Taking a Mini Pilgrimage
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Friday, August 01, 2008 6:50 PM
Whenever I travel, I love to visit local area churches, cathedrals and shrines. My parents passed along this gift to their five children - many of our family vacations growing up were camping trips to the various California missions. So now, when I travel, I always make time for at least one new church experience. Instead of collecting postcards or magnets, I have a collection of photos of Mary statues from each of my destinations.
This week, Adam and I took a brief trip to Sacramento to have lunch with the wonderful author Heidi Hess Saxton who was visiting for a few days. After our lunch, my precious thirteen year old and I trecked to the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament for a mid afternoon pilgrimage. I don’t know whether Adam and I will have the opportunity to make a “real” pilgrimage one day, but I want him to have memories of visits to sacred spaces such as those I treasure from my own childhood. Sacramento’s cathedral is newly renovated and shone like a jewel in the late afternoon sunshine. As we entered the doors, the beauty of the place took my breath away as my glance went to the sweeping dome and sparkling windows of stained glass.
Together, with this lovely space to ourselves, Adam and I spent some time in silent adoration and then paused to light a candle for our family intentions. My heart soared with the sense of serene blessing of the moment - that space, with that child. It was a wonderful reminder that Adam and I don’t need a trip to Rome or Assisi or Lourdes to have a pilgrim spirit. Sacred spaces such as these can be found in our own communities. At my own parish, through the gift of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, I can make a pilgrimage with my boys any day of the week at any hour.
Have you been on a pilgrimage lately? Whether it’s a visit to a chapel in the next town or a simple weekday visit to daily Mass, why not play the pilgrim this week with your family?
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