dominic of course, but also, closer to us, the Holy Pastor of Ars, Saint Jean-Marie Vianney who wrote: “Once when I a purveyor in Bresse and most of my companions were ill, I had to make a long journey. I prayed to the good God, and, believe me, the time did not seem long.”

Henceforth saint Pope John Pope II, according to some witnesses, conceived various encyclicals while enjoying long walks in the mountains.

It seems interesting to recall this characteristic of Saint Yves’ when the Church offers the Gospel of the disciples of Emmaus for meditating, several times during Easter season, especially at the Easter Sunday night mass and at the third Easter Sunday mass. The latter enjoyed the outstanding privilege to walk along with Jesus for some kilometers: He even taught them about the truths that the Scriptures reveal about Him.

As a matter of fact Saint Luke’s Gospel presents one important particularity, among others: the idea of the pathway. For instance, Luke is the unique Evangelist who talks about the pathway – interior and exterior – of the Prodigal Son, or about the pathway of the Good Samaritan who walked from Jerusalem to Jericho. He also stresses several journey of Jesus: towards Jerusalem, towards Galilee, … Doing so, Luke wants to call attention on the fact that our present life is just a pilgrimage towards Heaven. All of us are just pilgrims on earth. 

Of course, nowadays, Jesus presence in our lives is only a spiritual and invisible one. We cannot see Him but with the eyes of our heart for, as Saint Augustine teaches us, He is more intimate to us than ourselves, because He dwells in our hearts.

By the way, in the Gospel, Jesus defines Himself as the path. Thinking about this definition, it is full of hope. Indeed, whenever we are in the beginning of the pathway, whenever we are walking on the path of this life that leads us to Paradise, whenever we are reaching the end of the pathway, namely, by the end of our life, we still are on the pathway, that is with Jesus! Jesus keeps walking nearby at every moment of our lives …

That is the wonderful discovery all the saints have made while walking to Heaven!