Pilgrimages- I could use some help in deciding

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Jade

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Hello Friends!

I am thinking of taking some time off to travel and I would like to visit some holy sites, but I have no idea where to go. I’d like to go to Medjegurie (sp?) and to Rome. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help!!
 
Jade, I would advise to stay away from Medjugorje. See the many threads on Medjugorje on this forum; the current thread is on page 1. Why not pick an apparition site approved by the Church?
 
I would agree with the above reply. I would suggest Fatima and Lourdes as worthy destinations for a pilgrimage. Those are the first two places I’d visit if I was going to Europe!
 
Perhaps if you asked yourself why you want to go on a pilgirmage it might help you select one you think you ought to travel to (which is also part of the pilgrimage).
 
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Della:
Perhaps if you asked yourself why you want to go on a pilgirmage it might help you select one you think you ought to travel to (which is also part of the pilgrimage).
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Very good point! I, myself, am in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Rome and hopefully Lourdes.
 
La Salette in the French alps is my favorite apparition site --I went as part of a Europe-wide pilgrimage to various Catholic shrines, Churches and sites, and this one knocked me over. In contrast to the unfortunate commercialization around places such as Lourdes, the Basilica in Mexico City, etc., La Salette is located far, far up in the mountains, in an almost desolate area save for one hotel, and as of 2000, at least, was an awesomely reverent, peaceful and silent site. Spiritually and physically, it felt like one was touching heaven. Despite the thrill and wonder of places like Lourdes, the press and noise of the crowds there can detract from the experience; not so at La Salette. As a 2-month-old convert to Catholicism, still gun-shy of any Marian devotion, I had a profound encounter with our Blessed Mother there.
 
I would totally agree that to go to an unapproved site when there are so many approved would/could be a waste of your time and money. I will trust the Magisterium to guide me.

That being said, the motivation for going on a pilgrimage is paramount. There are so many sites with so many different flavours in spirituality, that we all wish we had enough money to go to them all.

Having travelled a bit, I could share with you some of my experiences:

Israel been there twice…a must go! I realize that the trumoil would keep people away. Although, there are still some going. If I did not have a family, I wouldn’t think twice. I wish I could reside there. There is no need for words to share about all the places Jesus was when He was on earth. It blows one’s mind away. The Vatican encourages pilgrimages even today. I also know a very trusting Jewish guide who steers away from troubled sites. (These sites range from day to day). We never had any problem I went in 1995 and 2000. My spiritual director accompanied us here and we had mass everyday in different locations.

Greece and Turkey. They are great places to go if you are Eastern Catholic or Orthodox. My spiritual director is bi-ritual so i was very much aware of the Eastern way of doing thing. Churches are magnificent. Usually it is here that the pilgrimage of the ‘Footsteps of St Paul’ is done. Highly recommended.

Assissi and Rome. La bella Roma! I have never experienced so much peace and holiness as I did in Assissi…the whole city! I am partial to St Francis but you are surrounded by heaven itself it seems. I seems you can pierce the peace with a butter knife. Hard to explain. We saw the garments that he wore and where he die, etc

Rome. There is just not enough time to see it all. The Catacombs, three days at the Vatican (I bawled like a baby when I saw the Pope and he was only about a half of an inch. Someone shared their binoculars so I could see him well during his Angelus.) All of the basilicas. All the martyrs. Our hotel was a skip and a jump from the Vatican so at night we would sit on the roof and would see the lovely dome. We saw Bl John the XX111’s incorrupt body. Masses were going on all the time and there was always confessions. My spiritual director was with us again and even spoke some Italian.

I have not been to any Marian sites. This is sad for me. When in Paris, I asked the hotel manager how far was it to Lourdes…he laughed at me. He said it was way too far to go on a day’s journey. just goes to show you that I was not aware of the vastness of France. My husband was on business, and I did not even get to go to the Rue de la Bac (in Paris) where St Catherine Laboure is kept…her body also incorrupt.

This is all I can give you. Good luck and many blessings…

Shoshana
 
To answer a question that seems to be popping up, I am interested in going on a pilgimage because,

I would like to deepen my faith (I will be finishing RCIA soon. (yeah!!) While I am well aware that such a trip may or may not deepen my faith ( The trip itself may not, but it’s the personal investment and time that I put into it…prayer, mass…that will bring about any deepening, coupled with God’s Grace, that is!!), I would like to take the oportunity and learn as much about it as I can.

I have a deep love of Mary, and would like to visit a place that she has/maybe still does (?) appear.

On a side note, I have been to Rome and Assisi once before and what an awesome expirence! Assisi was so peaceful!

I hope this can help you further in your suggestions. Thank you for your suggestions thus far!!
 
You don’t say where you live.

I’m also in RCIA this year. Obviously you can’t be promised a visitation from Mary no matter where you plan to go. But you can spend as much time as you like with Mary in prayer wherever you are.

Last Friday was St. Elizabeth’s feast day (mother of John the Baptist). I’m very sure that Mary knew about that – she spent so much time with St. Elizabeth and almost 1/3 of the Hail Mary prayer came from what Elizabeth said “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus”.

I suggest you visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception – nationalshrine.com
It is the 8th largest Catholic Church and the largest Catholic Church in the western hemisphere.

You can either fly to Dullas airport in VA, Reagan airport (was National) or BWI in MD. From Reagan airport, you can directly take the Washington DC Metro train to the Brookland-CUA stop. CUA is Catholic University of America (where the shrine is).

See wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm
The Brookland-CUA metro stop is on the red line (North East DC).

It is the 150th year of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

[12 August 2003] The Apostolic Penitentiary, by the command of the Supreme Pontiff, gladly grants that a Plenary Indulgence, provided that disposition toward any sin is excluded and under the customary conditions (sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Supreme Pontiff), is to be attained by the Christian faithful in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception from December 8, 2003 to December 8, 2004, whenever they will travel there for a pious pilgrimage or in a crowd and they devoutly attend any sacred function or at least recite in common the Lord’s Prayer and the Symbol of Faith and even just once, on a day freely chosen by each member of the faithful.

For more details, please visit the National Shrine’s web site.

There are also some other RC churches to visit in the Washington DC area.
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Another possibility. If you haven’t been to Montreal Canada. Perhaps visit Notre Dame or St. Josephs or other beautiful churches up there.
 
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Jade:
I would like to deepen my faith (I will be finishing RCIA soon. (yeah!!) While I am well aware that such a trip may or may not deepen my faith ( The trip itself may not, but it’s the personal investment and time that I put into it…prayer, mass…that will bring about any deepening, coupled with God’s Grace, that is!!), I would like to take the oportunity and learn as much about it as I can.
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Congratulations Jade and may the Lord keep blessing you! 🙂 If this helps at all, I do not know, but I prepare myself spiritually almost a year before I go. To give you an example, for the second trip to Israel, I read almost the whole OT. This brought unbelievable spiritual fruit to the trip. For the trip to Rome, I prepared myself with the Exercises fo St Ignatius and mapped out where I could go (if possible) to the different sites he went to. My spiritual director brought me to the Church of the Jesu. I felt I had arrived at the home of a great friend.

There would be so many ways that only you could know…we all have different devotions. Doing a Marian pilgrimage sounds so uplifting!

I hope you receive all the graces you are seeking (and many more!). 😉

Blessings,
Shoshana
 
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