After watching the video presented in class, I think I have a pretty good understanding of what a pilgrimage is. A pilgrimage is the making of a journey for the purpose of religious significance and many times or reflection and revelation. In the video we watched, the people were making a pilgrimage to the Church of Saint James in Santiago, Chile. This took them three months worth of playing a spiritual vagabonds and visiting many churches along with the way to their Chilean destination.
Do I think that I could ever make a pilgrimage myself? Honestly, yes. I don't think that I would have been able to say that about myself until this trip to Florence, though... I have done so much traveling in the past month or so; all of this exploration gives me a feel for what these pilgrims must experience on their journey - new lands, new experiences, new systems of beliefs...
I actually consider both my semester abroad here and even the visits to local places for this course to be "pilgrimages" for me... I say this because in each of these instances, I am in a new location, I need to become better acquainted with my surroundings, I gain new experiences, and I travel with the intention of taking something from my experience - are these not the motions of a pilgrim? Granted, I am not only making these visits for solely religious purposes, but I believe that the concept is quite similar.
I would actually love to escape the normal pattern of daily life for a while and grant myself the time to remain open and aware to my surroundings. One of the nuns that is from my home parish, a family friend for years, is making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this month and will be in Florence this weekend on her way home... I look forward to asking her questions and discovering more.
And I'm eager to know what she will answer you ;-)
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