Pilgrimage has fascinated me for many years. I think it began on our first visit to England over 20 years ago. My sweetheart and I were big fans of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael medieval mystery novels. We arranged for our driver/guide to take us to Shrewsbury to see a tourist attraction called "The Shrewsbury Quest", a re-creation of Brother Cadfael's herb garden and other scenes from the books and television programs (sorry, but it closed years ago). We of course visited the 11th century Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul next door, the very real setting in many of Brother Cadfael's mysteries.
Our driver/guide suggested that since we would be visiting other places in Northern Wales that we should take a detour to Saint Winefride's Well and Shrine in Holywell. Saint Winefride was a minor dark ages Welsh saint whose relics actually were translated to Shrewsbury, though not quite as was fictionalized in Ellis Peters' novel A Morbid Taste For Bones. We knew nothing of the real Saint Winefride's story, and had no idea there was a shrine to her, but were very excited to go.
Saint Winefride's Holy Well and Shrine, Holywell, Wales. The Saint herself is on the pedestal. The well is under the arches, and feeds a modern swimming pool in front. Bring your own towels.
The shrine turned out to be a still-active Catholic pilgrimage site from the late 15th century that somehow survived the Reformation. We were absolutely delighted by the well house and other buildings, both with the originals and with later structures done in a matching style. The two elderly nuns were making their own visit and kindly offered to pray for us because we weren't Catholic. We found this very touching. Perhaps I was most moved by the graffiti carved into the walls giving thanks for miracles and healings received by pilgrims who had bathed in the blessed waters. In a small way, this was a pilgrimage for us as well, and sparked our wider interest in pilgrims and pilgrimages.
A pilgrimage is a journey of faith, a religious quest. In a broad sense, anyone who has set their feet upon a spiritual path in any faith is a pilgrim. We are all moving toward whatever goal we seek from our spiritual practice, whether it be divine love, knowledge of a greater power, service to others, or a host of other reasons.
Why am I presenting my own story? As I approach the end of my life journey, I am hoping to reconcile some of the divergent paths I've trod. I wanted to bring all this mish-mash together to make sense of my own experiences. Journaling seemed be a good way to sort out these events.
These articles chronicle some steps on my spiritual path, as well as stumbles large and small I've taken. Along the way I will introduce you to some of the men and women who have guided my steps, either personally or through their teachings. Perhaps some of you will find a moment of inspiration or be pointed to a book or other resource from my journey that will aid you in your own quest. Maybe you will just get a smile or two, as the odd or humorous adventures are as important to me as my deeper experiences. Besides, to me life is just open mic night at God's big comedy club.
You won't find my name here, and most details about my life have been kept vague. Don't even try to work out who I am, because it isn't worth your time. Working on your own spiritual path is. I am no guru, and claim no special wisdom. Like the author of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, who modestly wrote under the pen initial "M", I prefer to remain anonymous.
Just think of me as Haridas, a devotee.
