"Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."  (Exodus 3:5).

Thousands of years ago, God revealed Himself to Moses through a burning bush and spoke these words.  This was during a time of persecution when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.  God told Moses that he heard the cries of his people and that he would deliver them.  Although their wandering over a great distance probably felt aimless at the time, God holds firm on his promise and many years later, the Israelites return home.  Throughout scripture we hear of the numerous journeys that the Israelites made as they tried to listen to the voice of God in times of prosperity and in the midst of war, famine and exile. 

Many world religions, including Christianity, honour the sacredness of spiritual journeys.  The practice of pilgrimage is thousands of years old and it can very simply be defined as a journey of great purpose with the aim of honouring God.

 

Two years ago, September 4-16, 2014 to be exact, I embarked on a pilgrimage to Israel with 32 other people.  Our group included parishioners from my home parish and other surrounding parishes.  It was an incredible journey unlike any other travelling experience of mine.  It was inspiring, eye-opening, emotional, live-giving and challenging all at the same time. I find myself regularly reflecting upon this pilgrimage and, in a special way, even more so in Lent as I retrace the places that we visited where Jesus spent His last days. 

Lent is an annual spiritual pilgrimage which is held 40 days before Easter.  When I was younger, I would often wonder why we would repeat Lent over and over, year after year.  As time went on, I discovered that it's kind of a practice makes perfect season - one that deserves repeating until we get it right.  It is a time for self-examination, of leaving space for silence, of weighing wants against needs and sharing our gifts in service of others.  Lent is at the heart of what Christianity is all about.

My pilgrimage to the Holy Land, like Lent, was a journey of conversion; of opening myself up to receive God's unconditional love and mercy.  During the pilgrimage, we did a great deal of walking as a group.  I did a lot of reflecting on the theme of walking and here is some of what I discovered:

• Some people walked faster, others at a slower pace, but in the end we all arrived at the destination.

• We are all on a journey; a journey that takes twists and turns but will always lead to God if we keep ourselves open to his voice.

• What is most important is not always the destination but the journey itself.

• God is always with us, even in the midst of the deserts of our life where we feel that we have no idea what to do next, or we feel alone and are experiencing great sadness or temptation.

The Desert