Essay on Christians' Pilgrimages to Lourdes

In the years moving toward the twelfth century, a few Christians started to trust that an individual 's beliefs and reflections—moreover one 's doings—were an essential display of devotion and goodness. Dedicated Christians progressively sought after religious journeys (pilgrimages), or voyages, to the areas where Jesus lived, perished, and were buried. During the time of the First Crusade, the Church showed that an individual 's transgressions could be alleviated, from a certain point of view, by

For this assignment, we had to attend a meeting of a spiritual tradition that is not our own. As this assignment's due date approached, I became very anxious! I didn’t quite know where I wanted to go. In my sewing class one day my friend, Kelly Jorgensen, had asked if I had finished the assignment. I had not. “Me and Karlie Mortensen are going to the Baptist church over by Riverton Hospital this Sunday at 6:00 PM if you want to join us” she offered. I found this rather funny. The day before, as I was driving home from work, the Harvest Valley Baptist Church sign had caught my eye. I thought to myself that I should

Prayer helped the girls in the book to control things in happening in their lives. One example is, “It was after my conference with Sor Asunción, once I had begun praying to know my calling, that suddenly, like a lull in a storm, the cravings stopped. All was quiet. I slept obediently through the night.”(48) One of the girls was struggling to control herself from doing inappropriate things, and through prayer she managed to control the issue. Religion also had a large impact on what the characters did and where they went. The book said, “It wasn’t my idea to go on the pilgrimage to Higüey. That was Mamá’s brainstorm. There had been sightings of the Virgencita…… It was too whimsical a sighting for the archbishop to pronounce as authentic, but still. Even El Jefe had attributed the failure of the invasion from Cayo Confites to our patron saint.” (55) The mother’s faith was strong and she decided to go on a pilgrimage in the name of the Virgencita and she brought her daughters along with her to bring them back to God. Even when it seemed that one of the girls had lost faith completely, there was still something that had drawn her back. Alvarez wrote, “I turned around and saw the packed pews, hundreds of weary, upturned faces, and it was as if I’d been facing the wrong way all my life. My faith stirred. It kicked and somersaulted in my belly, coming alive…… And I heard her answer me with

These pilgrims search for a sense of connection, a moment of transformation, and guidance on intensely personal matters (148). For example, Judy’s mother wanted to visit Graceland, but was unable before her mother died of cancer. She has made this pilgrimage in her honor. Her journey seems to have less to do with the actually connection with Elvis, but rather finding a connection with her deceased mother. She can go on believing with all her heart that her mother is in heaven with Elvis singing (148). Maybe this is also a transformational moment for her, knowing that she can be happy and not mourn the loss of her mother so much. The pain will always be there, but she can picture her in a better

In 1620 a group of 120 puritan pilgrims left England on the ship the Mayflower to escape religious persecution. They landed in Massachusetts Bay of the same year.

She grew further and further away from her faith, and the further she got, the more she began to question the issues that suddenly seemed to have plagued her mind. And finally, one solemn day, looking up at Trujillo and Jesus together, she had an epiphany. “I had heard, but I had not believed. Snug in my heart, fondling my pearl, I had ignored their cries of desolation. How could our loving, all powerful Father allow us to suffer so? I looked up, challenging

A mother and daughter at the alter… Three women having the audacity to come before the congregation… Three women professing how much they crave Him… People interjecting praises and singing without reserve… The imagery of the service was a blessing to witness. The message was powerful and thought provoking. The service made an impression. It was

The saints illustrated in this glass window, represent the importance of education. The Venerable Cornelia Connelly (center) - born in Philadelphia on January 15, 1809 to April 18, 1879 - was the Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus or the SHCJ and is honored here in her role as an educator. In 1846, she and three companions traveled to Derby, England to create the SHCJ which focused primarily on the education of the poor. There were organized classes seven days a week both day and night for the children who worked in factories and poor women ; sundays were for religious instruction. After her unfortunate death in 1879, the SHCJ continued to find schools - one of which being the esteemed Rosemont College. Cornelia’s window shows her instructing a young girl, while the predella features an image of the motherhouse in Rome, a testament to the order she founded.

