Lenten Pilgrimage.

The term "pilgrimage" is defined as a "journey to a shrine or sacred place". This definition falls woefully short of the modern idea of a pilgrimage. Today, a pilgrimage is a spiritual journey, in the widest sense of the term.

The spirituality itself is inherent in pilgrimage, through the very motivation to make one. Without the spiritual element, a pilgrimage would become a vacation; it would become nothing more than an exotic diversion. Thus, we bear in mind the crosses of the parish that we carry on our journey, and together with our own, offer them up in prayer. As such, the pilgrimage can be viewed as a form of penance.

In our context, I would say that the late hour at which we are making our pilgrimage, as well as the sheer distance we have to cover by foot, both conspire to add up to a challenging experience. It is hoped that as pilgrims on our walk with Jesus, we may be able to reflect on our earthly course and consider every step of the way as a step closer to the heavenly gates that we see at our journey's end.