Reflective Moments Moments Reflective August 2008
The purpose of Reflective Moments is to offer you a way to incorporate the spirit of Saint Angela Merici into your own lives. We hope that it enriches you spiritually.
Pilgrimage By Sister Marietta Wethington, OSU The art of the pilgrim is to travel light, needing only what can be carried. The secret that makes this easy is that the real essentials can be carried in the heart, which has infinite capacity. The paradox is that the more richly laden is the heart with worthwhile treasures, the more lighthearted is the pilgrim. -Source Unknown
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ecently I’ve reflected a lot on pilgrimage, the spirituality of pilgrimage, Angela Merici as pilgrim, and myself as a pilgrim. Perhaps that is because I recently had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to Italy and visiting the lands of Angela. Our first stop was at Lake Garda, a place very familiar to Angela, where she must have spent many quiet moments reflecting on the greatness of God and of God’s love. We moved from there to a simple stone house, Angela’s family home, Le Grezze. As we entered this tiny house I became aware of the simplicity of the place. I was deeply moved to see the mat where she slept and the log she used for a pillow, the simple table with one straight chair. Angela’s life seemed to be stripped of everything but the essentials. The focal point of the room was the crucifix where Angela knelt many times to pray. As my eyes were drawn to the crucifix my thoughts were drawn to the words of Angela, “Let your first refuge always be at the feet of Jesus.” The next day our pilgrimage took us to the former Church of Saint Afra, now known as the sanctuary of Saint Angela. It is in this sanctuary that we saw the incorrupt body of Angela lying above the altar in a glass casket. I can’t even recall my first reaction. I do know I was moved to tears and still have no words to describe the experience – just a deep feeling of love, peace, and gratitude. While we were there it was hard to move away from her presence. I kept being drawn back to kneel in silence and awe. Angela’s vocation was essentially that of a pilgrim. Orphaned at an early age, she never really had a home of Continued on back