Explain the part pilgrimage plays in the religious life of Christians. In your answer, include reference to the two places of pilgrimage you have mentioned.

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Daniel Burgess                R.E Coursework

Question 2

        Explain the part pilgrimage plays in the religious life of Christians. In your answer, include reference to the two places of pilgrimage you have mentioned.

        Many Christians see pilgrimage as an important part in their spiritual growth and development. Some Christians also believe that pilgrimage may help them in their post-mortal journey to heaven.

        Christians go to church to praise the lord and give thanks to God. Serious Christians also pray at home, sometimes before and after meals, and sometimes at bedtime.

        The first place of pilgrimage that I have mentioned, Lourdes, attracts millions of pilgrims each year. This is because the spring that Bernadette dug in the presence of the Immaculate Conception is seen as a very important spiritual place in the world. Lourdes is also very important to Christians because Our Lady herself went there in the form of seventeen visions to Bernadette Soubirous.

        Some of the pilgrims that visit Lourdes are very ill people, some of whom are dying. These people may have asked able people to take them to Lourdes as a last wish. Many people believe that a dying person who visits Lourdes whilst they are ill will have a much quicker and safer journey to heaven.

        Others who are terminally ill might want to bathe in water that has been taken from the spring. At the baths, each person is stripped down to his or her under-garments. They are then put on a stretcher and held over the bath. The bath is full of water from the spring, and is usually extremely cold. Before a person is fully submerged in the water, he or she kisses a small model of Our Lady. Some people have been known to come out of the water completely dry. This water is believed to have certain healing powers and has been the source of approximately eighty miraculous cures at Lourdes.

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        There are also reasons why healthy people might want to go on a pilgrimage. They may be going to assist a sick friend or relative in their last few steps in their spiritual life as a Christian before the inevitable occurs.

        Other healthy people may just want to visit Lourdes for the experience of such a famous pilgrimage. These people may also be on a quest for inner peace, inspiration, spirituality and reconciliation.

        At Lourdes, many people visit the grotto, where there is a statue of Our Lady, and pray at the foot of this statue. People might say a ...

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