Who is a pilgrim?
Who is a pilgrim? Anyone. Young, old, rich, poor, sick or healthy is a Pilgrim. The majority of Pilgrims believe in God, while some are searching for God, others pray for physical, emotional or spiritual healing, and some simply give thanks to God.
Many pilgrims report that they pray more, especially at Mass which has become truly alive for them. They join prayer groups, the daily rosary is important to them. They pray the rosary and not just say the rosary. If they go on their pilgrimage expecting or praying for a miracle they all return home knowing the greatest miracle is conversion of the soul and acceptance of God's will.
Pilgrims forgive more easily and find freedom and refreshment in their forgiveness. In essence, a true pilgrim is not on vacation. Their spiritual nourishment is far more important to them. Pilgrims discover spiritual eyes which focus on the beauty of God rather than the beauty of the world.
The inconveniences of life become "stepping stones" for grace rather than something to complain about or tolerate. People use one word to encompass their experience as a pilgrim - PEACE.
What is a pilgrimage?
Pilgrimage is a universal religious experience and a typical expression of popular piety. It is invariably connected with a shrine, for which it is an indispensable component.
When Jesus accomplished in himself the mystery of the Temple (cf John 2, 22-23) and had passed from this world to the Father (cf John 13, 1), thereby going through the definitive exodus in his own person, no pilgrimage was binding any longer on his disciples: their entire lives now become a pilgrimage towards the sanctuary of heaven and the Church is seen as an "earthly pilgrimage".
The Church, however, because of the harmony between her teaching and the spiritual values inherent in pilgrimage, has not only regarded pilgrimage as a legitimate form of piety but has encouraged it throughout her history. Pilgrimage has maintained the essential traits of its spirituality throughout the ages, down to our own time.
The original and essential quality of pilgrimage: a pilgrimage, or "journey to a shrine", is both a moment in and parable of, our journey towards the Kingdom; it affords an opportunity for the Christian to take greater stock of his eschatological destiny as home viator: journeying between the obscurity of the faith and the thirst for the vision of clarity, tribulation and the desire for everlasting life, the weariness of the journey and the rest awaiting, between exile and homeland, between frenetic activity and contemplation.
The exodus event, Israel's journey towards the promised land, is also reflected in the spirituality of pilgrimage: the pilgrim is well aware that "there is no eternal city for us in this life" (Heb 14, 14), and that beyond the immediate objective of particular shrine and across the desert of life, we find our true Promised Land, in heaven.
Pilgrimage is also a journey of conversion: in journeying towards a shrine the pilgrim moves from a realization of his own sinfulness and of his attachment to ephemeral and unnecessary things to interior freedom and understanding of the deeper meaning of life. As has already been said, a visit to a shrine can be a propitious occasion for the faithful and is often undertaken in order to avail of the Sacrament of Penance. In the past - as in our own times - pilgrimage itself has been seen as a penitential act.
When the pilgrim returns from a genuine pilgrimage, he does so with the intention of "amending his life", and ordering it more closely to God, and to live in a more transcendent way.
The penitential aspect of pilgrimage is complemented by a festive aspect: the festive dimension also lies at the heart of pilgrimage, and arises from many anthropological reasons.
The joy of a Christian pilgrimage is a continuation of the joy experienced on Israel's pious pilgrimage to Jerusalem: "I rejoiced when I heard them say: 'let us go up to God's house'" (Ps 122, 1); pilgrimage can be a break from the monotony of daily routine; it can be an alleviation of the burdens of everyday life, especially for the poor whose lot is heavy; it is an occasion to give expression to Christian fraternity, in moments of friendship meeting each other, and spontaneity which can sometimes be repressed.
Pilgrimage is essentially an act of worship: a pilgrim goes to a shrine to encounter God, to be in His presence, and to offer Him adoration in worship, and to open his heart to Him.
