Step 3: On Pilgrimage
This is the third post in a five-part series from A Practical and Spiritual Handbook for Pilgrims by Will Peterson. Read the first and second post.
Two disciples meet the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus after his Crucifixion. They walk with him as he explains how Scripture points to his death and Resurrection. After he breaks bread with them and leaves, they realize who he is.
“Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’”
The road to Emmaus is MCP’s model for pilgrimage because we hope that each pilgrim gets to walk with Christ and become aware of His word setting their hearts on fire, both in prayer and in the hearts of their companions on the road.
So: You have adequately packed. You know what intentions you are carrying and why. You have food for the journey and places to stay. You have crossed the threshold and officially become a pilgrim. Thoughts of the everyday no longer apply for the next few miles, whether they take a matter of hours or a number of days. Instead, spend your time in prayer. How are you to spend your time productively (such a contemporary concern)? By putting one foot in front of the other and by praying, without ceasing if possible. Freed from base thoughts, we are called to unite mind and heart in a cry of joy to the Lord and His saints.
Though you likely considered your plan for prayer while in the preparation stages, while actually on pilgrimage, circumstances may change and so may prayer. The individual pilgrim also does not have a group on which to fall back, so a frank assessment of the experience each day is advised. Did praying a rosary in the morning and one in the afternoon serve as spiritual refreshment? Did you find yourself wandering off in thought frequently? Would praying and reflecting on a psalm bring you back to a more contemplative, religious experience? Is it a good thing that you find yourself in the spiritual wilderness?
The difficulty is in gauging when a prayer practice is yielding no fruit and should be adjusted, and when it only needs further, or renewed, practice to produce that fruit. Although the goal is that the pilgrim dive richly into deepened prayer while on the journey, it is worth remembering that Christ is present too in the hearts of others who are united with Him. Do not be afraid to engage in companionable conversation with your fellow pilgrims. Listen like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and speak with faith in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
If prayer on the road is not always rich, remember that you are still walking with God and bringing your intentions forward to the chosen holy site. Each pilgrimage will be different for each pilgrim. Sometimes, being in the spiritual desert as you journey is part of what the Lord has in store for you.
On the road, be present. Be in the here and now. That presence dispels illusions and helps prepare us to hear God’s voice in the internal quiet. Of course, there is definitely a role that social media plays in pilgrimage as part of the New Evangelization, and it is a blessing to allow others to experience a piece of your pilgrimage. Still, be cognizant of balance and try not to spend too much time on your phone. Finally, if this pilgrimage is your time to be off of social media completely, take full advantage.
You will suffer. Knees will stiffen up. Blisters will form. It will not be easy to start walking after lunch. Accept the suffering. Do not glorify it. Pilgrims suffer. One could consider it part of the definition of a pilgrim. It should not become the dominant subject of conversation while on the road. Layla Karst of the Loyola Marymount Theology department writes,
Thinking about our suffering as the consequence of our displacement and thus as an unavoidable part of pilgrimage does two things. First, it helps avoid glorifying our suffering too much: wearing it as a badge of honor, portraying it in stories as that funny or dramatic character-building bit. It also reminds us that suffering is not something to be prevented, avoided, indignantly objected to. Instead, when we observe suffering as the mark of the pilgrim, it can serve as an indicator to us, a confirmation of our right relationship with the places through which we pass and the people living in them.
Karst contends that we as pilgrims get to make the choice to suffer by going on pilgrimage and, instead of allowing it to become the priority, we should allow the experience to inform our empathy for those with no choice but to spend all day walking or on their feet. Giving the suffering such other-centered roots makes it difficult to succumb to the self-referential possibilities inherent.
When to end a pilgrimage early
There is no easy answer. A pilgrimage is purposeful travel, so if the pilgrim does not reach his or her destination, it is difficult to be reconciled to that fact.
Given our mission, MCP does not encourage an early end to your pilgrimage if at all avoidable. One strategy is to change the “how” of the pilgrimage; you take a bus that drops off near the site or ride in a support vehicle for a few miles, while maintaining an attitude of pilgrimage.
When walking in a group, people could take turns intentionally accompanying any pilgrim who is struggling. Prayer aloud at this point can be effective. Still, the struggling pilgrim should not expect to be literally or figuratively carried by others to the site.
Receiving Hospitality on Pilgrimage
One of the great voices on hospitality in our age is Henri Nouwen, a Dutch priest and a leading spiritual writer of the 20th century:
“To fully appreciate what hospitality can mean, we possibly have to become first a stranger ourselves.”
“If there is any concept worth restoring to its original depth and evocative potential, it is the concept of hospitality. It is one of the richest biblical terms that can deepen and broaden our insight in our relationships to our fellow human beings.”
“By prayer, community is created as well as expressed.”
Please, be open to receiving the blessings that come with being the stranger, the guest, in another’s home. It means we must give up control and let grace fill the gaps. We have prepared our hosts with the context of your pilgrimage experience. They should give you some space in the evening to do what you need to do by yourself or amongst yourselves. Do not feel that you need to entertain your hosts or be entertained by them. Do be courteous and open to discussion with them as there is great fruit available there on both sides. The connection between host and guest will deepen from communication. Do not be afraid to express yourself as such. If you want to pray with them, feel free to offer, but do not feel obligated to do so. If they ask to pray with you, be sure to do so. When you depart and contact on your way, please be sure to express your gratitude for their hospitality, verbally and in writing if possible. We have known a few pilgrims to keep up correspondence and even to meet up again with their hosts. What a beautiful demonstration of the wonder that is biblical hospitality.
