Pilgrim Road, Revised Edition

Albert Holtz

Description

In the view of St. Benedict of Nursia, the Lenten journey is an inner pilgrimage with Christ into the deepest parts of ourselves, to be marked not so much by external observances, such as fasting and self-denial, as by a deepening of our relationship with God. Benedictine monk Albert Holtz develops that journey theme through meditations written during a fifteen-country pilgrimage while on sabbatical. At the heart of each reflection is the lesson it teaches about our inner spiritual journey. By applying Benedict’s monastic wisdom to the everyday concerns and aspirations of modern Christians, Pilgrim Road helps contemporary spiritual seekers travel along and experience the journey of Lent in the most positive, meaningful, and fruitful manner.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Devotional

Informations

• Publié par: Church Publishing Incorporated
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780819229823
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright 2015 by Albert Holtz
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Quotations from the Rule of Benedict so designated are from RB1980: The Rule of Benedict in English (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981). Permission granted by the Liturgical Press.
Most of the stories in this book originally appeared in a slightly altered form in A Saint on Every Corner: Glimpses of Holiness Beyond the Monastery by Albert Holtz, O.S.B. (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1998).
Morehouse Publishing, 4785 Linglestown Road, Suite 101, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Morehouse Publishing, 19 East 34th Street, New York, NY 10016
Morehouse Publishing is an imprint of Church Publishing Incorporated.
Cover design by Laurie Klein Westhafer Typeset by Rose Design
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2981-6 (pbk.) ISBN-13: 978-0-8192-2982-3 (ebook)
Contents

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION
INTRODUCTION
THE WEEKDAYS AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY: SETTING OUT
Ash Wednesday-Canterbury, England: Patrons for the Journey
Thursday after Ash Wednesday-The Channel Tunnel, England: Waiting for the Lord
Friday after Ash Wednesday-La Paz Witches Market, Bolivia: Trusting in God Alone
Saturday after Ash Wednesday-Rue de S vres, Paris: Putting Faith into Action
Weekly Group Reflection: Days after Ash Wednesday
THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT: MEETING MY TRUE SELF
Monday of the First Week of Lent-Muros, Spain: Using Low Tide
Tuesday of the First Week of Lent-Dieppe, France: Being Unfinished
Wednesday of the First Week of Lent-F tima, Portugal: Dealing with the Real
Thursday of the First Week of Lent-Alba de Tormes, Spain: Being Humble
Friday of the First Week of Lent-Berlin, Germany: Breaking Down Walls
Saturday of the First Week of Lent-Saint Julien le Pauvre, Paris: Letting Go of Perfection
Weekly Group Reflection: First Week
THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT: HOLY COMBAT
Monday of the Second Week of Lent-Eger, Hungary: Watching for the Enemy Within
Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent-Waterloo, Belgium: Checking the Visitors
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent-Arles, France: Letting God Shine Through
Thursday of the Second Week of Lent-Toledo, Spain: Breaking Chains
Friday of the Second Week of Lent-Fulda, Germany: Being Prepared
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent-Saint Etienne du Mont, Paris: Persevering
Weekly Group Reflection: Second Week
THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT: THE CALL TO CONVERSION
Monday of the Third Week of Lent-Aubrac, France: Listening
Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent-Esteville, France: Living Example
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent-Dieppe, France: Balancing
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent-Padua, Italy: Leading One Life
Friday of the Third Week of Lent-Piray River, Bolivia: Forgiving
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent-Ciudad del Este, Paraguay: Being Open
Weekly Group Reflection: Third Week
THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT: AWARENESS OF GOD S PRESENCE
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent-Tuscany, Italy: Recognizing Jesus
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent-G d llo , Hungary: Welcoming the Guest
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent-Poitiers, France: Encountering the Lord
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent-Brussels, Belgium: Noticing God
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent-Saint Malo, France: Giving Thanks
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent-Assisi, Italy: Speaking of God
Weekly Group Reflection: Fourth Week
THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT: HOPING IN THE LORD
Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent-L rins, France: Drinking from the River
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent-Loch Ness, Scotland: Finding Hope
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent-Ligug , France: Passing Through Fire
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent-Chambord, France: Gaining Perspective
Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent-Amsterdam, Holland: Hoping No Matter What
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent-Saint Gervais, Paris: Expecting Help
Weekly Group Reflection: Fifth Week
HOLY WEEK: ARRIVING IN JERUSALEM
Monday of Holy Week-Salamanca, Spain: Being Transformed
Tuesday of Holy Week-Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Feeling Christ Suffer
Wednesday of Holy Week-Perpignan, France: Dancing with God
Holy Thursday-El Bosque, Bolivia: Washing Feet
Good Friday-Fatima Parish, Santa Cruz, Bolivia: Waving Your Palm
Holy Saturday-Padua, Italy: Waiting in Hope
Weekly Group Reflection: Holy Week
Easter Sunday-Saint Martin du Canigou, France: The Empty Grave
Final Group Reflection: What s Next?
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX: INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
Preface
to the Revised Edition

