The Power of Pilgrimage

I have been watching a documentary on BBC 2...we are very fortunate to have some really good programmes on our UK television uninterrupted by advertisements....in a three part series entitled 'Pilgrimage to Rome '. Eight celebrities of varying faiths or no faith at all were followed through all the ups and downs, both physical and emotional of their journey on foot to Rome. They followed the pilgrim's way which has been used by pilgrims for many hundreds of years. It starts at Canterbury but these modern day pilgrims began their journey in Switzerland.

Watching this, and the dialogue as the pilgrims walked, prompted my own thoughts about faith. One said 'I don't know what I believe' and another...a non practising Jew, 'I don't know what I am supposed to believe.' So I looked up what I wrote about pilgrimages in the book 'Walking with White Eagle in Sacred Places'. I wrote about how White Eagle encourages us all to go on inner pilgrimages, especially if our health or circumstances prevent physical walking. I explained, 'A pilgrimage is not a holiday; it is a rite of passage during which significant inner transformation takes place. After the pilgrimage your eyes are opened. You see the world differently.'

That was so true for every one of the eight pilgrims to Rome, former believers and non-believers alike. Their journey culminated in a private audience with Pope Francis. By that point they were all open to his loving non-judgemental welcome and blessing. Even those unsure of any spiritual belief at all were touched and changed and I remembered my mum (Joan Hodgson) saying to me when I was quite young, 'Faith is caught, not taught.'

This was truly demonstrated by the way our amazingly inspiring present-day Pope Francis encouraged every one of the eight pilgrims to look at their lives in a new light.