Turn any trip into a faith filled experience
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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Filed under children, teens, travel
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Comments
1. Posted by mary
[website] on Friday, Aug 1, 2008 10:32 PM (EST):
This is something I love to do with my son, too. This “habit” began one year when he wanted to add, rather than give up, something for Lent. Each week we went to at least one shrine. When we began this quest of sorts, I didn’t imagine there would be any particular value in it for me, but now I have to say it was a wonderful for both of us. Now that that pilgrim spirit has been awakened, it seems that almost any trip becomes a pilgrimage.
Ironically, the greatest gem of that first set of pilgrimages, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart/Conewago Chapel, was found within an hour of our house, yet we had never been there before. We’ve since returned many times - have even blogged about it. Peace. ~~~mary
2. Posted by Lisa Hendey
[website] on Saturday, Aug 2, 2008 12:39 AM (EST):
Mary, I enjoyed my visit to your site. I hope to someday visit the Basilica near you! It sounds wonderful!!
Lisa
3. Posted by Dee on Saturday, Aug 2, 2008 8:34 PM (EST):
We went to Italy a few years ago, with another Deacon couple - not as part of any tour group mind you, but rather a trip planned by the four of us. Our aim was to make it a pilgrimage and we succeeded… we don’t have enough fingers & toes to count the number of churches & cathedrals we visited throughout the many towns traveled through. It was an awesome, inspiring, uplifting experience.
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