It's worth the trip.

"For most of us, the image of pilgrims evokes the notion of early settlers, newly arrived on a continent called America, clad in unusual clothing who gathered to give thanks for the blessings of the first bountiful harvest. In reality, the pilgrim and the journey known as a pilgrimage was, from earliest times, a unique expression of the Israelites' worship of the One God. The annual religious feasts of the early Hebrews were often celebrated in the context of elaborate pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The procession of the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple in Jerusalem by David and those who accompanied him is an ideal example of the pilgrimage as a ritual expression of their faith and determination to seek out wherever God had made himself known.

In the Gospel of Luke, we see how even the Holy Family participated in a yearly pilgrimage to jerusalem to observe the feast of Passover as was prescribed by Jewish custom. "Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom" (Luke 2:41-42). In much the same way, Christians during the first few centuries after Jesus' death and resurrection journeyed from Europe and other parts of the globe to the sacred sites of the Holy Land. Eager to grow in their understanding of Jesus and identify with his early life, our Christian ancestors frequently set out from their homelands for the places made holy by Jesus when he walked the villages and towns along the Sea of Galilee. Since that time and throughout the spread of Christianity, Christians have been on the move, traveling the world over to experience firsthand the ordinary places made extraordinary by the presence of God. Whether to the Holy Land, Lourdes, Fatima, or the Eternal City of Rome, Christians have journeyed to these sacred places to claim them as their own, no longer belonging solely to the secular order but to all people whose faith has made them a part of the events that occurred in them.

Originating from the Latin peregrinus, the term pilgrim evokes the one wandering in search of a deeper reality, one determined to discover a more profound truth about the events and circumstances that define human existence. The Christian pilgrim proclaims to the rest of humanity that what the world offers is not sufficient to satisfy all of human longing. It is necessary to look elsewhere, even if it takes us far from home. The very act of a pilgrimage reaffirms that, indeed, we are in the world but not of it. "We have here no lasting city" (Heb. 13:14). And so, the pilgrim and the journey of a pilgrimage points us in the right direction. Within the confines of time and space, a pilgrimage enables us to realize that, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we are capable of also finding God, if only we venture to seek him out.

So where to begin? Well, it might not be a bad idea to start right where you are. In nearly every part of the United States there is a place that has been designated as a national pilgrimage site. If I am planning a vacation, I try to include a visit to a shrine or place of pilgrimage. All of us can use pilgrimages as a way of enriching our faith and our children's faith and providing an appreciation for our Christian ancestry.

In an age when there is ever-increasing competition for our time and focus, it is vital that we carve out in our schedules a place reserved solely for getting back to the basics. A pilgrimage, in this sense, takes us out of our everyday routines and, at the same time, brings us home. It anchors us once again in the singular context, which helps us make sense of the rest of our lives. If it was necessary for even Jesus to get in the boat and cross to the other side for a few quiet moments alone, how much more it is necessary for us to get away with the Lord and put ourselves again at his disposal.

The notion that the Christian life entails picking up and setting out for places unknown, leaving behind the familiar and comfortable confines of home, is nothing new. A pilgrimage, quite simply, serves as an outward expression of our inner response to the Lord's invitation to "leave all things you have and come and follow me." Get away with the Lord sometime soon and discover the wonderful Christian sites of our land made holy by the presence of God and the worship and his people. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts" (Ps. 84:2)!