There is no specific time of year when a pilgrimage for either site would be especially appropriate and both sites are visited throughout the year by many pilgrims. Having said that, although there is no time where a pilgrimage would be appropriate, more pilgrims do visit the sites more at different times of the year, Easter proving to be a very popular time.
Pilgrims would have several sites or shrines to visit when on pilgrimage at either of these places. Sick or handicapped children would most certainly stay in the Hosanna House, belonging to the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust, during their pilgrimage to Lourdes. Pilgrims can visit and receive Mass from the three churches built above the grotto, the Crypt, the Rosary Church and the large Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. To recall the request from the Virgin Mary, for Bernadette to go and wash in the spring in the cave, holy baths are used for the handicapped, so they too can bath in the holy water, taken directly from the spring in the grotto. After this, as the Virgin Mary specifically told Bernadette to drink from the spring, pilgrims would drink the water drawn from the spring, from taps provided in rows, by the grotto. The grotto itself is arguably the most important site in the pilgrimage as this is the place that the visions were seen by Bernadette. Pilgrims would light candles in the grotto as they prayed for their healthy and sick friends. Above the grotto is the marble statue of The Lady, which the pilgrims would observe in silence, giving a strong feeling of worship and devotion. The pilgrims would join a procession from the grotto, every afternoon, led by the Bishop carrying the monstrance, a transparent container holding the Blessed Sacrament, the wafer of unleavened bread consecrated in Mass, the actual flesh and body of Jesus, from a Catholic point of view. The procession would move into the enormous Rosary Square where the sick lie waiting to be blessed b the Bishop. In the evening, there is a different procession whereby all pilgrims bear a lighted candle. Everyone processes and sings, including the sick. Another place pilgrims would visit in the woods on the hillside, above the grotto, where, like in Jerusalem, there is a ‘Way of The Cross’, the fourteen Stations of the Cross. These were however, unlike the one in Jerusalem, made of life-size bronze figures, a very impressive site. In Walsingham, pilgrims would visit two main buildings and sites, the Holy House and the Slipper Chapel, the Chapel of St Catherine. The Slipper Chapel is now known as the Roman Catholic National Shrine and in it is a statue of The Lady of Walsingham. Pilgrims would receive Mass from the Shrine and in the parish church of St Mary, where a similar statue lies. There is also a Pilgrim Hospice would be the accommodation of the handicapped pilgrims and a small pilgrimage church contains a newly built Holy House. The shrine has a Holy Well, a very popular site, where pilgrims are sprinkled with Holy Water and many take home some of this Holy Water for the sick. This is a lot like the spring in the grotto in Lourdes, in the sense that it is ‘healing’ water. Pilgrims might walk the Holy Mile, some even barefoot, to sense the holiness of the Holy House and the Shrine Church, Therefore, at both places of pilgrimage, people of all ages would celebrate and pray together. In addition to this devotion, pilgrims would celebrate the Eucharist and receive Mass whilst on their pilgrimage and reflect on the events that occurred at Lourdes or at Walsingham.
Although there are no major hardships involved in either pilgrimage, there is one involved at Lourdes, after all it is meant to be a physical journey as well as a spiritual one. This arduous part of the pilgrimage is in the woods at the fourteen Stages of The Cross. The path is uneven and bumpy and walked along barefoot by some. This is even harder for those in the wheelchairs as they have to be pushed through this rough path. However, doing this makes the pilgrims feel like they are doing something involving some suffering of some sort, to share Jesus’ suffering and show sorrow for their sins. In Walsingham, there is a similar hardship endured by the pilgrims. The Holy Mile is also walked barefoot by some, again for the same reason that it shows the pilgrims are suffering like Jesus did and is a way of atoning for their sins. In this sense, there wouldn’t be any place of pilgrimage without some form of hardship or arduous journey, as that is what pilgrimage is, a physical journey similar to that made by Jesus, his whole life.
Many pilgrims visit Walsingham and Lourdes as they are inspired by acts, events or other people. Lourdes attracts many people as it a place of healing the sick and this alone is enough to inspire someone to go on the pilgrimage. Friends or family can return from going on pilgrimage to Lourdes telling you how the experience was an amazing one and how the feeling that people cared about each other was so much greater than ever imagined and greater than ever experienced before, as many do feel that way. The overwhelming feeling of goodness and kindness that builds up inside you after pushing a wheelchair, helping a lame person get up or simply assisting a sick person. These feelings and emotions are all inspiring to many, which is what attracts them to going. Everyone leaving Lourdes values life to its greatest as people find out that there are actually more sick people than themselves, and if not, they simply cherish the atmosphere of love and care presented in Lourdes, restoring or maintaining faith and belief in God and fellow human beings. This is how the emotions are stirred, when one realises this. For Walsingham, inspiration comes from somewhere completely different. Walsingham, being a small town, has a lovely tight nit community and the events that took place, making it the place of pilgrimage it is now, stretch much further back than that in Lourdes. Therefore, one maybe inspired by its welcoming community and its ‘age’ and historical value. Many are inspired by the supplied spiritual necessity of an atmosphere of peace, said by thousands to be present at the Shrine in Walsingham, and radiated from the Chapels there. Some are merely inspired by its beauty in physical aspects, a stunning secluded valley in Norfolk. Pilgrims may see Walsingham as a more of a holy place of pilgrimage than others such as Lourdes, as it contains the Holy House, the house where the Virgin Mary and Son of God, the Saviour and Messiah grew up and lived. This may inspire pilgrims as they are able to make a connection with God as they would be praying and standing in the place thought to be where Jesus was.
