Preparing for the Pilgrimage


I have added some new books to the sidebar, which I purchased at Borders today and have started reading. I have less than two weeks to learn some basic Italian for the pilgrimage with my Community, which begins on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Much of my time lately has been devoted to spiritual preparation for the trip by interceding for those who will be traveling with me and by spending extra time in prayer during Eucharistic Adoration and of course, attending Holy Mass daily, praying the rosary daily, and the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as novena prayers.

What is a pilgrimage? A pilgrimage is not a tour. Pilgrimage comes from the Latin word "pregrinum", which means “to wander over a distance." A pilgrimage is a sacred act in which we go forward in a spirit of faith, hope and charity.

When we are on pilgrimage we PRAY, DO PENANCE, REJOICE. We also hope to convert more deeply to love—to grow in faith, hope and charity.

As the Community of St. John, we go on this pilgrimage to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Community in the presence of our new Pope, Benedict XVI. Other purposes of our pilgrimage are to convert more deeply to love, beg for graces (we may get different graces than those for which we asked.), and to remind ourselves that earth is not our home. OUR ULTIMATE PURPOSE IS TO SEE GOD! Our life-time pilgrimage is our journey to the beatific vision! And Jesus, who is the Way, leads us there.

I can hardly wait, as this will be my first trip to Europe and my first pilgrimage there. Other places I have traveled to outside of the U.S. include Aruba and Toronto, Canada. Has anyone traveled to Rome before? What were your experiences like? Do you have any travel suggestions or advice?
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