Sometimes we take few steps to the left, sometimes few steps to the right, other times we make few steps back, but when we go on a pilgrimage we are walking toward God. We go to God, not perfect, but as we are, with all of our doubts, crisis, sickness, curiosity, adventure, faith, thanksgiving, to ask for favours and to offer ourselves completely. The route is towards God. As you head on your journey, the spiritual part is more important than the physical (hotels, walks, buses.). In many ways, we understand that the detachment of the physical comforts and joys will at times help your spiritual progress that is if you allow it. It’s in the opening of your eyes, heart and the Word of God that you find your journey purposeful.

According to Shareworld Travels, Pilgrimages are as old as our biblical forefathers. From earliest times these journeys were a unique expression of the Israelites’ worship of God. The annual religious feasts of the Hebrews were often celebrated in the context of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The journeys continue from the time of Moses down to the time of the family of Jesus. When Mary set out in faith on a lonely journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth with the news that she was to be the Mother of God, she became Christianity’s first pilgrim. In his gospel Luke tells us that Jesus, Mary and Joseph obediently and religiously participated in the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Passover. “Every year (Jesus’) parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve they went up as usual for the festival” (Lk 2:41-42). In much the same way, Christians in the first few centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection journeyed form Europe and other parts of the globe to the sacred sited of the Holy Land, eager to grow in their understanding of Jesus and to identify with his life. By the Middles Ages, the pilgrimages were a central part of popular religion. Today pilgrimages are one of the most important elements in our Christian life; they exert an appeal that is as powerful as our eternal search for the living God. Searching for enlightenment, inspiration, or pardon men and women of every era and every locality have set out to visit those places where God has pitched his tent among us. Setting out on a pilgrimage has become a metaphor for life itself. From birth to death, the condition of each individual is that of a pilgrim. Indeed, the history of the Church is the living account of a pilgrimage in process.

The purpose of a pilgrimage is not to see a new country or locality, it has nothing to do with five star hotel, executive bed, white bed sheets, your traditional food, the drink your family member wants and the best airbag car that you desire but primarily to connect us to the history of our faith. When we go on a pilgrimage, we enter into the times and place of our Christian story and remember the events surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Standing where our Lord was baptized, crucified, or buried connects us more intimately to our Christian faith.

A Pilgrimage differs from a tour in several important ways.  It is a personal invitation from God, comprised of His offer and dependent upon the pilgrim’s acceptance.  God’s call may vary but the purpose remains consistent:  It is an individual summons to know God more fully.  A pilgrimage is a spiritual journey to which the pilgrim joyfully responds “yes’ to God’s invitation. Although in previous centuries many trials were intrinsic to a pilgrimage, the modern pilgrim has an abundance of affordable travel options, yet the purpose remains unchanged.  It is a journey to a holy, sacred place to usher the pilgrim into the presence of God. The pilgrim must embark on this journey with joyful anticipation, willingness to temporarily separate him or herself from the world and to offer him or herself in humble service to one another.  A successful pilgrimage involves a commitment of the Pilgrim.