a. Describe a visit to a Christian place of Pilgrimage. (800 words)
b. Explain why some Christians go on pilgrimage and the effect that this might have on them. (800 words)
c. 'There are more important things for Christians to do than to go Pilgrimage'
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. (500 words)
a) I have been on many different pilgrimages
to Lourdes in France, Medugorje in Croatia
and Walsingham in the North of England.
Walsingham is an all round Christian
place of Pilgrimage, there is both a Catholic
Shrine and an Anglican shrine in Walsingham,
as well as the main priory in Walsingham village.
The Catholic Shrine is approximately 1 mile away
from the village of Walsingham and this mile is
called the holy mile. When people are on pilgrimage
to Walsingham, they often walk this Holy Mile in
bare foot, 2-3 times a day. This is done as a sign of
penance, as on most pilgrimages. Whenever I have
been to Walsingham, being a Catholic I have always
stayed at the Catholic shrine with a Catholic organisation
called New dawn or Youth 2000. There are four fields surrounding the shrine and so we camp in tents on those. We have a mass every day and depending on which organisation we are with, there are different activities going on. There is perpetual Adoration going on 24 hours with both. Perpetual adoration is when Jesus is exposed in the blessed sacrament for people to pray, talk to or just look at. With New dawn, we have a youth mass in the shrine area which is when all the young people that have gone to the retreat, get to sing, dance, read and prepare the service. On one of the other days, we all do the Holy mile, some bare foot, and on the way, we sing, praise and say the rosary. Once we reach the main village of Walsingham, we go into the priory to have a mass in the priory grounds.
In the 12th cent...