Pilgrimages

[Anthony2019]

This autumn I have planned to go on a pilgrimage with my church to Walsingham. Often referred to as "England's Nazareth", it has been a place of pilgrimage for Anglicans and Catholics for centuries.

It will be the first time I have ever been on one and have no idea what to expect. Have any readers ever been on a pilgrimage? How did you prepare for it? What happened when you were there? Did you spend your time in prayer, have fellowship with other Christians, did you get time to visit different places? How did your life and faith change as a result?

I would be interested to hear your stories.

 

[Kevinw05]

No, what is a pilgrimage?

 

[Anthony2019]

Hi Kevin, Christian pilgrimages have been taking place for centuries, some of the earliest recorded go back to around 300AD. A pilgrimage is a journey to a special place associated with Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, Saints, or various sites featured in the New Testament. They are known as sites of pilgrimage due to their historical and cultural interest, but also, as Pope Benedict XVI put it "to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe."
Some people go to the Holy Land to see sites associated with the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Others go to places such as Rome where St Peter and St Paul were martyred for their faith. There are many sites of pilgrimage associated with Marian apparitions and miracles that took place there.
The primary reason people go on pilgrimages is to be inspired and to grow in their faith, to draw nearer to Christ.

 

[tturt]

God tv has a series "Thin Places" pilgrimage to Ireland and Scotland.

 

[tturt]

Also it's Rebecca Friedlander