On Pilgrimage

Before moving on to the next regular post describing a day in our pilgrimage, I waned to step back and look at the idea of what a pilgrimage is, what it means, why we do such a thing in this modern age.

Pilgrimage is an ancient tradition. It has been a part of our Christian faith for a very long time, though it is not exclusive to Christianity.

I was first introduced to the idea of pilgrimage in a novel I read as a middle schooler. This book was a fictional account of a town during the Crusades that was torn apart by the many years of separation between families and soldiers. Time and distance divided the community. The two main characters were asked to take intentions for the town on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. They walked from England to Spain bearing the expectations of the community they were to govern, the upheaval of familial relationships, and much more. This idea of a journey that can be of great spiritual, relational, and mental significance was new to me. Over the years of experiencing pilgrimages, I have only come to see that this first impression was quite accurate.

Pilgrimage is that wholistic. It involves all aspects of our being - body, mind, and soul.

In our modern lives we compartmentalize so much. We play many distinct roles as we move through each of those compartments. As we play those roles, we can easily lose sight of our identity, our values, the meaning and significance of our lives.

Pilgrimage brings us to an encounter where we are removed from all those compartments and placed in an utterly new situation. There we have no more roles to play or masks to hide behind, we reminded that we are in the presence of God. We invited to encounter God in new ways, places, and people.

Pilgrimage is an encounter with God. We follow in the footsteps of men and women of faith who offer wisdom and prayers to guide us. We visit relics, churches, holy sites as ways to find the moments when someone said, "Look! Here is God! He is present!" We visit the holy places in the world to find the holy places within. We look to find the places where we can say, "Look! Here is God! He is present!"

When we have that encounter with our ever-present God, we can return home transformed. We can face those many compartments and roles from a new place. We remember our pilgrimage journey as a way to live our one true call, no matter the circumstances - the call to be a disciple of our God.

Pilgrimage is a call in a particular time and place to journey with God, so that we may remember that at all times and in all places, we are called to walk with our God.

If this pilgrimage sounds of interest to you, 

I invite you to consider joining us on the 2017 pilgrimage 

to Lourdes, Spain, and Portugal. 

See details here.