A Medieval Pilgrimage in the Modern World
A growing number of Catholics have placed their personal desires aside to step along the paths trodden once by the souls of medieval Christendom.
A growing number of Catholics have placed their personal desires aside to step along the paths trodden once by the souls of medieval Christendom.
Just as the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, we might say that the first step on the road to sanctity is the realization that we are in exile, strangers and sojourners, knowing somehow, someway, we belong somewhere else. Ever since Adam and Eve got themselves cast out of the Garden, we … Read more
Upon arriving in Lourdes on pilgrimage on a cold, rainy winter day, I was feeling very much the pilgrim. I was cold, tired, and wet. The long trip had been exhausting and the walk in the drizzling rain from the train station to the hotel had drained me of energy. As I headed to the … Read more
The hour was early and the season summer. In the brightness of the morning air, and with the silence of the city streets all around, I set out. In this Year of Mercy, I was on pilgrimage. The place in question is visited by many, but merely as a curiosity. I was going there for … Read more
“Life is made up of meetings and partings. That is the way of it.” ∼ A Muppet Christmas Carol The Christian life has often been described as a pilgrimage. For the purpose of self-description, the Catholic Church has used this word in her sacred liturgy and in her Catechism. There is abundant basis for the concept of … Read more
Standing up against the cold, pale sky were the words ‘Arbeit macht frei,’ etched so succinctly, that when I closed my eyes I still saw the letters definitive shapes. The words were used as a false hope for those within its iron claws. ‘Work makes one free,’ is just one of the lies imposed upon … Read more