Fredericksburg Pilgrims: Winchester to Canterbury
Pilgrimage Spirituality
During the height of pilgrimage in the early middle ages, a "traveling spirituality" developed around Christian journeys to holy sites, the most common of which were Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela. Although the personal intentions of pilgrims varied among individuals, in general their journeys can be divided into two categories: devotional and penitential pilgrimages. Devotional pilgrims sought the help of a saint to accomplish a particular goal (e.g. the cure of an illness), and penitential pilgrimages sought the help of a saint (and the ascetic difficulty of the journey) in accomplishing penance for the remission of sins.
To understand pilgrimage spirituality better, we can explore two topics: (1) the Cult of the Saints and (2) Pilgrimage Departure Liturgies.
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The Cult of the Saints. The cult of saints began in the age of the martyrs -- the second and third centuries -- and saw the rise of popular liturgical celebrations on the dies natalium (birthdays in heaven) of the martyrs. Celebrations were intensely local and democratic (i.e. the cult was upheld by non-clerical members of the saints' own geographical and ecclesial community) and centered around the martyrs' tombs, wherein lay their sacred bodies. The veneration of martyrs was an organic development of Christianity, growing out of the typology of Christ as the suffering servant and martyrological model. Martyrs had in a real way passed through the paschal mystery and were true worshippers of Christ.
Martyrs' bodies were loci of power; Christians' belief in this power can be seen in the memorial celebrations that occurred at graveside shrines, the translation of saints' bodies beneath the altars of episcopal churches, and the dividing of martyrs' flesh into relics that, because they were mobile, extended their cult beyond the site of their graves. The kissing, touching, and wearing of bodily relics by venerators indicated a high theology of the dead body, a conviction that the holiness of the martyr pervaded his entire physical existence. It represented an eschatological hope for the reunification of body and spirit in the resurrection. The body was not a locus of uncleanliness. In contrast to the moral outrage caused by body-division to the Jewish mind (cf. Judges 19), body-division in the Christian cult of the saints was a sign of hope in the democratization of resurrection to the entire church. Pious practices surrounding martyrs helped to clarify the belief in the communion of saints, one of the earliest Christian beliefs.
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The popular spirituality that gave rise to the cult of the saints also influenced the conception of pilgrimage. Pilgrimages originated as populist and spontaneous journeys that subverted social structure (socioeconomic and gender status was less pronounced on the road) and manifested communitas (the spontaneous comradeship and liberation from social conformity that people undergoing a trying situation experience). Pilgrimages, like the cult of the saints, were not clerically instituted but rather arose from the people's own piety. The trend to involve the clergy in preparation (see departure liturgies, below) as well as in the final stage of pilgrimage (at the shrine) developed after pilgrimages were already taking place in great number.
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During the middle ages, appeal to the saints through prayer and pilgrimage became even more salient, since the medieval church was marked by an increasingly juridical church hierarchy and a harsh penitential system, giving the faithful the impression that Christ was remote and salvation was difficult to achieve. One therefore needed the advocacy of saints. The cult of the saints functioning on a patron-client model thus filled a perceived need in the medieval church for mediators between Christ and the human.
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Departure Liturgies. These liturgical rites developed out of traveler's blessings, but can be distinguished from them by the mention of a locus sanctus (shrine toward which the pilgrim travels) as well as blessings of scrip (satchel-like traveling bag) and stave (walking staff) that constituted a pilgrim's 'uniform.' Departure liturgies consisted of a series of orations asking for the protection and success of the pilgrims, benedictions on the pilgrims' traveling equipment, and optionally votive masses.
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The rhetoric of departure liturgies reveals typical pilgrim anxieties. For example, pilgrim prayers commonly ask for God to send the angel Raphael to guide the traveler (=navigational anxiety) and to protect the traveler from wild animals and thieves. Remember: the 10th and 11th centuries were a bleak time of violence and hardship for western Europe, and robbers and extorters haunted pilgrimage roads. As pilgrimage spirituality coalesced over time, pilgrim anxieties about such physical dangers became increasingly moralized and spiritualized, a movement also evident in the departure liturgy prayers. The physical dangers of serpents on the road morph into the moral temptations of the devil, and the perilous journey across the landscape refers to not just geographical space traveled, but also one's life lived. Pilgrimage was a microcosm of the moral and spiritual life, the life in journey from earth to heaven.
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Additionally, the departure rites emphasize the sacramental quality of physical objects. The scrip (satchel) was likened to Christ's gentle yoke (his cross) and an armor against diabolical dangers. The stave (staff) was seen as the apostles' staves (signs of authority), the rod of Aaron, and a powerful weapon against the ancient serpent. In the departure liturgy, the pilgrims hand over their scrips and staves and receive them anew -- blessed and sprinkled with holy water -- from the Bishop. Their equipment is consecrated for a purpose greater than mere tourism. They are sent off to interact with the world in a new way, to face demons and devils, to carry a cross and a holy sword -- in short, to mystically traverse the landscape of their entire lives in the course of weeks or months.
