Traveling two and a half months and one thousand miles along the ancient route through southern France and northern Spain, Conrad Rudolph made the passage to the holy site of Santiago de Compostela, one of the most important modern-day pilgrimage destinations for Westerners. In this chronicle of his travels to this captivating place, Rudolph melds the ancient and the contemporary, the spiritual and the physical, in a book that is at once travel guide, literary work, historical study, and memoir.
'Walking to the End of the World' keeps us turning its pages--an elegant story woven in the seasoned voice of writer Beth Jusino, who shares great insight into her own strengths and weaknesses, relationships of all sorts, and a world view we'd all do well to consider. -Steven Watkins, author of Pilgrim Strong: Rewriting My Story on the Way of St. James
Unlike the religiously-oriented pilgrims who visit Marian shrines such as Lourdes, the modern Road of St. James attracts an ecumenical mix of largely wel.
From "the world's greatest tour guide," a deeply-researched, captivating journey through the rich history of Christianity and the winding paths of the French and Italian countryside that will feed mind, body, and soul (New York Times). "What a wondrous work! This beautifully written and totally clear-eyed account of his pilgrimage will have you wondering whether we should all embark on such a journey, either of the body, the soul or, as in Egan's case, both." --Cokie Roberts "Egan draws us in, making us feel frozen in the snow-covered Alps, joyful in valleys of trees with low-hanging fruit, skeptical of the relics of embalmed saints and hopeful for the healing of his encrusted toes, so worn and weathered from their walk."--The Washington Post Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Timothy Egan decided to follow in the footsteps of centuries of seekers to force a reckoning with his own beliefs. He embarked on a thousand-mile pilgrimage through the theological cradle of Christianity to explore the religion in the world that it created. Egan sets out along the Via Francigena, once the major medieval trail leading the devout to Rome, and travels overland via the alpine peaks and small mountain towns of France, Switzerland and Italy, accompanied by a quirky cast of fellow pilgrims and by some of the towering figures of the faith--Joan of Arc, Henry VIII, Martin Luther. The goal: walking to St. Peter's Square, in hopes of meeting the galvanizing pope who is struggling to hold together the church through the worst crisis in half a millennium. A thrilling journey, a family story, and a revealing history, A Pilgrimage to Eternity looks for our future in its search for God.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” — 1 John 2:15 Those who struggle with habitual sin are keenly aware of the despair and fatigue that comes from trying harder and harder to control the desire to do what is wrong in the eyes of God. For this person, there be times of limited success in overcoming sin, but eventually he/she falls back again into unhealthy patterns. In "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection", Thomas Chalmers argues that no matter how hard we may try, we’ll never overcome habitual sin in our lives unless we switch our affections from the world to Jesus Christ. Thankfully Christ loved us first and is more than willing to set us free if we’d only realize the true Gospel power that we can all have in our lives today.
Pilgrimage in the Western world is enjoying a growing popularity, perhaps more so now than at any time since the Middle Ages. The Pilgrim Journey tells the fascinating story of how pilgrimage was born and grew in antiquity, how it blossomed in the Middle Ages and faltered in subsequent centuries, only to re-emerge stronger than before in modern times. James Harpur describes the pilgrim routes and sacred destinations past and present, the men and women making the journey, the many challenges of travel, and the spiritual motivations and rewards. He also explores the traditional stages of pilgrimage, from preparation, departure, and the time on the road, to the arrival at the shrine and the return home. At the heart of pilgrimage is a spiritual longing that has existed from time immemorial. The Pilgrim Journey is both the colourful chronicle of numerous pilgrims of centuries past searching for heaven on earth, and an illuminating guide for today's spiritual traveller.
The islands of the Outer Hebrides are home to some of the most remote and spectacular scenery in the world. They host an astonishing range of mysterious structures - stone circles, beehive dwellings, holy wells and 'temples' from the Celtic era. Over a twelve-day pilgrimage, often in appalling conditions, Alastair McIntosh returns to the islands of his childhood and explores the meaning of these places. Traversing moors and mountains, struggling through torrential rivers, he walks from the most southerly tip of Harris to the northerly Butt of Lewis. The book is a walk through space and time, across a physical landscape and into a spiritual one. As he battled with his own ability to endure some of the toughest terrain in Britain, he met with the healing power of the land and its communities. This is a moving book, a powerful reflection not simply of this extraordinary place and its people met along the way, but of imaginative hope for humankind.
A thought-provoking reflection on the practice and history of pilgrimage, and a compelling exploration of its relevance today. Pilgrimage, a global ritual embraced by nearly all faiths, is one of civilization’s most enduring traditions. In this compelling book, author and journalist Peter Stanford reflects on the reasons people have walked along the same sacred paths through the ages. Through this history, Stanford explores how the experiences of the first pilgrims to Jerusalem, Mecca, and Santiago de Compostela compare to the millions of people who embark on life-changing physical and spiritual journeys today. Pilgrimage traverses sacred landscapes around the world, from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to the monolithic rock-cut churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia and the riverbanks of the Kumbh Mela in India. Stanford explores the historical and spiritual significance of these places of healing and reflection and discusses their roles as crossroads., Although pilgrimage is usually viewed as an individual’s escape from the everyday to refocus the mind and soul, institutional and national struggles for power have always had an impact on the way pilgrims experience their own personal journey. Guiding readers through the global history of pilgrimage, this thought- provoking book educates a new generation that may seek solace, clarity, and wonder by following in the footsteps of travelers from the past.
"I am about to share here a story about stars that dance. . . . If the very thought of seeing stars dance piques your curiosity at some deep level of your soul, then pay attention to what follows, for the walk to the Field of Stars, to Santiago de Compostela, is a journey that has the power to change lives forever." -- from the introduction "Pilgrimage" is a strange notion to our modern, practical minds. How many of us have walked to a distant holy place in order to draw nearer to God? Yet the pilgrimage experience is growing these days in various parts of the world. Seeking to take stock of his life, Kevin Codd set out in July 2003 on a pilgrimage that would profoundly change his life. To the Field of Stars tells the fascinating story of his unusual spiritual and physical journey on foot across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater. Each brief chapter chronicling Codd's thirty-five-day trek is dedicated to one or two days on the road. Codd shares tales of other pilgrims, his own changes of perspective, and his challenges and triumphs along the way -- all told with a disarming candor. Seen through the eyes of a Catholic priest who honors the religious worldview that originally gave rise to these medieval odysseys, "pilgrimage" comes to life and takes on new meaning in these pages.
Biblical scholar and seasoned pilgrimage guide Stephen J. Binz offers an up-to-date handbook for experiencing the sites of the Holy Land as a disciple of Jesus. Whether contemplating future travel, on the road of pilgrimage, savoring memories of a past trip, or journeying in mind and heart from an armchair, readers will explore the nature of pilgrimage and encounter the places of the Holy Land from a biblical, historical, meditative, and prayerful perspective. This guide will enable Christians to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, confident that their pilgrimage will be both an educational journey and a transforming spiritual experience. Full-color illustrations throughout!
