This month, hundreds of thousands
of young people will
take part in their own pilgrimage
as they travel to Sydney,
Australia, for World Youth Day
(July 15-20). And many others will be
heading off for summer vacations. Let’s
face it: Our Church refers to us as a pilgrim
people for a reason. And while
most of us may never experience pilgrimage
on such a grand scale as World
Youth Day, the concept of pilgrimage is
and has been an important part of our
faith for quite some time. And the
beauty is that we can all experience it
in our own ways and places.
This past April, I had two very different
experiences of pilgrimage myself,
each special in its own way. First,
I covered the Washington, D.C., leg of
Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United
States. Then the following weekend, I
joined my family for a weekend trip
to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. These two
trips could not have been any more
different in nature and scope—one
formal, the other more relaxed—but
each one represented a type of spiritual
journey for me. And both trips brought
me a little closer to God, which is
exactly what a pilgrimage is supposed
to do.
In Washington, I followed the pope
from the White House to the Basilica of
the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception to Washington Nationals
Park. The entire time, in between my
work assignments, I tried to connect
with the meaning behind each of these
locations and events and the pope’s
words. Surely there was a reason why
those sites were chosen and why the
pope chose those particular words.
My trip to Gatlinburg, however, was
more of a personal pilgrimage. During
our days spent hiking and exploring, I
reconnected with my family, nature,
God and myself. After the previous hectic
week, it was a much-needed journey
back to center.
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 A Long-standing Tradition
Pilgrimage has been a part of the
Catholic faith—as well as other faiths—
for centuries. It is a long journey of
faith—either physically or spiritually—
in search of God. Most often it is associated
with the life of Jesus, such as the Holy Land. But it can also have a
connection with a particular saint, such
as Assisi, where Sts. Francis and Clare
traveled. In fact, if you think about it,
life is one long pilgrimage, constantly
seeking ways to better ourselves and
come closer to God.
Some other popular religious pilgrimage
sites are Ireland, Rome, Santiago
de Compostela in Spain, Lourdes
and Fatima. But throughout the world
there are thousands of smaller pilgrimage
sites.
But pilgrimages don’t have to require
lots of money or faraway locations. For
instance, Californians can easily make
a pilgrimage to the early Franciscan
missions there. Or perhaps there is a
place near you that gives you the sense
of being on a spiritual pilgrimage.
Whether at home or abroad, you and
your family can go on pilgrimage. Here
are some suggestions:
Go virtually. Can’t make it to
World Youth Day or afford a family
trip to Assisi? Take advantage of technology
and go on pilgrimage via the
Web or DVDs. St. Anthony Messenger
Press offers the DVD Assisi Pilgrimage:
Walking in Faith with Francis and Clare,
where people can take part in the pilgrimage
from the comfort of their own
home. Or search the Internet for live
Web cams of places such as the beach,
the mountains, etc. The National Park
Service (www.nps.gov) has a number
of them set up in various parks.
Work backward. The last place
that I had hiked before being diagnosed
with multiple sclerosis was in the
Smoky Mountains, so it seemed logical
that, in order to move forward mentally,
that was where I needed to go.
That knowledge was my jumping-off
point, and then the trip was planned
around the specific trail I needed to
conquer. Start with a feeling, a longing,
for what you need to accomplish and
build your pilgrimage on that.
Seek out local pilgrimages. Chances are there are pilgrimages rather
close to home. In fact, the United
States has 106 pilgrimage shrines dedicated
to Mary alone. Do some research
and plan a day trip to one of these
nearby sites.
If the thought of going on pilgrimage
seems too overwhelming, just take
a moment and remember that the difference
between being a tourist and a
pilgrim is simply a change of heart.
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