Wise Words on Wednesday: Travelling Far
Little by little, one travels far.
J.R.R. Tolkien
Tag: Journey
Book Review: The Way of a Pilgrim
I’ve been getting through lots of books recently. I’ve been intending to write reviews for each of them, but have been procrastinating. Therefore, over the next few days I will be publishing a review for each of the books I have recently read.
Today I’d like to begin by talking about “The Way of a Pilgrim”. This review is also published on Amazon.com.
This book is well-known in eastern Christian circles and had been recommended to me by Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic friends for several years, but I somehow never never quite managed to find the time to read it.
However, soon after returning to San Diego last month, it was announced that my parish would be beginning a study of this book during the Advent season. This gave me the extra bit of motivation I needed to buy this book and was subsequently very quickly hooked, finishing it in just a few days. Here’s how the book begins:
“By the grace of God I am a Christian, by my deeds a great sinner, and by my calling a homeless wanderer of humblest origin, roaming from place to place”
– The Way of the Pilgrim
I’m sure you can understand why this Restless Pilgrim loved these opening words!
Wise Words on Wednesday: It starts at the detour
“The adventure begins at the detour”
– Bear Woznick
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.
Pope John Paul II in Jerusalem
Catholics Come Home
There are many worrying statistics concerning the Catholic Faith in the USA. One in ten Americans consider themselves ex-Catholics. In fact, if “ex-Catholics” were counted as their own religious group, they would be the third-largest denomination, right after Catholics and Baptists. As many as 100,000 drift away from the Faith each year. These figures should give us serious pause for thought since, as Christians, we are called to evangelize the world, to witness to Jesus Christ and His Church.
Today I’d like to begin a series of posts which are based on a talk I recently gave at my parish. The talk was entitled “Catholics Come Home”.
Over the next two posts, I would like to tell a little bit my own story, of my journey away from and eventual return to the Catholic Church. I’ve told parts of this story before, but in this retelling I hope to focus on some of the things which attracted and repelled me along the way. In subsequent posts, I’ll attempt to pull these experiences together and distill them into a list of suggestions as to what can be done to draw people back to the Church.
The road ahead
“The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way” – JRR Tolkein
A Traveller’s Prayer
A few years ago, for my birthday, a good friend gave me a copy of “The Seven Story Mountain” which is the autobiography of Thomas Merton.
I have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy it as much as everyone else seemed to think that I should. I found it rather dry and I couldn’t relate much to either his spirituality or personality.
However, I recently started reading a little bit more of Merton and I’ve begun to find that we’re not as incompatible as I once thought…
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone”