I had the chance to read a really good book recently, courtesy of Paraclete Press; it is called “American Pilgrimage: Sacred Journeys and Spiritual Destinations.” Written by Mark Ogilbee and Jana Riess, it depicts their journeys as they travel to and along with others on pilgrimages to certain locations in America that are popular pilgrimage destinations. One aspect of the book that I really appreciated was that it focused on spiritual pilgrimage sites here in the United States. So often I hear about so-and-so going to Iona, or Taize, perhaps the Northumbria Community. But how many people take the time to travel to spiritual destinations right here in the US? I’ve had a chance to visit some monasteries (my favorite was Christ in the Desert), but it’s always been my impression that in order to have an intense spiritual experience, I had to get out of the US.
The authors of this book have proved me wrong.
To give you an idea of the places they visit, here are some of the sites written about in the book: The Community of Jesus, El Santuario de Chimayo, The National Shrine of Saint Jude, the Healing Rooms of Santa Maria Valley, The Abbey of Gethsemani (made famous by Thomas Merton), Graceland, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Alms Round, Red Rocks – Sedona, AZ and a Billy Graham Crusade. So it’s quite the eclectic collection of different types of locations and pilgrimages.
I also really appreciate the ability of both authors to capture the stories of the people they met along the way and those who work at some of the locations. It really helped to capture the spirit (and Spirit) of the places they wrote about. If you are at all interested in travel literature, or spirituality, this book will be a great read, and I encourage you to order it.