Pilgrimage
When I went to Japan on the JET Programme my Mum gave me a picture of her favourite saint, Thérèse of Lisieux to take with me. Catholics often carry or give to others icons like this. Despite going to Catholic schools from the age of 5-18 I knew virtually nothing about Saint Thérèse. Anyway, we were watching TV the other week and it turned out that the relics of Saint Thérèse were being brought to the UK as part of a world tour. My Mum said she would have loved to have gone to see the relics. I checked on the Internet and found out they would be in London for another two days at Westminster Cathedral. So I told her if she met me after work the next day I would take her. At first she made excuses, but I knew she really wanted to go and would regret it if she didn’t.
I have to say making the pilgrimage was an interesting experience. I was surprised how many people turned out, especially since the U.K. is not a Catholic country. If I compare the pilgrimage to when I visited the Vatican it was a much more profound and dare I say spiritual experience. While we were queuing up outside there was a big screen with various people talking about Saint Thérèse’s life. What was so interesting is that she died at only 24 and on the surface she did nothing remarkable in her short life. In particular, she had wanted to travel and never got the chance. However, she’s famous for her memoirs and her philosophy of the “Little Way” - that you don’t need to do “great deeds” for your life to have meaning.
Since I left Japan (due to my neurotic nature I’m sure) I’ve been worried that I’ve made “mistakes” in my life and this is my only chance to do something significant or worthwhile. Especially when I had health problems earlier this year I realised how precious life is. I know it’s a simplistic idea, but for some reason I found the philosophy of Saint Thérèse reassuring. The timing was perfect and it reminded me I have to stop worrying about those things I can’t change, which I know I do a lot. Finally, my Mum was really glad that she got to venerate the relics and that’s something I will always remember in the future.
I have to say making the pilgrimage was an interesting experience. I was surprised how many people turned out, especially since the U.K. is not a Catholic country. If I compare the pilgrimage to when I visited the Vatican it was a much more profound and dare I say spiritual experience. While we were queuing up outside there was a big screen with various people talking about Saint Thérèse’s life. What was so interesting is that she died at only 24 and on the surface she did nothing remarkable in her short life. In particular, she had wanted to travel and never got the chance. However, she’s famous for her memoirs and her philosophy of the “Little Way” - that you don’t need to do “great deeds” for your life to have meaning.
Since I left Japan (due to my neurotic nature I’m sure) I’ve been worried that I’ve made “mistakes” in my life and this is my only chance to do something significant or worthwhile. Especially when I had health problems earlier this year I realised how precious life is. I know it’s a simplistic idea, but for some reason I found the philosophy of Saint Thérèse reassuring. The timing was perfect and it reminded me I have to stop worrying about those things I can’t change, which I know I do a lot. Finally, my Mum was really glad that she got to venerate the relics and that’s something I will always remember in the future.