A Christian Place of Pilgrimage
One Christian place of pilgrimage is located in Lourdes in the south
of France. This is thought to be the site of the first apparition of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. The history of Lourdes is as follows. In 1858
there was a girl called Bernadette Soubirous, 14, whose father was an
ex-miller and whose family was poor. One day she was with her sister
and her friend collecting firewood. When she was by the river bank at
a place called Massabieille she heard a gust of wind and saw a lady
standing in a niche above the cave entrance, dressed in white with a
blue sash and a rosary around her arm. She knelt to the lady but when
she told people of her visions they told her it was her imagination
and that she should stay away from the cave. However, Bernadette
continued to visit and the lady kept appearing. She told everyone in
the village of her visions and some people followed her but did not
share any of the visions. On the 25th February, a Thursday, she was
told to drink and wash in the water from the cave. However there was
only a tiny trickle of water in the cave and the tiny trickle became a
stream pouring into the river. This stream now yields tens of
thousands of gallons of water every day.
On 2nd March she told Bernadette to build a chapel at the cave and to
have processions there often. However, the priest did not believe her.
The next time the lady appeared Bernadette asked her name to which she
replied 'Immaculate Conception'. The doctrine of 'the Immaculate
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary' had only been set by the Pope
four years earlier. This doctrine is the belief that since Mary gave
bir...
... middle of paper ...
...ms can also walk the 14 Stations of the Cross, reminding them of
the 14 stages of Christ' journey. There are life size bronze figures
to remind them of each station and many people walk this barefooted to
show that they are sharing in Jesus, suffering and showing their
sorrow for their sins. Pilgrims can also visit Bernadette's grave
where her body lies. This would be important for many pilgrims because
they can see the person who had the Blessed Virgin Mary appear to her
many times and was the reason for them all visiting Lourdes year after
year.
Every year thousand upon thousands of pilgrims visit Lourdes to learn
more about these visions and the story of Bernadette. Each site in
Lourdes holds a particular story for the history of the place and is a
very important site of pilgrimage for any Christians in the world.
Mary Queen of Scots in White Mourning, Two Women Sewing, and Interior with Two Women at
garb, to recite the Credo and one third of the Rosary, and to make confession
Rituals are held as a very important part of any society, including ours. They go back to ancient times or can be as simple as maintaining one’s hygiene. Non-western societies have rituals that may seem very foreign to us, but they have been engrained in their communities and are essential to their social structure. This interpretation will focus on the Great Pilgrimage, a ritual performed by Quechuan communities. We will be looking specifically at a community in the area of Sonqo.
While she took with her the knowledge of certain secrets the Virgin gave her, one secret remained hidden in our presence. The most spectacular of all the incorruptibles, Bernadette's miraculously preserved body remained buried in a damp grave for thirty years until the cause for beatification was taken up. To this day, the body of Bernadette is a profound source of inspiration and of mystery surrounding the ways of the Lord. The face of Bernadette is one of surreal beauty, and will remain for us always the face that gazed into the eyes of the Mother of God.
What is a Crusade? How did a Crusader crusade? What caused him to seek “holy war?” Is a Crusade a Holy War or a Pilgrimage? Did a crusader only leave to find his own economic benefits? What caused the success of the first crusaders? These are some of the many questions that laid before me when I started my research. The crusading movements are such widely debated among the modern historian that they leave many readers confused about what actually caused the crusades, and what a crusade actually entails. In the coming pages I hope to give my reader something to ponder, understand, and acknowledge about it’s origins, and eventually lead my reader into the first crusading movement. Thus, the argument I intend to make examines the events in previous centuries, and the culmination of political and moral changes, as well as economic ones that occurred before Urban’s call for crusade. We will explore Feudalism, it’s war-centric society and how this caused Urban (as well as some Popes and religious figures before him) to seek a peaceable solution that would ensure safety for the clergy, the peasant, and the non-violent. Furthermore, Pope Urban sought to continue Pope Gregory's (and Cluniac) reform to solidify Papal authority over Christendom, and respond to years of Muslim raids along the Mediterranean and upper Italian Coastlines that threatened Italian unity. In effect, the first crusading movement represented and embodied the European culture, society, and ideologies of the time.