First, the story of Mary at the wedding appeals to me because I love Mary. From the beginning she has had so much faith. I believe in parents motivating children through role fulfillment—setting a clear and obtainable expectation and allowing the child to fill expectation. There is something to say for having faith in people. However, there is more to say for having faith in God. Through faith, people can perform miracles. Mary’s faith in Jesus was probably helpful in teaching Him how to fulfil His role as the Christ. Secondly, I’m moved by the man born blind. His faith, like Mary’s, perpetuates miracles. However, I’m more impressed with how he handles the miracle. For someone whom people have treated so poorly throughout his life, the man born blind is eloquent and powerful in delivering a strong testimony of Christ. He explains how he won’t repeat himself because the Pharisees will not hear him. I’m moved by his humility, his honesty, but also his ability to stand steadfast in the name of Christ. Finally, the story of Lazarus’s rising from the dead inspires me. Christ asks both Mary and Martha if they have faith, and they say yes. While they have faith that Lazarus will live again after the resurrection, I don’t think they understand that Christ is about to lift their brother from the grave nor does Christ ask them to. Christ doesn’t have to explicitly ask if we have faith before each miracle or action he performs. He has enough faith to do anything. However, it is necessary to have faith in Christ. With faith in Christ, we will see miracles we could never understand or comprehend prior. While we should strive for perfect faith, we don’t have to have it all right now. We must only have the desire to grow in faith and to be made

These events had caused some women's hearts to be laden with grief. All they could think of was to wake up early that sunday morning and visit the place where they had laid him to rest. Everything had happened so quickly;. Their beloved wise friend Jesus, whom they loved was no more. They wanted to make sure that he was prepared for burial, so they took it upon themselves to visit his tomb.

Often, literal commands of Jesus such as pilgrimages have two and three fold benefits. Besides the very physical connections with the sacred that they offer arriving at places of sacred history, pilgrimages are also a form of penance for sins. Because of the sacrifice of time, money, and risk to make these pilgrimages, best seen by Kempe's outrageous devotion in leaving behind her life and family for long periods of time, pilgrimages assist in erasing sins in ones life. Another reason that Margery and medieval Christians would embark on these pilgrimages is for the reverence of saints and their relics that they would visit. The Middle Ages emphasized an important connection to the lives of past saints believing that the saints still had power to intercede blessings into the lives of religious people on Earth. Where Margery is set a part from common laity, during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem she receives a special spiritual gift of “cryings” that she can not control when religious emotion comes over her. Describing these outbursts, the author of her autobiography says, “The crying was so loud and so amazing that it astounded people…” (Windeatt, 104). It is assumable that emotional experiences upon pilgrimages of either laity or monastics to such places as the Holy Land would be common, however that people were

In June of 1981, six children claimed to see Mary the Mother of God standing on a hillside of Medjugorje, a small town in south-east Yugoslavia. These children, four girls and two boys, claim to continue to have Marian apparitions every day, to this day. Thousands of pilgrims travel to Medjugorje each year to witness the visionaries’ apparitions. Currently, these apparitions are not approved by the Catholic Church. These apparitions are real and there is Biblical and physical proof for it. Many come to Medjugorje and claim to witness miracles, such as healings and other miraculous events. Some claim that these “miracles” are actually satanic and lead people father farther away from Jesus. These claims are absolutely false, as hundreds are converted to Christianity, healed, and brought closer to God by this one place.

In June of 1981, six children clamed to see Mary the Mother of God standing on a hillside of Medjugorje, a small town in south-east Yugoslavia. These children, four girls and two boys, claim to continue to have Marian apparitions every day, to this day. Thousands of pilgrims each year travel to Medjugorje each year to witness the visionary’s appropriations. These apparitions are not approved by the Catholic Church yet. These apparitions are real and there is Biblical and physical proof for it. Many come to Medjugorje and claim to witness miracles, such as healings and other miraculous events. Some claim that these “miracles” are actually satanic and led people father away from Jesus. These claims are absolutely false, and hundreds are converted to Christianity, healed, and brought closer to God by this one place.

This was my first encounter with the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. I chose the Monastery because it was the only place that I haven’t visited on the list of samples. I also enjoyed the scenic, ten-minute drive to the Monastery. At first, I was simply blown away by the beautiful landscape. When I stepped out of my car, I remember feeling this sense of peace. Before I even went inside, I started walking the trail that leads to the retreat. All I could think about was how beautiful the place was. As I was walking, I noticed that the everything seemed so still and peaceful. Even the wildlife seemed to be at peace. I did not reach the retreat house because I wanted to find out more about the landscape.

Some years ago I accompany a group of youth of the parish to the WYD in Rio De Janairo. The most important day this pilgrimage is the vigil night and the following mass with the Pope. The vigil and the mass took place in Copa Cabana Beach. To get there on time we had to walk for 15 miles. We start to walk, we we happy, talking a having a good time. Everything was fine until a girl, stumbled upon a stone, she fell, and sprained ankle, bruised forehead and much of the arm was scratched. We were all worried; we helped as we could, hope to find a hospital soon. I determined that she could not walk and said, do not you worry, continue, I stay here and then I pick up the return. We all looked at each other. Until a brave boy said, I will not continuo; I prefer to stay here with her, then another, then another, at the end nobody would