Since then, I have gone on many pilgrimages, which have had a profound effect on my spiritual life and helped me travel farther along on my faith journey. I have found that although each journey is different, each had moments of joy and peace, overwhelming emotion, fatigue, inner conflict, growth and new or renewed friendships with fellow Catholics and God.
With World Youth Day in Madrid fast approaching — my longest and largest pilgrimage so far — I find myself asking a new question: What do pilgrimages really mean to me?
When most people think of the word pilgrimage, they think of travelling to the various holy and sacred places.
But there is a much greater pilgrimage that we all take part in — life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions numerous times that we are on an “earthly pilgrimage” to our “heavenly homeland.” Life itself is the greatest pilgrimage of all. Every day we strive to travel closer to a realization of God’s will for us and are encouraged by other faithful followers along the way.
Each step we take towards growing in our faith, we take one step closer to reaching our final destination of communion with God in heaven.
In the same way, by taking a pilgrimage, we are shown what life is all about: continually growing closer to God. We gain greater insight into what paths we should take and are carried further along our pilgrimage toward God by what we learn about Him on the pilgrimage.
Thomas à Kempis, writer of The Imitation of Christ, said, “For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.”
Let us follow the path set out by Jesus and make a greater effort as we travel along our earthly pilgrimage towards Him.
(Walsh, 21, is a primary and elementary education student at Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld.)
Journey towards the heart of the Father
By Michelle Walsh, Youth Speak NewsWhen I was 17, I took my first pilgrimage to Antigonish, N.S., for the Steubenville Atlantic Catholic Youth Conference. I had never been on a pilgrimage before so I really didn’t know what to expect. Would it really make a difference in my life or just turn out to be a fun trip to Nova Scotia?
I soon discovered that not only would the pilgrimage have a huge impact on my life, but it would also help me come alive in my faith and act as a stepping stone on my journey to knowing God more closely.
My pilgrimage to Nova Scotia was more than just an outward physical journey; it was also an inward spiritual journey toward the heart of the Father. It gave me an opportunity to step back from the business of everyday life, refocus my priorities, gain a different perspective on life and look deeper within myself than I normally would. It called me to conversion and challenged me to take greater steps to both learn about and grow in my faith.
Please support The Catholic Register
Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.
For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.
DONATE