Kathleen Horning- My Pilgrimage

Kathleen Horning- My Pilgrimage

Topic: Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture

Sept. 20, 2015

            The Introduction of Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture focuses on Christian pilgrimage. As someone who was raised in the Catholic faith, I would no longer consider myself religious. Instead, I would consider myself spiritual. When I was younger, I had hoped to someday make a pilgrimage to Rome as a way to explore and learn more about the religion I grew up with. At this moment in my life, I no longer care much to travel to Rome for holy reasons (but I would like to go for leisure). However, the descriptions of pilgrimage in this chapter make sense to me if I were to change my mind and someday travel to Catholicism’s holy land.

            “On such a journey one gets away from the reiterated ‘occasions of sin’ which make up so much of the human experience of social structure” (p. 7). I can imagine that going to Rome would temporarily rid my mind of all the wrongdoings in my life, and instead focus on strengthening my faith. A lot of Catholic teachings refer to having a strong faith, which will help one’s soul reach heaven after death. In such a religious setting, I would hope to be inspired to not only be a better Catholic, but also a better person to everyone I meet.

            I work at a non-denominational church as a childcare worker, and although I do not attend its services, I know a lot about their faith. A crucial component to their faith is praying to God and focusing less on worldly matters, and more on what life will be like in heaven. “Miracles or the revivification of faith are… for having temporarily given up not only the cares but also the rewards of ordinary life” (p. 6). This is something I struggle with daily. All too often I spend most of my time worrying about all the schoolwork I have to do, how many hours I will get at work each week, and what career I will have after graduation, to name a few. Even as someone who is not very religious, I still think it is important to let go of my stress sometimes and think about what really matters.

            Even if I do not end up going to Rome in order to revive my Catholic faith, I hope I can go someday anyway. I think that travelling to Rome (or another religion’s holy site) would be good for me. Instead of focusing on sin and my worldly issues, I could focus my attention on being a good person.