Catholic Bucket List #4: Go on pilgrimage

The previous bucket list task of lighting a votive candle was rather simple. This next bucket list item is a little more involved…

Bucket List Item #4: Go on pilgrimage

The Catholic Church has an extremely rich history of pilgrimage. From the earliest times Christians have travelled to places of significance for the Christian faith. The hope in visiting such places is that the pilgrim’s faith will grow and that he would be enriched by process of the journey. The journey is itself an allegory for the Christian journey through life, a pilgrimage towards Heaven.

Destination Anywhere

The possible pilgrimage destinations are legion. It has been my desire for some time to visit Israel, to walk by the Sea of Galilee where Jesus once taught, to stand in the ruins of the Synagogue at Capernaum where He proclaimed to the people that He was the bread that came down from Heaven.

The Holy Land is not the only place of pilgrimage though, not by a long shot. Rome holds so much Christian history. It is the place of Peter and Paul’s martyrdom as well as many other Christians down through the ages. I’ve been to Rome a couple of times and on the last trip I got to have a few moments praying in front of the bones of my Patron Saint, St. Peter. I’ve never been that big into relics, but kneeling in the presence of his bones and asking for his intercession was certainly a very special moment on that trip.

For those Americans who don’t want to travel to Europe and the Middle East (for fear that they won’t be able to get a Big Mac and Fries), there are still plenty of options. For example, something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now is to go on pilgrimage to the different missions which were founded by the Franciscans in California:

“Dear Lord, I will remain restless, tense and dissatisfied until I can be totally at peace in your house. But I am still on the road, still journeying, still tired and weary, and still wondering if I will ever make it to the city on the hill. …I keep asking your angel, whom I meet on the road: ‘Does the road go uphill then all the way?’ And the answer is ‘Yes, to the very end’ And I ask again: ‘And will the journey take all day long?’ And the answer is ‘From morning ’til night my friend’.

“So I go on, Lord, tired, often frustrated, irritated, but always hopeful to reach one day the eternal city far away, resplendent in the evening sun. There is no certainty that my life will be any easier in the years ahead, or that my heart will be any calmer. But there is the certainty that you are waiting for me and will welcome me home when I have persevered in my long journey to your house. O Lord, give me courage, hope and confidence. Amen” – Henri Nowen, “A Cry For Mercy”