Dear pilgrims of hope,
how do we begin a pilgrimage?
Every pilgrimage starts at home. You might fly to another country but every pilgrimage starts and ends on your door step. So, before we start talking about making a pilgrimage, let us focus on our homes.
If our homes are messy, we can simply start by making a list of all the things that need to be done. (Do not worry about how you will do them). And then we start with one thing. Just one. And then we cross it off. It is so satisfying to cross something off that list. No chore is too small to be put on the list. That button that needs to be sewn on? Put it on the list. Starting with just one thing, the easiest thing on the list, will give us the energy to do one more. This is how we overcome the inertia that keeps us trapped. Our minds will now start to clear and we can focus on other things than just our exhaustion about all the things we need to do.
If you are not already making your bed in the morning, then start. When I wake up, the first thing I do is to get down on my knees and say a prayer that hands my life over to God. I learned a prayer that is called the third step prayer from a friend that attends AA meetings in which I offer myself to God and ask Him to relieve me from the bondage of self. I end the prayer by adding “Thy will be done, not mine”. After that I make my bed and I am ready to start my day.
A few years back I was in a hurry and omitted my prayer. I got to the kitchen, took the black bag out and it ripped apart and the mess unloaded onto the kitchen floor. I wanted to cry, scream and throw a tantrum. Instead I went back to my bedroom, got down on my knees, said my morning prayer and after that went back to the kitchen and cleaned everything up. I have not omitted my morning prayer since. The content of the prayer is up to you of course, as long as you are wiling to acknowledge that God is in charge.
One other thing we should do, is bless our homes. Of course we should ask our parish priest to bless our homes when we move in. Then on the feast of the epiphany (6 Jan), we can bless our own homes with chalk on the door post every year. If you have not done so yet this year, it is not too late to do so. I blessed my own home yesterday and today together with the staff at St Luke’s, I blessed the Retreat Centre. You can find some instructions for the blessing here:
https://aleteia.org/2018/01/05/how-to-bless-your-home-with-epiphany-chalk
Epiphany Blessing of St Luke's Retreat Centre this morning
To bless our homes means to entrust ourselves to God and his protection. Evil spirits are real and we should protect ourselves and our loved ones. If we have started by doing these things, then we can talk about planning a pilgrimage tomorrow. Do not give up dear pilgrims of hope, it might seem impossible, but nothing is impossible for God. Let us pray for each other to have the courage to ask him for help and to be willing to receive it.
