Pilgrim places

Since this trip is a personal pilgrimage and for a very long time Christians have gone to the sites of Christ and saints that have come before us, I feel like today sharing some parts of this trip thus far as it applies to the pilgrim.

In 2003 I was able to go to Rome and the Vatican with my mom and sister and we were able to explore all the treasures which the church has guarded through the centuries. I am a big fan of preserving history and I learn best through hands on or discussion- so for me to see a major site or see an item does more than merely reading about it. in my opinion the relics and history of the church in italy are greater than what France might have; but I did not have the same perspective that I did 9 years ago on this trip- so I treasure more now the Christians that have come before us and led the way for me.

To begin with we will start at the chapel of the miraculous medal in Paris. This is where Mary appeared to saint Catherine and where the image for the miraculous medal takes shape. There was Catherine's body preserved without decay for the last 136 years - simply a miracle and one that cannot be scientifically explained. I have read of a handful of saints after their death during the beatification process were removed from their original graves and found to be perfectly preserve. I didn't doubt this to be true but upon seeing it in person- it makes you stop and give praise for miracles which we can see, that tell us we are on the right path.

From there we will go to Norte dame cathedral in Paris. The church is very large and many tourist were walking through but I am not sure if people really understand the history that is there before them - it's more than an architectural achievement or beautiful stain glass. Off in a side chapel there are many relics of saints as well as beautiful symbols of our faith that have been ornately designed to try and show the majesty of God. In the center of this great room and behind glass is a cross. Many people walk buy seeing a fancy cross but this cross holds history of our Lords passion in both a nail and wood from the cross. It was wonderful to go from seeing items that were used from our lords passion to being able to partake in the mass all at the same location. As a general practice when the priest consecrates the host I internally always think of our Lords choice to suffer for us and during the consecration of the wine I think of accepting the chalice He has chosen for me. So you can see how special seeing those pieces before mass was for me.

Finally, we come to Chartres where the cathedral has had an amazing history for Christians. Here in this cathedral they have a veil of Mary as well as the church goes back to the 4th century- fire and destruction from war have occurred in the church but the oldest church walls go to this time frame and the veil of Mary was preserved each time. The church as it is today is built above the crypts. The church is undergoing renovation which is much needed and they are doing great work ( there are some comparison photos below). This morning I was able to attend mass in the crypt. At mass there were so many different people based on our nationalities but like Christians before us, we are all brought together as one body of believers. Even though the mass is in a different native tongue for many of us we are still able to share through Christ- truly remarkable when you think about it. The fact that our religion traces it roots back to the beginning and we are connected to all the brothers and sisters that have come before us as well as all that will come after us is truly amazing to think about. Hence catholic means universal- we all believe the same ( no matter our background).

Our faith is real and Christ is just as present today as He was 2000 years ago and for every age in history we can see active Christians preserving the faith so you and I can enjoy it and know about it today. Many of you know that I am fascinated by the dead sea scrolls discovered in 1947 and what that means for Christianity and the world. For a lot of the doubting Thomas's it proved beyond a doubt that what we have as the old testament bible today, was a valid translation from a very religious group of jews who lived in the wilderness following God during jesus time (since the temple was no longer valid). These documents were found in Hebrew and were about a thousand years older then other documents found in Hebrew. Off side note - so what I am trying to say is simply... As I explore these towns and churches I am indebted to them for preserving our faith as well as I am blessed to be able to see them and experience them as Christians for hundreds of years have been able to do.