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In sum, traditional pilgrimage spirituality consists of (at least) the following:
(1) A departure from the normal day-to-day routine, entering into a liminal existence in which the spiritual and moral life collapses with the physical
(2) Devotion to a saint (especially a martyr, and his/her body)
(3) Sacramentality of the physical
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To learn more about the cult of the saints, consult Peter Brown's seminal The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Late Christianity. To learn more about medieval pilgrimage, check out Diana Webb's Medieval European Pilgrimage, c.700 - c.1500.
Spirituality on the Trail
So what does spirituality actually look like for us four pilgrims on the trail? Mostly, it's "pray[ing] without ceasing."
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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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Three of the four pilgrims are members of the Marian Catechist Apostolate, so our prayer routine is influenced by the Apostolate's required spiritual practices. Our prayer is cyclical and tied to the natural rhythm of the day, so that we can constantly worship Christ in the midst of the mundane and offer all things to the Father through Him.
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We will pray the prayers listed above together in fellowship. Personal devotions are at the discretion of each pilgrim.
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In considering each of our own unique approaches to and understandings of pilgrimage, we chose Spiritual Mottos, words that encapsulate our spirituality and give us consolation and encouragement. We chose these before departing on pilgrimage, and we look forward to how they may grow in meaning over time.
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Frans
Leslie
Lisa
Beseeching
Becket,
Seeking
the Savior
One Step at a Time
Ps. 37:23-24
The valiant one
whose steps are
guided by the Lord,
who will delight in
his way, may stumble,
but he will never fall,
for the Lord holds
his hand.
Is. 40:31
They that hope in
the Lord will renew
their strength, they
will soar on eagles'
wings; They will run
and not grow weary,
walk and not grow
faint.
Harry
Ps. 84:5
Blessed the ones
who find refuge
in you; in their
hearts are
pilgrim roads.
Pilgrimage Song | Who Would True Valour See
We've chosen the song Who Would True Valour See (written by John Bunyan, arr. to the tune of Monk's Gate) as our pilgrimage anthem and walking song. John Bunyan (1628-1688), an English writer and Puritan preacher, wrote the text as a part of The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan's allegorical novel about a Christian's advancement from this world to heaven. The hymn well illustrates the pilgrimage spirituality discussed above, namely, that the entire life of the Christian from earthly birth to heavenly birth is a kind of pilgrimage.
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Who would true valour see,
Let him come hither;
One here will constant be,
Come wind, come weather
There's no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.
Whoso beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound;
His strength the more is.
No lion can him fright,
He'll with a giant fight,
But he will have a right
To be a pilgrim.
Hobgoblin, nor foul fiend,
Can daunt his spirit;
He knows he at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies fly away,
He'll fear not what men say,
He'll labour night and day
To be a pilgrim.
We love this version by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band.
SATB sheet music
Pilgrimage Badges and Tokens
Medieval pilgrims would traditionally receive or purchase badges associated with their destination upon arrival. These lead alloy badges were mass produced (a lucrative business!) in shapes that represented important facets of the shrine or saint. Perhaps the most well known pilgrim badge is the scallop shell, associated with the Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostela (perhaps patterned off the shells collected upon reaching Finnisterre, or associated with several scallop legends). By pinning the badges on their clothing, pilgrims signalled a new status as those who had "run the race" and were attached in a new spiritual closeness to the besought saint.
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Many badges associated with the Pilgrims' Way and St. Thomas Becket have been discovered, especially washed up on the bank of the River Thames (perhaps from pilgrims traveling the London-to-Canterbury route of the Pilgrims' Way). We also have badges, authentic replicas of medieval ones found in England, which are produced by an outstanding company, Billy and Charlie. We plan on pinning these to our packs and/or clothing:
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Head of St. Thomas Becket, modeled after statue or reliquary at Canterbury's shrine.
Top: Griffin, a medieval metaphor for the two natures of Christ.
Bottom: St. Thomas Becket's quatrefoil.
Sword that slew Thomas Becket, with beast-head hilts perhaps referring to Reginald FitzUrse, one of the knights who attacked him.
In addition to the badges, we also carry pocket rosaries (one decade of the rosary) to give in gratitude to those along the way whom we meet. Each of us carries 8 chaplets, made by Rugged Rosaries, featuring the Irish penal cross, durable beads, and military-grade paracord. The cross includes the accoutrements of Christ's passion: the crown of thorns, the lance, the 5 wounds, the chalice from the Last Supper, and the ladder used to remove His body.
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Interested in learning how to pray the rosary with a chaplet like this? Visit this site for a step-by-step guide.
