Pilgrimage
20/06/13 05:40
Since biblical times, people of faith have engaged in pilgrimages to places where others have experienced the closeness of God. There are places that have been deemed to be holy because of the history that occurred on that site. Horeb is the holy Mountain of God. On that Mountain Moses received the Ten Commandments, Elijah hid in a cave and many other events in the story of faithful people occurred. Jerusalem is a city filled with shrines for Christian, Jewish and Muslim believers. Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime is one of the pillars of Islam.
The Middle East and Europe are filled with destinations for pilgrims. Corinth, in Greece was one of the destinations of Paul’s travels and people still travel to the ancient city in faith. Kylemore Abbey in Ireland, the Iona community in Scotland and Taize in France are all destinations for pilgrims. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin receives tens of thousands of visitors each year. Greece and Turkey are filled with shrines and sites. The Metora Rocks in Greece attract many faithful visitors. Great cathedrals are often the destination of pilgrims. Notre Dame in Paris, France is among the places where people travel on spiritual journeys. The Vatican, especially the Sistine Chapel is more than just another tourist destination for many who go there.
At its essence, a spiritual pilgrimage is different from other forms of travel. A pilgrimage is travel that is undertaken for the purpose of spiritual growth and transformation. The faithful believe that the process of undertaking a journey is a way of focusing attention and growing in faith. I have had the privilege of traveling with youth on many occasions and witnessing the process of growth in faith. Sometimes our destinations have been work sites, where youth engage in hands-on mission and ministry. Sometimes the destinations have been rallies or gatherings of youth where the relationships take precedence over the destination. The process of travel affords the opportunity for preparation for the event and for processing the experiences afterward as the return trip is undertaken.
A pilgrimage can be transformative not only for the one who travels, but also for those who wait at home. The process of prayer in preparation, during the time of travel and afterward can be a time of spiritual growth for those who wait at home. The experience of separation and return can provide perspective on relationships.
The destination, however, does provide meaning for the trip. Celtic Christians have long used the term “thin places” to describe destinations where there is a special experience of intimacy with God. There is something particularly mesmerizing about some destinations. The Celtic saying goes: “Heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.” A thin place is not necessarily tranquil, or fun, or beautiful, but it may be all of those things. I have never been there, but I don’t expect Disney World is a thin place, even though it receives millions of visitors each year. Thin places are more likely to offer the opportunity for a little separation from the crowd and the ability for one to unmask and come face to face with essential reality.
I have never been particularly attracted to established shrines. I prefer for my pilgrimages to be for more lonely destinations. But I do have a deep sense of having visited sacred places. Right here in the hills we have Mato Tipi, sometimes called “Devil’s Tower.” There are also Paha Mato (Bear Butte), Wind Cave and Hot Springs. All are places where unique geographical features combine with the stories of the people to provide a destination worth visiting. Not much farther are Wounded Knee and Takini, sites made holy by the sacrifice and suffering of people. Susan and I have also been transformed by visits to more distant sties such as Athabaska Falls in Canada and Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia.
The high country of the Beartooth-Absaroka wilderness in Montana is a special destination for me and definitely thin space. It is important to me personally because of the parts of my life that have unfolded in that location.
I could go on and on about special places and destinations that I have visited. There are also many other sites that I would enjoy visiting if the opportunity presents itself. Not high on my list of possible destinations, but still a remarkable place is the small community of Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in southern France, near the Spanish border. It was at Lourdes where, in 1858, Bernadette Soubirous had a series of visions of visits by Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story is that Mary appeared a total of eighteen times and established Lourdes as a special place of healing. There are countless accounts of miraculous healings that have taken place on that site. The village of about 15,000 residents receives about 6 million pilgrims each year. It is said that the village is one of the places on earth the densest concentration of hotels. There are 270 hotels in the community. Each pilgrim wants to see the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a grotto, a small cave.
But this week isn’t a good time for a visit to Lourdes. Residents of the town are cleaning up after severe flash floods forced the closure of the holy shrine. The exact damage is still not known, but it is estimated that the cost of repairing Massabielle cave, where the shrine is located will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The waters around the shrine are usually tranquil and many have dipped into the waters for their healing powers. But the water was far from tranquil this week. Hundreds, who came as pilgrims to the shrine, had to be evacuated and spend the night in temporary shelters when the river burst its banks, threatening to flood campsites and hotels.
Flash floods have covered extensive parts of southwestern France over the past week. Two people have died because of the extreme weather. Officials do not know how soon regular pilgrimages to the grotto can be resumed. For now, as the waters recede, there is a lot of clean up that needs to be done.
For millions of pilgrims it is a good thing that there are many different destinations for spiritual travel. I’ve heard that there are a lot of hotels in Paris. As for me, I think I’ll head for destinations with fewer accommodations and smaller crowds.
At its essence, a spiritual pilgrimage is different from other forms of travel. A pilgrimage is travel that is undertaken for the purpose of spiritual growth and transformation. The faithful believe that the process of undertaking a journey is a way of focusing attention and growing in faith. I have had the privilege of traveling with youth on many occasions and witnessing the process of growth in faith. Sometimes our destinations have been work sites, where youth engage in hands-on mission and ministry. Sometimes the destinations have been rallies or gatherings of youth where the relationships take precedence over the destination. The process of travel affords the opportunity for preparation for the event and for processing the experiences afterward as the return trip is undertaken.
A pilgrimage can be transformative not only for the one who travels, but also for those who wait at home. The process of prayer in preparation, during the time of travel and afterward can be a time of spiritual growth for those who wait at home. The experience of separation and return can provide perspective on relationships.
The destination, however, does provide meaning for the trip. Celtic Christians have long used the term “thin places” to describe destinations where there is a special experience of intimacy with God. There is something particularly mesmerizing about some destinations. The Celtic saying goes: “Heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.” A thin place is not necessarily tranquil, or fun, or beautiful, but it may be all of those things. I have never been there, but I don’t expect Disney World is a thin place, even though it receives millions of visitors each year. Thin places are more likely to offer the opportunity for a little separation from the crowd and the ability for one to unmask and come face to face with essential reality.
The high country of the Beartooth-Absaroka wilderness in Montana is a special destination for me and definitely thin space. It is important to me personally because of the parts of my life that have unfolded in that location.
I could go on and on about special places and destinations that I have visited. There are also many other sites that I would enjoy visiting if the opportunity presents itself. Not high on my list of possible destinations, but still a remarkable place is the small community of Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenees, in southern France, near the Spanish border. It was at Lourdes where, in 1858, Bernadette Soubirous had a series of visions of visits by Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story is that Mary appeared a total of eighteen times and established Lourdes as a special place of healing. There are countless accounts of miraculous healings that have taken place on that site. The village of about 15,000 residents receives about 6 million pilgrims each year. It is said that the village is one of the places on earth the densest concentration of hotels. There are 270 hotels in the community. Each pilgrim wants to see the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes in a grotto, a small cave.
Flash floods have covered extensive parts of southwestern France over the past week. Two people have died because of the extreme weather. Officials do not know how soon regular pilgrimages to the grotto can be resumed. For now, as the waters recede, there is a lot of clean up that needs to be done.
For millions of pilgrims it is a good thing that there are many different destinations for spiritual travel. I’ve heard that there are a lot of hotels in Paris. As for me, I think I’ll head for destinations with fewer accommodations and smaller crowds.