Our Pilgrimage Through Lent

A historian weighs in on how the medieval tradition can shape the days leading up to Easter.

One of my pet peeves is receiving an email during the latter part of Lent with the sign-off “Happy Easter!” or “Jesus is risen!” I have to fight the temptation to reply, “Not just yet!” Such proclamations, although well meaning, rush me to a destination I’m not ready to reach. Before I experience the joy of Easter morning, a lengthy journey awaits.

Each year during Lent, I point my spiritual feet to Jerusalem, preparing to walk my way to the cross and the empty tomb. The path is difficult and long, leading through the hills and valleys of prayer, personal reckoning, and repentance. But it is necessary—each step I take readies my heart for resurrection. Read More

The early Celtic monks offered this piece of advice to would-be pilgrims to Rome. "You will not find Christ in Rome unless you take him with you." Rome, Jerusalem, and the burial sites of various saints were destination of pilgrims in Medieval times. The photo shows a section of the Camino de Santiago, the route Spanish pilgrims took to what was believed to be the tomb of Saint James. According to legend, his body had been brought to Spain following his death and buried there. The advice of the early Celtic monks also applies to our Lenten pilgrimage. We will not find him at the end of our journey unless he sets out with us.