I attended a mass at Saint Haralambos Orthodox Greek Church. The church is located in Niles which is a suburb of Chicago on Caldwell Street in between Touhy and Howard Street. The mass I went to was on the Sunday of Orthodox which is known as the first Sunday of Lent where they honor the icons. The most important foundations that are highlighted in Greek Orthodoxy are the Bible and Holy Traditions that have been passed down (“Greek Orthodox Church”). The Greek Orthodox Church believes that the bible is motivated by God. Some important dogmas of the church include things such as the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the role that Virgin Mary had, and honoring the icons. The holy sacraments are what lead Greek Orthodox believers that they are reaching the ultimate prize of deification through Christ.
If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friend, and never see them again… then you are ready for a walk. -Henry David Thoreau (Haberman 12)
Monuments such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and San Vitale in Ravenna, perform a great importance in Byzantine and Islamic architecture. Both of these structures did not exclusively represent the main place of worship, but most importantly as a symbol of achievement and growth within the current times of construction. Starting in 524, under the influence of Orthodox bishop Ecclesius, the development of San Vitale was to represent the achievements of the emperor Justinian. Julius Argentarius was the sponsor for this structure and it was dedicated by Bishop Maximian in 547. The Dome of the Rock is built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in 692 with the help of Abd al-Malik with the suspected intention to symbolize Islams influence in Jerusalem and its involvement in a highly Jewish and Christian supremacy. Although separated by over 100 yrs, both of these domes share multiple similarity's including a projected confidence of their originating culture.
...t speak to her lover only through the window of her room. At night, she would go to her window while she thought her husband was sleeping, claiming that the song of the nightingale kept her awake. After the nightingale is killed by the husband, the lord keeps the body with him always as a sign of devotion to the lady.
At the end of the aisle there was a small pedestal which was watched over by our pastor. To the right of the pedestal was where I stood, with the best seat in the house, and behind me stood a line of groomsmen. Behind all of us was a small table with a glass of wine, bread, and three candles. All of the guests were seated and we all waited for the main attraction. Soon we would all witness the stunning
... she wore a coral rosary with large green beads for the paternosters, from which hung a brightly shining golden brooch. And on this brooch was first inscribed a capital A, surmounted by a crown, and after that Amor vincit omnia” (Chaucer 4). She made her image likeable by others even though it did not follow the vows of being Catholic. “So carefully did she wipe her lips that no trace of grease could be seen in her cup when she had drunk from it. She reached for her food daintily, and truly she was very merry, with a pleasant disposition and an amiable manner” (Chaucer 4). The Prioress was also very sensitive, “if one of her dogs died, or if someone beat it with a stick, she cried bitterly” (Chaucer 4). Though she was very kind and soft. “Her wimple was very neatly pleated, her nose shapely, her eyes blue, and her mouth very small, soft, and red” (Chaucer 4).
Motives for Pilgrimage Many questions are raised when flipping through the history of the religion of Christianity. Why did Christians fight so long against Pagan rulers? Why did their religion mean so much to them, they would risk their lives for it? Maybe by narrowing the questions down, possible answers can be developed.
“A girl in a high-necked dark dress with cameo brooch at the collar. Her dark hair was swept
In Geoffrey Chaucer’s writing, “The Canterbury Tales”, he writes of a pilgrimage and describes every character that is involved, some more in depth than others. Keep in mind that this writing is dated back in the 1300’s, so there is going to be some distinction between those he described on the pilgrimage compared to how one would describe people of today. If Chaucer did write about people today, three people he would most likely choose would be a teacher or professor, a professional athlete, and a song artist.
After just two hours, our very large friend said he’d had enough for the day and was heading for the surface. We told him we’d be out in a few more minutes and to hang around so we could discuss what we’d found. As we began our ascent toward the entrance, we became acutely aware of the complete absence of light the entrance usually emanated. When our flashlights finally found the source of the unusual darkness we were horrified; the big guy was stuck in the cave’s opening again. This time Scott’s head and shoulders were outside, so instead of being able to pull him through, we would have to try to push him out of the opening. We pushed in every combination of ways possible, and needless to say it did not work this time. The paramount problem was that the cave floods from the interior out, so we would all drown if we couldn’t get Scott unstuck, and unstuck quickly.