Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage
 
A 'Pilgrimage' is a collective noun
For a mass, a crowd, a group, a line
Or a straggle of pilgrims.
Together we flow like a current
From here, where God is
To there, where God is.
 
As we go, we listen, talk,
Chant, sing, pray, sweat and limp.
Just as we have set ourselves apart
From our usual lives
So the path that we tread
Is a little to the side of time.
We age by decades and back again
By our own calendar of walking and water stops.
 
Together we send up a strong incense
Of hopefulness, helpfulness,
Tired feet and patience.
On pilgrimage we remember that shared food
Nourishes more than the body
And whoever ministers to your feet
Touches your soul.
Jesus knew this
And on it He based his miracles of love.
 
Disbanding is like that end of term mix
Of euphoria and regret
But still we travel on
From God who never says goodbye
To God who waits for us.
 
Annette Turner
 
The annual John Paul II Pilgrimage for the New Evangelisation, organised by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, takes place each July, walking to Walsingham.
 
For information contact:
St Dominic’s Ptriory, Shirley Holms Road, Lymington, Hants. SO41 8NH.
Telephone 01590 681874

Faith Magazine

July/ August 2019