Pilgrimage means making a journey to a sacred place in order to draw closer to God. To journey as a pilgrim is a different sort of journey than going as a tourist. To travel as a tourist is to be acquisitive--what can I acquire to bring home? Lots of photos and videos... a good suntan... stuff that I've bought.... To travel as a pilgrim is to be receptive--what does God want to give me and how can I be open and receptive to that?
By traveling to a sacred place, such as Assisi, one joins the prayers and intentions of the millions of others who have made that journey over many centuries. By being in the places where Francis and Clare of Assisi lived, or Benedict of Nursia, one is struck by the realness of their lives, that they walked these very streets and hillsides, or grew up in this very neighborhood. They were ordinary people just like us. Like us, God invited them to build a relationship with him. They heard God's call to lives of prayer, service, and love. What was extraordinary about them was their response to God's invitation. They said "yes" with their whole hearts in spite of opposition from family, society and even the church. They embarked on the inward "pilgrimage" of the heart, and the outward "pilgrimage" of living out their call in the world.
But pilgrimage doesn't mean journeying alone. These saints all journeyed with many companions. On our pilgrimage we discover that we, too, have companions on this journey. Very quickly a caring community is formed as we listen to teaching, pray the office, walk, eat, and visit sites together. We have a shared experience of the outward pilgrimage. And we are given opportunity to share with one another our own inward pilgrimage.
The Umbrian saints based their lives on the sure knowledge that God loved them and loves all of us so deeply. We can't help but be inspired by their own love for God, and their determination to say "yes" to God. As we walk with the saints on pilgrimage, we may hear them asking us, "What is your invitation from God to a deeper spiritual life?" What will be your response?