There is evidence of pilgrimage in the Old Testament book of king where Elijah goes to pray on Mount Horeb
Pilgrimage
GCSE RE coursework
A Pilgrimage is a journey to a holy place for a spiritual motive and an expression of faith. Not only is it a journey to a place it can also be a journey through life to God from birth to death, womb to the tomb or cradle to the grave. Pilgrimage involves lots of travelling whether it is physical travel or the passing of time. There are many different types of people who go on pilgrimage; some of these are needy people, people who are poor or ill, people who are expressing their faith and also people who want to grow in their relationship with God. Pilgrimage used to involve lots of physical challenge, risk and danger but nowadays due to our transport, it is much safer. Pilgrimage used to cost an incredible amount of money and still does for some people nowadays. Pilgrimage is an expression of faith in all major religions.
There is evidence of pilgrimage in the Old Testament book of king where Elijah goes to pray on Mount Horeb also when Jesus’ family went to Jerusalem. Pilgrimage involves self-sacrifice; one example of this is the archdiocesan youth pilgrimage when young people go on pilgrimage to help sick, elderly and disabled people. During the pilgrimage a pilgrim will be involved in various religious activities, as well as prayer and reflection. The celebration of the sacraments is very common during pilgrimages. Pilgrims will approach pilgrimage or their journey in many ways depending on their reason for going. They may go to different places depending on their reason. There are many different approaches to pilgrimage. The whole pilgrimage could depend on why you are going for example if you want to feel closer to Jesus you would probably go to the Holy land and visit places associated with his life such as His birthplace- Bethlehem or where He taught and died- Jerusalem. Many people go to ask for healing at Lourdes (above). Some pilgrims have a special devotion to Mary, the mother of God so they would visit a Marion shrine maybe a place where she has appeared. Many pilgrims go on pilgrimages to live out Jesus’ invitation to ‘love one another’ or ‘I was sick and you cared for me’ Matthew 25. They may go to Lourdes, the Holy land or the shrine of a particular saint such as the shrine of Lady well to pray to St Faustian, Preston or Saint James of Compestella in Spain. Pilgrims who want to ‘reconnect with the roots of their faith’ might go to Rome or other earlier Christian sites e.g. Ephesus. Anglicans and orthodox would also go here. Roman Catholics would also visit the Vatican where the Pope lives, the Pope is the successor of Peter who was the first Pope therefore we can see that the place of Pilgrimage is very important.