In general, places of pilgrimage can be inspired by several things, ranging from simple reasons, such as, wanting to see the place where something happened, to hoping or asking for a miracle. Some go to prepare for death, to honour a vow, to admire something or someplace beautiful, to go on a vacation with some spiritual significance, to do something new and exciting, curiosity, to answer an inner call to go, to give thanks or express love, faith or belief to/in God, to visit a sacred place described or mentioned in the Bible or finally for atonement. They want to enhance their prayer and focus on God and they believe going on pilgrimage does this. Many see it as a way of saying sorry to God and some simply feel an obligation to go. Pilgrims want to separate themselves from the everyday concerns and suffering of the world, and spend time focusing on God and reflecting on the past. Some see it as an opportunity to embrace both community and solitude whilst being by oneself, embarking on a spiritual and physical quest.
Finally, the lasting effects to a pilgrimage site are in some minds the most important aspect of pilgrimage as it is what sticks with you for a long time if not forever. The health of pilgrims visiting Lourdes can be on its own a lasting effect of the pilgrimage as one could be cured of cancer, for example, and live a totally different, happier life. One’s life would be longer, first of all, and if the illness is not cured, the pilgrim almost always is able to come to terms with their illness, changing attitude to life completely, for the better. Fundamental laws or principals in the Christian faith such as ‘Thou Shalt Love Thy ‘Neighbor as Thyself’, can be fully appreciated and understood after going on pilgrimage to Lourdes due to the loving and caring atmosphere. In Walsingham, the effects may not be so physical, rather more spiritually beneficial. Pilgrims may find they have been able to connect to God much easier and better after journeying to Walsingham as they have grown closer to God during their pilgrimage, where they have been able to concentrate and focus on prayer and spirituality, in the peaceful and refreshing valley. Spiritually refreshed is how many feel and describe themselves after coming back from their pilgrimage to Walsingham as they have been able to re-establish a bond with God, knocking down the barrier that separates man from God.
In general, lasting effects of going on pilgrimage can range from learning to interact better with other Christians, to improving one’s relationship with God. Some may be totally unaffected and some may be spiritually enlightened. Pilgrims be cured of disease or sickness, an obvious lasting effect. Others may feel they should have more to do with their community, helping out more or simply supporting their local church. On the other hand, some may want to isolate themselves away from the community and devote his life to worshipping God on his own. Many feel a need to give to more to charity or even start some charity work. Different effects may include simply appreciating life more than before and thanking God for what he has supplied, realising there are always less fortunate people in the world.
Each individual has his or her own reason for going on pilgrimage and each individual is affected in his or her way. Furthermore, reasons for going on pilgrimage and the effects which this might have are infinite and the list could go on forever. Therefore, the reasons and effects I have mentioned above are simply some of the general ones and will not apply to every person that goes on a pilgrimage.
c) ‘There are more important things for Christians to do than go on pilgrimage.’
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view.
Firstly, the term ‘more important’, used in the above statement, needs to be defined. If doing something is ‘more important’ than doing something else, it means that it is of a greater significance or value, it has a higher ‘rank’ or status. Therefore, if one had the choice to do either thing, one would usually choose the former first, as it takes priority over the less important thing. With this in mind, some may deem the statement to be true as some may believe there are ‘more important’ things to do than go on pilgrimage, such as, receiving Mass every Sunday. They may see this as more important simply because it is fulfilling a Christian belief as one is demonstrating one’s belief in Jesus being the Son of God, the Saviour, by taking and eating the blessed bread and wine, the flesh and blood of Jesus, at Holy Communion, every week. However, a person certainly doesn’t go on pilgrimage every week and maybe only once in his or her life.
