For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Matthew 6:21
Author Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook connects pilgrimage to the universal longings of our hearts:
The first thing all human beings hear in the womb is their mother’s heartbeat. The metaphor of a journey to the center of the heart offers many insights into the nature of pilgrimage in general and the inward journey of the pilgrim in particular. One pilgrimage site that speaks to the journey to the center of the heart is found in the small village of Chimayó, located in the mountains of northern New Mexico. “If you are a stranger, if you are weary from the struggles of life … whether you have a broken heart, follow the long mountain road, find a home in Chimayó.” [1] …
Many of the pilgrims who travel there are not necessarily of the same religious tradition, and they are often not totally committed to the pilgrimage tradition or necessarily believe in miraculous healing. But they go on pilgrimage because they feel a longing in their hearts, and they are searching for something—perhaps divine love or inner peace, relief from a broken heart, or a more meaningful life—and they gain solace from belonging to a group of pilgrims along the way….
Pilgrimage, then, involves … the heart. The Talmud says, “God wants the heart.” It is the heart that holds the body together…. Augustine of Hippo [354–430] wrote that the heart is a metaphor for our deepest and truest selves, and he frequently uses the image as a way to explain his own journey to God: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” [2]
Kujawa-Holbrook writes of the interwoven journeys that pilgrimage takes us through:
The sacred art of pilgrimage involves both an inward and outward journey. … The pilgrim strives to hold both the inward and outward journey together, sometimes in tension, but always focused on the search for meaning, for the Divine…. What most distinguishes the sacred art of pilgrimage from a tourist trip or hiking expedition, as beneficial as these are, is the characteristic inward journey, a turning of one’s heart to the Divine, with the expectation of transformation on every level of being along the way. Benedict of Nursia [c. 480–547], the founder of Western monasticism and author of the Benedictine Rule, used to advise his monks and nuns to “listen with the ear of their heart.” [3] In other words, the pilgrim’s first yearning is in the heart, deeply and inwardly, sometimes for years before the outward journey begins.
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Sarah Young Jesus Listens
My ever-present Lord, I’ve been looking ahead at uncertainties, letting them unnerve me. I see fear and discouragement waiting alongside my pathway into the future—ready to accompany me if I let them. Please keep reminding me that You go before me and will be with me. You hold me by my right hand. Because You live beyond time, You’re able to be with me where I am and simultaneously be on the path up ahead. Through eyes of faith, I can see You shining brightly—beckoning me on, encouraging me to fix my gaze on You. So I will cling tightly to Your hand as I walk past those dark presences of dread and discouragement. Help me keep looking toward Your radiant Presence that beams out unfailing Love and endless encouragement. My confidence comes from knowing You are continually with me and You are already in my future, preparing the way before me. If I listen carefully, I can hear You calling back to me from the trail up ahead—words of warning and wisdom, courage and hope: “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you.” In Your powerful Name, Jesus, Amen
DEUTERONOMY 31:8; The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
PSALM 73:23 NKJV; Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. 24 You will guide me with Your counsel,
PSALM 119:76; May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. 77 Let your compassion come to me
ISAIAH 41:10 NASB Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
Young, Sarah. Jesus Listens (p. 72). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.
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