The Spiritual Pilgrimage
Spiritual participation in the Pilgrimage to Midland. Spiritual pilgrims do not go on the road; they remain at home and fulfill part of the pilgrimage program: formation, prayer and penance.
Formation on the road is served by meditation, conferences and discussion. Spiritual pilgrims are encouraged to read the Bible for at least fifteen minutes every day and to reflect on the Word of God for that day. A religious book or periodical is also good reading.
Among the practices of prayer the most important is daily Mass. Others are: the Little Hours, the Rosary, the Litany of Loreto, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Way of the Cross. Spiritual pilgrims are encouraged to take up at least some of them.
The penance practiced by pilgrims on the trail consists of taking up the hardship of walking, bearing discomforts patiently and sharing what one has with others. The penance of spiritual pilgrims is the patient bearing of illness and adversity, and kindly service to their neighbours.
Like the walkers on the road, spiritual pilgrims should offer their participation to God in a particular intention. It is also worth asking what each day of spiritual pilgrimage brought into your life, what was good in it, and what could still change.
