Pilgrimage: 1. a journey of a pilgrim especially one to a shrine or a sacred place; 2 : the course of life on earth

A few years ago, I bought Paul Elie’s The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage, mainly because I have been troubled by pilgrimages – what makes them special or different from your average trip, and the historical relationship between pilgrimage and mission – for a long time. I like the concept of a pilgrimage, and I thought this book might be food for thought. The profile of Dorothy Day, who I have wanted to know more about since Catholic high school drew me in, too. She speaks to my rebellious, social justice-centered spiritual path. The book also profiles Thomas Merton, Flannery O’Connor, and Walker Percy.

Pilgrims

The pilgrims’ profiles are delivered as contextualized threads woven together to create an understanding of what it means to be a pilgrim making a spiritual pilgrimage in America in the 20th century. American history, and perhaps the history of our world if we look closely enough, is plagued with a sanitized understanding of what it means to be a pilgrim. My hope is that by invoking the notion of pilgrim, I am considering the possibility of our journeys are sacred, and the pilgrims in this text as examples of sacred lives.

The first chapter is entitled “Experience.” Profound early spiritual experiences formed the lives of the pilgrims in this work. Sacred places framed their early experiences. Catastrophic events, cathedrals, religious rituals, relationships with the “influencers” of their day, and great works of literature provided some of the context to their questions.

Pilgrimage

There is something timely in thinking about pilgrimage right now. My lens widens to consider my entire life and the sum of my experiences. An American pilgrimage right now hurts. It is painful to think about sacred places and experiences amidst suffering. That being said, it calms me to think about sacred places and experiences from my long ago. Recollection can be a roadmap showing where you been. Recollection can be an accounting of understanding and strength. The church I grew up in, my grandparent’s church, my church choir, my confirmation, my Turner syndrome diagnosis, high school religion class, college literature courses, AmeriCorps, and graduate school were moments in my personal spiritual pilgrimage. As such, they are sacred to me. I have been to cathedrals, seen great works of art, read great works of literature, and been struck with Nature’s beauty, too; but when I think about my pilgrimage, the course of my life on earth, all of these specific personal experiences left me changed. We can all picture places from our pilgrimages in our minds’ eyes and consider the way they change us.

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

The title to this text, The Life You Save May Be Your Own immediately caught my eye. What if a pilgrimage, the sacred journey we are on, is ultimately about saving our lives? Salvation being found in discovering our truths. Salvation being found in the serving ourselves and others. Salvation being found in interdependence, and the grace and original blessing that live there. What is unique about an American pilgrimage? Does that change how we live, where we go, or what we do with our lives? Ultimately, is our pilgrimage about returning to ourselves through our experiences?

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