Apilgrimage is an external journey with religious or spiritual significance. Christians, Jews and Muslims all consider Jerusalem to be a holy city and make pilgrimages there. Every faith and every sect has their holy sites for pilgrimage. Muslims go to Mecca, Buddhists go to Lumbini, and Catholics journey along the Way of St. James in Spain. Pilgrimages are usually long and difficult, and the external journey may be marked by danger and strenuous effort, but the more important thing is the internal or spiritual journey. A pilgrimage is supposed to change us. The Pilgrims who came to America from England exemplified these features. They took a long and dangerous journey across the ocean to start a new life in a new land, and they were certainly changed by the experience. It is believed that less than half of them survived the first winter in America. None of us are likely to experience such profound changes or take such dangerous pilgrimages, and yet we are all pilgrims nonetheless, journeying through the world in search of our ultimate home. Be strong and prepare yourself for the journey, seeking God at every point along the way. – Christopher Simon
