practicing pilgrimage at home and abroad
With Advent nearly upon us and Christmas festivities around us in full swing, Jenn Giles Kemper of Sacred Ordinary Days shares with us how we can infuse spirituality and intention into this season and the seasons to come through following the Liturgical Year.
Be sure to listen all the way to the end—we’re giving away a new Sacred Ordinary Days Liturgical Day Planner to a lucky winner!
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With travel and accommodations, facilitator fees, and more, costs can quickly add up. I often hear from seekers who are longing to go on pilgrimage—whether it’s a trip I’m leading, a journey led by another, or a pilgrimage of their own design—and yet the reality of finances stands in the way of their desires.
I’m always excited to tell them, though, that their circumstance doesn’t equal the end of the road. Just like a pastor following a call to the pulpit or a missionary responding through a life of service, your “yes” to pilgrimage is a “yes” to the invitation of the Sacred Guide, and when you apply some intention and even invite others to join you in your calling and on your quest, you’ll be surprised by how quickly generous and enthusiastic support—financial and otherwise—falls into place.
Are you longing to go on pilgrimage but need some ideas to make it happen financially?
Eco-theologian and pilgrimage guide Mary DeJong of Waymarkers answers this question in today’s new episode of Pilgrim Podcast and offers inspiration and suggestions for how we, too, can begin to journey with nature through her practice of Rewilding.
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The spiritual practice of pilgrimage is as ancient as they come. For thousands of years, pilgrims have set out on soul-stirring journeys to Sacred sites. Some of these pilgrimages were a religious requirement—a pillar of faith, as with the Hajj in Islam. Other journeys were taken as a gesture of penance, as with the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, where upon completion of the journey it was declared that your sins were forgiven. Others were undertaken in pursuit of healing, as with Lourdes, or simply because of the pilgrim’s desire to encounter the Holy in tangible ways, such as pilgrimages taken to the Holy Land to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
While these journeys differ in purpose and pursuit, they each share one thing in common: they’re tied to a destination. In fact, the practice of pilgrimage has been tied to a destination for most of its existence, always thought to be a journey to a place of significance.
To many, it seems as if this is the main requirement. But I’m here to tell you that pilgrimage is not as much about the destination as it might seem—at least the traditional ones often thought of when the practice of pilgrimage comes to mind. While many might define a pilgrimage as a journey to a Sacred site, I like to put more emphasis on the entirety of the journey rather than just the destination.
To celebrate, in today’s new Pilgrim Podcast Episode I’m talking with Christine Valters Painter of Abbey of the Arts about one of her favorite spiritual practices—ancestral pilgrimage. In it, we discuss her own journey to uncover her ancestry, how she’s experienced healing in her relationship with her father even though he passed long ago, practices to honor and connect with ancestors in this liminal season, and more.