Since it was first published in 2006, Pilgrim Road has rewarded me with a series of surprises. The first was the warm reception the book received among so many readers who thanked me in person, by letter or email, or offered enthusiastic reviews in their comments posted on booksellers websites.
A second surprise came when I found that my stories and reflections still presented me personally with new challenges and insights each Lent when I read them again.
A third surprise was the number of letters and emails I received from readers telling me that they do the same thing that I do: each Ash Wednesday they get their copy of Pilgrim Road off the shelf and follow its forty chapters all through Lent. This has led to the biggest surprise of all: the discovery of a whole new level of meaning in the book-the communal one.
Pilgrim Road is based on the travel journal I kept as I journeyed alone through fifteen countries during a sabbatical year. Naturally, then, the stories and the reflections were written from the perspective of a solitary traveler. So it was a pleasant surprise when I began to realize that with the publication of the book I was no longer alone on my Lenten journey, but that all of the readers of Pilgrim Road , whether reading it for the first time or the second or even the seventh time, now made up a growing group of pilgrims of which I was just one member. Like Medieval pilgrims who often travelled in groups for companionship and safety on the hazardous pilgrimage routes, we readers were all walking the pilgrimage trail together each year on the journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter simply by reading the same assigned chapters each day.
This revised edition of Pilgrim Road reflects that communal emphasis not just by its new cover but by the addition of seven reflection sessions (found at the end of each week) designed for use by groups. The questions included there can also be used, of course, by individual readers. Each weekly session also contains quotations from a variety of writers under the heading of Other Voices and, since religious pilgrims usually pray and sing together as they travel, there is a selection of hymns, a psalm, and a Prayer for Pilgrims. (See below, Suggestions for Using the Weekly Group Reflections. ) After the reflection for Easter Sunday, there is an optional final weekly session entitled Epilogue: What s Next? that is recommended for everyone, both groups and individual readers, as a way to bring the Lenten pilgrimage to a fitting close.
In the spirit of this shared pilgrimage, Morehouse Publishing has also provided a Facebook page 1 for individual Pilgrim Road readers who are unable to physically join a discussion group but still wish to exchange ideas and experiences with their fellow pilgrims as they make the Lenten journey.
The original chapters and reflection questions in the main text have been left unchanged so the book is still as useful as ever for the individual pilgrim. The only noticeable changes in the chapters are the insertion of a new chapter for Holy Saturday, and the relocating of the original Holy Saturday material to Easter Sunday.
My hope is that everyone using this revised edition of Pilgrim Road will draw as much strength and encouragement as I do from the presence of a great company of unseen fellow pilgrims from all over the English-speaking world.
May the Lord continue to prosper our journey together through Lent and through life until we all meet one day at our final destination, the heavenly Jerusalem.
N EWARK A BBEY
J ULY 11, 2014
F EAST OF S AINT B ENEDICT

1 . The page is found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pilgrim-Road/734461713230888
Suggestions for Using the Weekly Group Reflections
At the end of each week s readings, there is a section entitled For Group Reflection that might be used by groups that meet weekly during Lent. The reflection sessions are based on the particular theme of that week of Lent (found on the introductory page preceding the first day of each week), but are designed so that the discussions can take place on any day of the week.
In addition to leading the discussion and perhaps selecting a quotation from the Other Voices section, the person guiding each session might also want to lead a short prayer service using a suggested hymn, the psalm, or the Prayer for Pilgrims listed. The scripture passages at the end of the individual chapters provide a wide choice of readings.
There are two sets of discussion questions for each session. The Optional Warm-Up Discussion Exercise is, as the name implies, intended to prepare each individual participant for the large-group discussion through a few minutes of sharing first in a smaller group of two or three. Its purpose is to personalize the topic and help people make connections between the theme for the week and their own lives a