During his visit to the shrine, the pilgrim completes many acts of worship which are properly liturgical or drawn from popular piety. He performs different kinds of prayers: prayers of praise and adoration to the Lord for his goodness and holiness; prayers of thanksgiving for the gifts he has given; prayers in discharge of a vow; prayers imploring the graces necessary in life; prayers asking for forgiveness of sins committed.
Frequently, the pilgrim's prayers are directed to Our Lady, or to the Angels and Saints who are regarded as powerful intercessors with God. The icons venerated at pilgrim shrines are signs of the presence of the Mother of God and the Saints who surround the Lord in his glory, "living for ever to intercede for us" (Heb 7, 25) and always present in the community gathered in his name (cf Mt 18, 20; 28, 20). Sacred images, whether of Christ, his Mother, the Angels and Saints, are signs of the divine presence and of God's provident love; they bear witness to the prayers of generations raised up to God in supplication, to the sighs of the afflicted, and to the thankful joy of those who have received grace and mercy.
The pilgrim's journey, in a certain sense, recalls the journey of Christ and his disciples as they traveled throughout Palestine to announce the Gospel of salvation. In this perspective, pilgrimage is a proclamation of faith in which pilgrims become "errant heralds of Christ".
The pilgrim who journeys to a shrine is in a communion of faith and charity not only with those who accompany him on the "sacred journey" (cf Ps 84, 6), but with the Lord himself who accompanies him as he once accompanied the disciples on the road to Emmaus (cf Lk 24, 13-35). He travels with his own community and through that community; he journeys with the Church in heaven and on earth. He travels with all of the faithful who have prayed at that shrine down through the centuries. He appreciates the natural beauty which surrounds the shrine and which he is moved to respect. The pilgrim journeys with mankind whose sufferings and hopes are so clearly evident at the shrine, especially as represented through art.
As the shrine is a place of prayer, a pilgrimage is a journey of prayer. Each stage of the pilgrim journey should be marked by prayer and the Word of God should be its light and its guide, its food and its sustenance.
The success of a pilgrimage, seen as an act of worship, and of the spiritual fruits deriving from it, require careful planning of the various celebrations that will take place during the pilgrimage, and adequate highlighting of their various phases.
The beginning of the pilgrimage should be an occasion of prayer, preferable in the parish church or in some other suitable church, with the celebrations of the Holy Eucharist or a part of the Liturgy of the Hours, or with a special blessing for pilgrims.
The final stage of the pilgrimage should be characterized by intense prayer. It should preferably, be traveled on foot in processional form, and interspersed with prayer, hymns and pauses at the shrines marking the route to the sanctuary.
The time spent in the sanctuary constitutes the most important part of the pilgrimage and should be marked by a commitment to conversion, ratified by reception of the Sacrament of Penance; by private prayer of thanksgiving, supplication, or of intercession, in accordance with the nature of the shrine or the objectives of the pilgrimage; by celebration of the Holy Eucharist, which is the climax of the pilgrimage.
The conclusion of the pilgrimage should be marked by a moment of prayer, either in the shrine itself or at the church from which the pilgrimage departed. The pilgrims should give thanks to God for the gift of the pilgrimage and ask the Lord for his assistance in living out the Christian vocation more generously when they return to their homes.
From antiquity, pilgrims have always brought home souvenirs of their pilgrimage, in recollection of the shrine that they had visited. Care should be taken to ensure that objects, images, and books available in shrines transmit authentically the spirit of the shrine. Care should also be taken to ensure that shops or stalls are not set up within the sacred space of the sanctuary, and that even the appearance of commerce be excluded.
"When Jesus accomplished in himself the mystery of the Temple (cf John 2, 22-23) and had passed from this world to the Father (cf John 13, 1), thereby going through the definitive exodus in his own person, no pilgrimage was binding any llonger on his disciples: their entire lives now become a pilgrimage towards the sanctuary of heaven and the Church is seen as an "earthy pilgrimage".
The Church, however, because of the harmony between her teaching and the spiritual values inherent in pilgrimage, has not only regarded pilgrimage as a legitimate form of piety but has encouraged it throughout her history.