Exploring Pilgrimage

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Exploring Pilgrimage Throughout Christian history, pilgrimage has always featured highly.

However, pilgrimages are a lot safer now. Pilgrims used to walk miles

on their pilgrimage and risked many dangers. Nowadays, they are a lot

safer and pilgrims can now go by car, bus or plane.

Pilgrimage is a journey assigned by God, to a holy place or land. This

place or and land is where an event has happened that is relevant to

what the pilgrim believes.

Pilgrimages are made for many different reasons including as a way to

increase the pilgrim's faith, or to pray for something that is

important to them or their loved ones or just simply to find or

strengthen the pilgrim's relationship with God.

Pilgrimage experience has four strands to it, which are Revelation,

where truths are revealed to the pilgrim, Repentance, where the

pilgrim shows real sorrow. Cleansing both physically and spiritually

together healing physical, emotionally and the inner peace of

spiritual healing.

Pilgrims who travel to Medugorje on a pilgrimage go on the faith, that

if the pilgrim is physically or mentally afflicted they may come back

healed. They go to be spiritually strengthened and renewed. Many

believers have also been reportedly, to leave Medugorje converted.

Medugorje is a Christian place of worship or pilgrimage because of the

many apparitions of the Virgin Mary that have occurred there. On June

24 1981, The Virgin Mary appeared to a group of six teenagers just

outside the small village of...

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...f food and drink.

The commercialisation also creates many jobs. People who may not

otherwise be able to get jobs may be able to do so at the shops around

the pilgrimage Shrines.

I think that the commercialisation of pilgrimages helps and does not

reduce the value of the pilgrimage providing it remains proportionate

and away from the actual sacred shrine itself. There are too many

shops then it does risk reducing the value of the pilgrimage

experience. There has to be a balance achieved in order to keep the

spiritual value and focus of a pilgrimage whilst catering for the

needs of the modern pilgrim.

Bibliography

-http://gcserelgiousstudies.co.uk/pilgrimage.htm

-www.lexcie.zetnet.co.uk/tb-pilgrim.htm

-Medugorje Herald.

Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Evesham - Golden Jubilee 1952-2002 Fact

Sheet.

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