We are not yet to April, nor has March been much of a drought. However, I am planning a "pylgrimage" for our mid-term break which will be upon us in one week. My younger brother, an undergraduate here at St. Thomas, has been in Rome since February as part of a study-abroad program organized by the Catholic Studies Department. I'll be visiting him, but I also plan to stop by the Chiesa Nuova in order to thank St. Phillip Neri for his intercession on my behalf. In case you should happen to run into him among the Communion of Saints, here's his mug:
Pilgrimage has the unique ability to wrap up the whole person with delightful ease. For a spiritual purpose, one moves the whole body and soul, the whole human person, from one spot to another. There are no extended, intensely focused meditations, no careful attention to abstract concepts, hardly any rubrics. One simply goes.
For the Year of St. Paul, the Holy Father has permitted diocesan bishops to designate particular locations within their dioceses as pilgrimage sites, destinations at which one may, under the usual conditions, attain a plenary indulgence. So, dear reader, if you are aware of any of these extraordinary locations in your diocese or, even, any places that are ordinarily the destination of pilgrimages and you (like me) are looking for a refreshing, simple, concrete way to show some effort in the spiritual life, go.
