Last week, my friend Carl McColman, a lay Cistercian, contemplative, and prolific author and speaker, invited me to write a guest post for his blog. Not surprisingly, I chose the subject of pilgrimage, but I approached this topic from a contemplative angle. What do history’s mystics and contemplatives tell us about pilgrimage, and how do we go on a journey when we’re still (largely) stuck in our homes? I invite you to read my guest post to find out!

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I’d like to begin with a confession: I natter on about pilgrimage whenever I can, recently wrote a book about pilgrimage, and was invited by my friend Carl McColman to write for his blog on the subject of pilgrimage . . . yet I have never taken a pilgrimage. This might seem surprising. You may be wondering how someone could have so much to say about a discipline they haven’t experienced.

Although I’ve never walked a long and dusty road, history’s monks and mystics have taught me that pilgrimage is primarily a spiritual journey—in fact, a spiritual state, one that characterizes the contemplative life. An open and seeking heart turns a person, even a sedentary one, into a pilgrim. Spiritual seekers are always on the move.

Continue reading this post at Carl McColman’s website!

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