Explain why Christians go on pilgrimage and the benefits they receive from going.

Authors Avatar

                     Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla Ashish Bhopla

Question 1: Explain why Christians go on pilgrimage and the benefits they receive from going.

The dictionary definition of pilgrimage is, ‘A journey made by a religious devotee to a sacred place as an act of religious commitment.’ Many different religions and cultures go on pilgrimage. A majority of the world’s major religions go on pilgrimage. So why do these people go on pilgrimages?

Well basically, as the definition states, people show their devotion to their faith. They are showing how much their faith means to them and they are proving it.

Through showing their devotion they get satisfaction from knowing that they have accepted God into their life and God has accepted them into his community.

People also go on pilgrimage as a sort of penance so that they can be forgiven. Some pilgrimages can be long and arduous journeys and they were exactly this before the time of cars and airplanes. Many go to pilgrimage to get help from God, if they are going through a tough time in their life and need the strength of God to help them through this crisis. Or because of this crisis, they have lost their faith; they can renew their belief and strengthen it.

Thanks-giving is a good reason why people go on pilgrimage. If they have had something good happen to them or they just simply want to say thanks for all they have, they go to holy places to say thank-you.

The reason why people go to places of pilgrimage is actually to be closer to God, God’s presence is probably very prominent there and people go there to be within it. It may also be the presence of someone else holy, for example, Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, or Lourdes. In Lourdes, Our Lady the Immaculate Conception appeared there. People follow her orders to go to Lourdes.

Prayer is a special part of pilgrimage, the actual concept of being on pilgrimage is so that you can be under the presence of God or someone holy, this can make worship and prayer much stronger and more special. The significance of this is that you can’t get the same contented feeling of praying somewhere holy when you are at home.  Praying while on pilgrimage means that you have overcome any obstructions of distance or any other problems so that you can be within the presence of a holy person to pray to them through what you might call a ‘direct line’.

Being on pilgrimage isn’t all about undergoing hardships and problems, it can also be like a holiday where you can relax and enjoy the blissful atmosphere where you encounter people who are joyous in the name of God.   While on pilgrimage you are away from the problems and stresses of every day life. You are able to concentrate fully on the worship of God. Also another great thing about pilgrimage is places like Lourdes where a person is able to enjoy the beauty of the place and of God’s creation.

One of the most important incentives for going to pilgrimage, in my opinion, is for spiritual healing. The reason for this is that over time, you become disheartened by the things you see in every day life and you probably think, ‘Is there really a God?’ Because of this, attending Lourdes give you a new lease of life and your faith in God is renewed.

Join now!

Healing is one major reason why people come to Lourdes. Our Lady told Bernadette that the water from the spring has special healing powers. Because of this, many incurably sick and disabled people are taken to Lourdes in the hope of healing. This has been proven as many people have been miraculously cured of their illnesses at Lourdes.

As it happens, Lourdes is one of the places that I have been studying. The reason why Lourdes is such a holy place and a beacon for pilgrims is that a special event happened in the 1800s. Bernadette was a ...

This is a preview of the whole essay