Becoming a "Local Pilgrim"
- Fr. Danny
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
Fasting during Lent is often thought of and practiced on an individual level. We may all be doing some sort of fast at the same time, but we don’t all practice the same fast or to the same degree of intensity. And this is for good reason: we’re all at different points in our journey to God, possessing different needs and abilities with respect to fasting in all its forms.
That said, for a variety of reasons--not least the increasing fragmentation of our social fabric, increasing relational isolation, and the basic design of our cities--we already do most of what we do alone! And there is very little in the day-to-day rhythm of our lives that asks us to be present in our place: to slow down and pay attention to who and what is around us.
This is problematic for a number of reasons, not least because it makes us increasingly deaf to what God might be trying to say to us--what or who he might be calling us to see and move towards in love and service.
Pilgrimage is one of the most ancient forms of Christian penitence. It is a contemplative journey to a holy place as an act of devotion to Christ. A traditional pilgrimage is often years in the making and occurs some place far from home.
In addition to being an ancient practice, the image of the “pilgrim” is one of the most vivid descriptions of the experience of the Christian life. It recognizes that to become a Christian is to begin a journey from a “far country” to our home in God.
As such, we should expect at times to be shocked by the staggering beauty of it all. Other times we should expect to be shocked by the vast darkness in which we find ourselves, unsure of the way forward.
Sometimes we’re exhilarated, joyful.
Sometimes were exhausted, and it’s all we can do to keep moving.
What’s true is that these scenes of exhilaration or exhaustion and the stories that go with them are always around us. We just need to be present and attentive enough to see them.
For this reason, it seemed good to us to invite you all to attempt a kind of shared act of penitence this year: A practice we’re calling a “local pilgrimage.”
Instead of setting out on a pilgrimage far from home, we’re inviting you to attend to where God has placed you already: a journey through Lent and Eastertide in your own place to sanctify our vision for the world right in front of us.
The idea is simple: each day in Lent and Eastertide this year, commit to a 15-minute walk around the area where you live with no extra noise but the voices of the humans who are with you.
We want to learn to notice--to see, to recognize--what is actually and already happening within walking distance of our homes. As we learn to see what is true, we hope to grow in our ability to hear where and to whom God is calling us.
