By IHE Graduate Scholar Molly Egilsrud
Is it still worthwhile to go on pilgrimage? Throughout the Church’s history, pilgrims have traveled hundreds of miles on foot to the Holy Land, to Marian apparition sites, and to the relics of the saints, even walking as far north as Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway, near the Arctic Circle. By comparison with these long and dangerous journeys, it can be tempting to wonder if the more comfortable pilgrimages that most of us experience are still worth it. What good is it to drive to a local shrine or fly to another country to be driven around in an air-conditioned tour bus? What is the difference between a vacation and a pilgrimage?
A journey is not a pilgrimage because the traveler suffers, but because of the intention of the traveler. A pilgrim journeys so that he may one day enjoy the presence of God; a vacationer travels to enjoy the good things of the earth. The primary purpose of a pilgrimage is not to suffer and face hardships. If that were true, one could just as easily fast and give alms at home. Instead, a pilgrim journeys to grow closer to God — to pray for a particular intention, to repent for his sins, or to express thanksgiving. A pilgrim cannot control the sufferings and blessings he will face. He can offer up the sufferings to God, rather than being upset that his planned trip has been ruined. And it will probably be the case that there will be things to enjoy — the beauty of the church or the countryside, perhaps a delicious meal with other pilgrims at the end. These, too, are from God, and pilgrims can enjoy them, without making them the “be all, end of all” of the journey. Did not medieval pilgrims on their way to Rome enjoy the Tuscan countryside? Pilgrims offer the good and the bad alike to the Lord.
Pilgrimages are unlike merely going to pray at one’s own parish church because they bring us out of the familiarity and comfort of our day-to-day. A part of this is suffering that we offer to the Lord, but discomfort also reminds us that we are not at home in this world. We are pilgrims on the earth, journeying here only until we reach our heavenly home. Just as we face the natural discomfort of being in a new place, perhaps with different customs, we are reminded that we should not be too comfortable in this world. The life of each Christian is an epic journey that is far more than just going to Mass on Sunday with the same people every week. A pilgrimage reminds us of the grandeur of Christian vocation and the lofty end to which we are called. Furthermore, the act of going to a particular saint’s relics or to a Marian apparition site reminds us that God wishes to bring us to himself not only through ethereal realities but through the concrete realities of this world.
