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Pilgrimage, Retreats, and Sojourns

© Virginia Marin

Seniors on the move, let's talk of pilgrimage, retreats, and sojourns. Retirement is a time to enjoy doing those things and going to places which, in our younger years, were often impossible because of family responsibilities. Now is the time to singularly indulge in some things, which in the past, could only be enjoyed in the dusty recesses of our minds. For example, I have always wanted to make a pilgrimage.

A pilgrimage is a journey undertaken as an act of devotion, veneration or penance. The very act of preparing for the pilgrimage--obtaining passports, visas, and various innoculations can give it a holiday feeling. The pilgrimage, with a religious connotation, becomes an opportunity to visit exciting and exotic places. In the Middle Ages, the major destinations for these journeys were Canterberry, Loretto, Montserrat, Assisi, Guadalupe, and Cologne. Lourdes became an extremely important shrine after 1858.

If you could make a pilgrimage today, where would you go? Where would I go? Come with me to one of the most awesome spots I know. It is low tide. We can walk one mile in twenty minutes at 3.0 miles per hour. That is a good walking pace for Seniors and will prevent our being caught by the incoming tide. We will see tiny houses, shop and have lunch. Then we will follow a winding path upward to St. Michael's Abbey on top, where we will have climbed 240 feet above sea level to view some of the 13th-Century's most awesome Gothic architecture. Come with me to Mont St. Michel--one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in France. Early pilgrims needed great faith to visit the Mont, but modern day pilgrims have but to sit in their cars and drive on a causeway which has been constructed above the high water mark, if they are timid about walking, and being caught by the deadly tide.

For something closer to home, there are retreats. A retreat is a place of refuge which provides privacy and safety which Seniors may appreciate. It is usually held in an enclosed building where individuals withdraw for prayer, study, meditation, and instruction under a director. Though retreats are usually religious in nature, there is often instruction in life skills such as basket weaving, cooking, sewing, the art of making bread, and perhaps liturgical music.

Retreats are not only for the monastically inclined. A few years ago, I made a retreat at a Carmelite Monestery with a group of Senior ladies. It was a wonderful experience that provided me the opportunity to put aside problems for a short space of time. The nun who was assigned to me was available for counseling, if desired. Except for the cloister, all areas were opened to the retreatants. During my three days at the monestery, I was able to rediscover those things that were important in my life. This sojourn is what I needed at the time, but if one is not religiously inclined, even a short stay at a spa rejuvinates physically and emotionally. A sojourn. Time apart for a short while.

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