What are pilgrimages?
A pilgrim is a wanderer, a traveler, who dwells in a foreign land temporarily, longing for that which is permanent. We can view our life on Earth as a sojourn, a pilgrimage that leads toward our more permanent residence in heaven. In keeping with this definition, the Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs includes the following passage in their guide:
“Francis’ laws indicate the brothers were on a pilgrimage that would end only in heaven; that every resting place was temporary and must be dwelt in as such. This meant, of course, that they could exercise no ownership of any place in which they found themselves. They also had to renounce exercise of control of their environment and learn to live in peace with those who give them hospitality; and with those with whom they traveled, charged with great gratitude for all the signs along the way that help reveal the nature of that homeland which must be hospitality, care, a place of rest, fullness of life, the end of a journey.”
Thus, as we undertake a pilgrimage to a sacred place, such as Assisi, we are acting out, dramatizing, our journey to the final sacred destination. In taking to the road, we discard the illusion that the “comfort zone” we have built—home and friends and community—is permanent. On pilgrimage we gain perspectives and realize our assembled “comfort zone” is transitory, only a temporary stop on our journey.
When we take to the road with like-minded companions, sojourning in a strange land, a land where citizens speak another language and where we are beholden to their hospitality and good will, we mimic life’s journey where we face the challenge of living in peace with others as we engage in the mutual task of finding our way to our final destination, our permanent home.
In journeying to sacred places, such as Assisi, we imitate our journey to our peaceful heavenly destination. In visiting Assisi or other similar places, we seek a place where spiritual works have opened a portal that can bring us closer to our destination, if only in glimpses. In a pilgrimage we seek to let our participation in a physical journey summon signs and awareness of our grander spiritual journey. In a pilgrimage, we leave home in order to find our true home. The journey forces us to release clinging and attachment to that which we have substituted, often unconsciously, for our heavenly home. We come again to recognize that which is transient and that which is permanent. Our journey to sacred sites, rich with a past, draws us more fully into our present—placing our spiritual feet, once again, firmly on the path of the homeward journey in which we are engaged.
