The Year of Pilgrimage

By Susan Spear

Looking back, I see several pilgrimages in my life. Early in our marriage, Bruce and I hiked for seven weeks across the Rocky Mountains, a physical and mental challenge. In 1995, we left our three young children with my parents and traveled to Israel for two weeks. That trip was an unexpected gift, literally and spiritually. With two of our children, I toured Romania playing keyboard in a Christian band called Effection. Our trip to Italy two years ago was a cross-cultural adventure and an emotional pilgrimage. Another trip that was a literal gift. Three short months ago, in December of 2019, I wrote in my journal “2020 is the Year of Pilgrimage.”

With my colleague Dr. Tom Copeland, I have been teaching a course about Irish Literature and History, both new topics of study for me. I’ve been digging deep and studying novels, poems, the Celtic cross, maps, the novel Ulysses—all things Irish. We were scheduled to travel from May 25-June 5. At our first meeting I told the students that for me, this trip was a pilgrimage. I would leave home behind (temporarily) and focus on the people and land around me. I would also turn my phone off except for pictures and the daily text home. I invited them to think of themselves as pilgrims. When the “school” part of the trip concluded, Bruce would meet me and we would spend time near Iona, a small island off the coast of Scotland where Columba founded a monastery that is still used today for spiritual retreats.

Alas. Enter Covid19. Dr. Copeland’s well-orchestrated trip has been canceled. I am disappointed; however, this is wisdom in action. The Year of Pilgrimage bears a new face. At the heart of pilgrimage is leaving something behind to seek God. I think of Abraham leaving behind Ur of the Chaldees. Peter and Andrew leaving their nets on the beach. Patrick leaving England to return to Ireland where he had been previously enslaved. They heard God’s voice, and they set off. This year I will not enter St. Patrick’s Cathedral, nor will I spend time in silence at Iona. Instead I am sitting in my home office at my computer, creating lessons for my students to read in front of their computers, many miles away. Yet, over the past two weeks of quarantine the Spirit has stirred my imagination. 

Must a pilgrimage involve long distance travel to a renowned site such as The Wailing Wall or Gethsemane? Must it be a physical challenge like the El Camino de Santiago which stretches from France to Spain. The answer is no. After I brushed my teeth on Monday, I looked in the mirror, made the sign of the cross and said “In the Name of the Father, the Name of the Son, and the Name of the Holy Ghost.” 

Today is my pilgrimage. I leave behind my expectations and set out to seek God. I make the same sign and repeat the same words as I sit down at my desk. I am traveling into a digital classroom, which for me is the unknown. I travel to the kitchen. I travel to my comfy chair in the living room. I travel to the mailbox. Twice, I have traveled to King Soopers (with a bit of trepidation). I travel via text message to greet our daughters. I phone a friend I haven’t talked to in months. I open my “home” for a ZOOM conference with ten poets. I make the sign of the cross and utter the simple prayer. This is the Year of Pilgrimage. This pilgrimage is uncertain. I put aside plans and expectations. For me, not to travel is to travel. Now is the time to leave something behind. Now is the time to seek God.

Pilgrims, go with God.