They sometimes come from different places and from different social backgrounds but at the course of the journey, they come together and unite as one big family.
Lourdes
As a result of Bernadette's visions and subsequent claims of healing, Lourdes has become a major centre for people seeking to be healed. Hundreds of thousands of people go on a pilgrimage there every year, a large percentage are handicapped or ill in some way.
One of the most important things to do at Lourdes is to bathe in the water.The baths are specially made so that all people can bathe in it, from the completely healthy to those who are disabled. The reason for this is so that people can have the chance of having miracles performed on the by the holy contents of the water. Physical healing isn't the only reason why people bathe in the spring water. People hope to wash away their sins and to have spiritual healing.
There are many reasons why a person should go on pilgrimage and what is there for them. The things that we know are that a person must go out of their way to go to places like Lourdes. We also know why they go and what they do at pilgrimage. After so much hard work and penance, you may ask, 'What did they get out of it?'
To answer this question I have two main replies which show the benefits of going on a pilgrimage.
The first reason would be physical replenishment. The idea of relaxation and a holiday is sewn into pilgrimage so that it is not just a holy journey but a holiday where people are able to enjoy themselves and be completely relaxed. There is also no stress on the holiday which helps with mental rejuvenation. The enjoyment of a holiday atmosphere
the second reason is spiritual healing and sometimes physicall healing. Most pilgrims are happy to go and pray and bathe at Lourdes and return home spiritually enriched and with their lifes changed in some way, even if they have not been physically healed. Most pilgrims are looking for spiritual guidance to help cope with their illness, occasionally pilgrims do belive they have been physically healed on pilgrimage in Lourdes.
Holy Lands
Christians belive that the Holy Lands have special connections with great figures or events in the Christian faith, Christians belive that these places have a special feel about them, an awe, a special holiness that comes from being used and prayed in for centuries.
For generations, Pilgrims have treated these places with repect as holy places. Many pilgrims feel that something rubs off on them during their stay there.
So going on pilgrimage is the most important thing many Christians could possibly do because the religious aspect of it to see the place where many of the famous stories which were told in the bible actually took place and they can feel very emotional.
Many Christians experience a tremendous excitement at the thought of being able to visit places that Jesus would have visited and to trace his spiritual journey fron the years in Galilee to his death and ressurection in Jerusalem.
because they can understand and it makes it clearer for them how Jesus lived when he was a member of human kind. Christians can also go on pilgrimage because they feel it is their duty to God to go to the Holy Land. Some Christians may even go because they believe that God has called them. There are trips by special pilgrimage Tour Companies and many people sometimes come together to experience the pilgrimage with other serious Christians.
Some people find it healing being in a community of people being there for the same reason. Some Christians want to re-act what Jesus did e.g. Re-newing their baptism vows in the same River where Jesus was baptised. This makes them feel closer to god, and that is why it is so important to Christians.
AO3
"Places of pilgrimage tend to be very commercialised these days. This is bound to reduce the value of pilgrimage for a Christian."
I agree with this statement commercialism distracts pilgrims from the main purpose. Pilgrims could spend all their time in shops and other places of interest without really contemplating their pilgrimage or even praying, reducing the value of the pilgrimage.
However some people might argue the fact that it is what goes on in the mind of a pilgrim that makes the pilgrimage real and meaningful. For example many people go to Lourdes (which is free) not as pilgrims but as tourists - the difference between the two is the manner in which the visit is undertaken and their attitude.
Even in the bible Christians can see how commercialism at religious sites is wrong. In the bible we are told of Jesus' anger at the money changers in a temple. From this story many Christians could put the arguement forward that Jesus and the power of the holy spirit would be against such commercialism at a pilgrimage site.
It is a strong and compelling arguement but it must be said that all places of pilgrimage need funding for it to survive and those who disagree with the statement will argue that any profit from commercialism could be reinvested into the place of pilgrimage. This money could be used to maintain the quality of the environment. This money could also be used to provide special facilities for those people who might need them; for example the thousands of ill and handicapped prigrims who attend Lourdes every week.
Commercialism may encourage Christians who had not previously considered pilgrimage to take on the spiritual journey, it may reach an new audience who are not in the Christian faith but convert when educated by the place. Christians can witness the practises of other nationalities and denominations of Christianity in a larger scale, and in many cases, experience new methods of worship.
On the other hand it must be wrong for the people living in the area of the place of pilgrimage to exploit it for personal gain. In the holy lands, locals have set up a competive market of tour guides, mini cabs,resaurants,bars and souveniers to cater for the pilgrims, it is a distraction from the message of pilgrimage.
But after all it is easy to disagree with the statement and say pilgrimage is supposed to be a personal spiritual experience and to some extent the issue of money is not important unless it prevents people going to a place of pilgrimage.
In conclusion I agree with the statment because places of pilgrimage do tend to be very commercialised and it is bound to reduce the value of pilgrimage. I belive there is a point when a pilgrimage stops becoming a pilgrimage but a tourist attraction.The mind of a pilgrim will become distracted and that makes the pilgrimage seem less meaningful and even less holy.
