Posted on 02/01/2016 4:05:40 PM PST by NYer
6) Plan a mini pilgrimage to a local shrine; make an effort along the way to live the corporal work of mercy of "welcoming the stranger" as Christ.
Growing up Catholic in San Diego, in the shadow of the first of 21 missions founded by St. Junipero Serra, clearly influenced my life as a nomadic Catholic, seeking out sacred sites that raise my mind and heart to God. As I moved around the country and the world, I learned that no matter where I am, a Catholic church is always home.
While I have been blessed to make a few of the "big" pilgrimages -- to the Holy Land, Rome, Fatima -- I still find a great deal of comfort knowing that there are no fewer than five small shrines all less than a 30-minute drive away from my little neighborhood in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I remember when we first moved here, I was amazed at how few of the Catholics I met knew that we were so blessed. It made me wonder, how many more Catholic shrines and places of pilgrimage do we have in the United States? How many people know about them?
My desire to find out and share that knowledge led my husband and I to produce The Faithful Traveler, a television series that explores those very sites. We devoted our entire first series to local shrines, visiting some of the most astonishing shrines and cathedrals in Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Shrines and places of pilgrimage take on many forms. There's the little shrine, made up of a statue in a corner of a church, or the big shrine, like the National Shrines of Our Lady of Guadalupe or of St. John Nepomucene Neumann. I am also a fan of visiting cathedrals, because they are often stunning and historic and provide a plethora of little shrines or chapels to pray to many saints.
To live out this suggestion for the Year of Mercy, the first thing you have to do is find out if there is a shrine near you. Here are some ways to do that:
Once you've found your spot, plan to bring a book of spiritual reading. Or don't. I'll bet they have some good ones at the gift shop.
Bring your rosary and your list of prayer intentions.
If you have kids, bring them along! Visiting shrines is a great way to teach them about our faith.
Spend the day at the shrine, learning about the saint to whom or the devotion to which the shrine is dedicated.
And while you're there, it's a great time to move on to the second part of this challenge.
Welcome the stranger as Christ
The world can be a mean and unwelcoming place. But while I can't control how others behave toward me, I can control how I behave toward them. A simple smile and saying hello does wonders. Mother Teresa was a great proponent of the smile:
"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."
"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
"Peace begins with a smile …"
Visiting shrines brings us face to face with strangers, and strangers provide us with the opportunity to grow in virtue, be it the virtue of patience, charity, or humility.
And of course, once we're nestled into our own pew, we can perform some of the spiritual works of mercy by forgiving offenses and praying for the dead.
There are so many blessings to be had from making a local pilgrimage, I could go on forever. Instead, I'll leave you with these words, spoken by the Virgin Mary to a young St. Catherine Labouré:
"Come to the foot of the altar, for there you will receive great graces."
Â
Diana von Glahn is the co-creator of The Faithful Traveler, a travel series for television that broadcasts on EWTN. The Faithful Traveler website provides access to her blog and photos from her travels. DVDs of her first two series can be purchased there, as well. Her upcoming special on Pope Francis' pilgrimage to the Holy Land, A Papal Pilgrimage in the Holy Land, will be broadcast soon.
Catholic ping!
Church yes. Pope no.
BTTT!
Nice post.
According to Francis, Catholics and Muslims worship the same God. So next time just walk into a mosque instead of a church. Francis says it’s all the same, so Catholics should obey their pope.
Whatever Pope SkyPilot says.
Beautiful post.
Thanks!
“So next time just walk into a mosque instead of a church. Francis says it’s all the same, so Catholics should obey their pope.”
Are you drunk?
No. I state a fact per the words of Pope Francis. Look them up.
Also, you edited my post, and put quotes around it as to indicate (falsely) that those were my exact words. Why did you do that?
Do you want to go with Michael T. Snyder or learn what the Church actually teaches?
Do you want to know what the Church teaches?
“No. I state a fact per the words of Pope Francis. Look them up.”
No, you show me where Pope Francis said a mosque is the same as a church. You said: “So next time just walk into a mosque instead of a church. Francis says it’s all the same, so Catholics should obey their pope.”
“Also, you edited my post, and put quotes around it as to indicate (falsely) that those were my exact words. Why did you do that?”
This is every word you originally said:
“According to Francis, Catholics and Muslims worship the same God. So next time just walk into a mosque instead of a church. Francis says it’s all the same, so Catholics should obey their pope.”
YOU WROTE ALL OF THAT.
I commented on this part of your comments:
“So next time just walk into a mosque instead of a church. Francis says it’s all the same, so Catholics should obey their pope.”
YOU SAID ALL OF THAT.
I put it in quotes because YOU said it. And every word I posted were in fact your exact words. I posted two out of your three sentences - because those two sentences were the ones I was commenting on. I did nothing “falsely”.
And my question still stands: Are you drunk?
And again, you deliberately left out this portion of my post, and put the latter part in quotes as if to imply that was all that I said.
According to Francis, Catholics and Muslims worship the same God.
I asked you why, and you didn't answer. I know why. It is too damaging to your argument to admit the truth that Francis said Catholics and Muslims worship the same God.
Nice post. We tend to turn long road trips into pilgrimages whenever we can. There are some really amazing churches and shrines in this country built by saints. One of our favorite places is the basement perpetual adoration chapel in downtown Philadelphia, a war zone, at the National Shrine to St. Rita de Cascia. Down there you will find confession on demand and of course Jesus Christ Himself, humbly present under the form of bread. And a great sense of peace.
Thank you for the excellent link. I have two brothers and a sister who love to travel. Me, not as much. Thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.