Many believe that various goods deeds should be given priority over pilgrimage. Attending a place of worship on a regular basis to receive Mass improves one’s relationship with the local Christian community. It shows commitment and a dedication to Christianity as opposed to a one-off journey. One is able to combine religion with society of the twenty first century and encourage religious acceptance amongst other communities. Time can be better spent on tackling world-changing issues such as homelessness or disease. According to Christian doctrine these acts are all considered selfless good deeds, whereas a pilgrimage is very much a journey for self-realisation. In this way carrying out these good deeds can be seen as more important than the act of going on a pilgrimage purely for one’s self.
Having said this, another approach could be taken, for instance, many believe that pilgrimage glorifies one’s belief in Christianity and the Holy Trinity. Furthermore, without going on pilgrimage, some people wouldn’t appreciate what really happened in the past and the events that took place, and therefore wouldn’t be able to ‘connect’ to the past on Holy festivals, such as Holy Week and Easter, when the events that took place in the past, namely, Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, is fundamental to the festival. If they attended Holy Communion every Sunday, they may not be able to sincerely believe that the bread and wine is the flesh and blood of Jesus. However, going on pilgrimage allows them to do this. For many Christians pilgrimage has enhanced or possibly given them a ‘link’ to connect to, making their actions more significant. One could say that without pilgrimage, Christians’ actions and beliefs are simply meaningless as one can’t genuinely believe that what they’re doing or the actions they’re performing are sincere. Therefore, one could disagree with the statement as although there may be, strictly speaking, ‘more important’ things to do, unless one has undergone a pilgrimage, it could be said that one’s actions have no significance and are meaningless. Therefore going on pilgrimage is necessary in order to fulfil good deeds to one’s greatest capacity.
The journey taken by Christians to a place of pilgrimage often restores faith and hope. A pilgrimage provides a safe and warm environment for believers to strengthen their relationship with God and fellow Christians. Since the belief in one omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent God can be considered ‘blind faith’, a physical place of worship can almost provide this missing tangible link, without which many find it difficult to achieve a spiritual connection. However there are many disadvantages to this physical place of worship which may provide reason to believe that there are more important things for Christians to do than go on a pilgrimage. People may become too attached to the materialism of physical value. This shows a lack of faith in the spiritual and builds up too much reliance upon physical places of worship. If this dependence occurs, good deeds such as helping the sick would be more worthwhile as it stimulates true spiritual belief and faith in God without using physical objects as a tool.
To many, pilgrimage is merely a holiday, a tourist attraction. Vast amounts of money are spent each year in order for religious believers to ‘find God’ and ‘truth’ however this is a contradiction in itself as most religious believers would argue God can be found in the home. The journey can furthermore be seen as a selfish act, one of self-acknowledgement and attention, isolation from the ‘real world’. When a Christian undertakes a pilgrimage they do not contribute to society or the community but lives an existence where the priority is for self-achievement. There is also the danger of a religious believer becoming dependent on the place of pilgrimage to provide the spiritual stimulation and satisfaction. The atmosphere from the outside may be misleading and if the passion of their religion can only be provided by a physical place, their belief in a sense is weak and superficial. This atmosphere captivates the thousands who gather under the statue of the Virgin Mary with lit candles at Lourdes, possibly leading them to a false sense of belief or understanding of their religion. The word pilgrimage for these reasons has numerous implications. Materialism and mass consumerism has exploded and the spiritual journey transformed into a profit making business. Therefore many would argue that time and money would be better spent elsewhere and pilgrimage is unnecessary.
A third approach could be taken, accommodating the arguments for and against the above statement. One could agree with the statement, that there are more important things to do than go on pilgrimage, whilst at the same time believe that pilgrimage is essential in enhancing the act or belief of the ‘more important’ thing i.e. giving charity. Having undertaken the leap of faith journeying to a place of religious pilgrimage myself, I can fully appreciate the impact of such an experience on my local community as well as on myself. Events that Christians may have been brought up to recall are actually realised when visiting many religious places of pilgrimage. Strength in one’s religious belief, which is maintained through pilgrimage, is vital in carrying out religious practices.
Overall I believe there is no need to prioritise the worthiness of going on a pilgrimage, since for the religious believer a pilgrimage is of equal importance to numerous other acts or good deeds. The fundamental argument that many make is that pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, which complements all other good deeds. If one were in an improved state of mind any act carried out would be to the best of one’s ability. This journey undertaken by many enhances not only spiritual but physical well being. For example, a well visited place of pilgrimage, Lourdes in the South of France, has been said to provide healing powers to the physically disabled. Many cases have been documented that imply Lourdes is a place of miraculous occurrences since patients have returned to a healthy physical state with no scientific explanation. Studies further suggest that any form of self- relaxation or meditation improves physical and mental well being. If this is the case all acts of kindness can be performed with willingness and enthusiasm, furthermore I feel one may be more inclined to give money to charity and help their local community. I therefore believe that these good deeds can only be fulfilled to their maximum if the doer has undertaken a pilgrimage.
