The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage is the first of its kind in the U.S.: Jesus will be carried on foot, by motorcade, and by boat across more than 6,000 miles of our nation in the shape of a cross to the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Thousands of Catholics will join him throughout this journey across the nation. Everyone is invited to be a part of it—so WHY should you do it?
The question goes back to the physical and spiritual experience of being a pilgrim. Why would someone walk for days without ever using a car or bus, for example, on the Camino de Santiago in Spain? Or get up at dawn and climb a mountain to arrive there for a morning Mass? In today’s world, it could seem old-fashioned, yet it is even more fascinating. When we are used to high-speed travel, the experience of walking can bring us new insights.
My personal experience started with a night pilgrimage that ended with a Mass in our cathedral in the morning. Walking 18 miles through the night, getting over the hard hours around 3 am and contemplating a beautiful sunrise helped me experience Mass more deeply – because it took me so much effort to get there!
Many years later, I joined a friend who always wanted to walk a piece of the Camino de Santiago. We calculated our vacation time, got a guide, read a lot of helpful tips and went – walking for 11 days, around 175 miles, with all we needed in a big backpack, including a sleeping bag and yoga mat.
During the long hours walking through an ever-changing landscape and small villages, encountering fellow pilgrims, there was a lot of time to pray and reflect. Do I want to control my life or let God take the lead?
I will never forget Vespers in a Benedictine chapel and the luminous faces of two young monks living for God in this tiny remote mountain village. I remember the fatigue, blisters, and a full day under the rain (I know I can survive more than I thought). When we finally arrived at Santiago de Compostela, I felt deep gratitude, and I can say that this pilgrimage changed my faith and prayer life.
Not everyone can leave and walk for one to two weeks. However, the experience of a pilgrimage is possible on a smaller scale. Walking a few miles to reach a mission church or visiting different Churches in a city brought me to appreciate the hidden presence of God in the middle of our often-busy lives.
The Eucharistic pilgrimage gives us a unique combination of two specifically Catholic traditions: a pilgrimage and a procession. Walking with Jesus will help us to “pray with our feet,” experiencing the heat and tiredness and unite them to Jesus’ accepting all the pain and suffering as a human being to redeem us. Walking with Jesus can help us to find time to reflect – when there’s no screen or anything else to distract us.
You can find all processions and events of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage in our diocese at https://diocesecc.org/pilgrim.