by Linda Mastro and Amy Kulesa
“If we truly want to know the secret of soulful travel,
we need to believe that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey.”
~ Phil Cousineau in The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred
A pilgrimage is a way of seeing, being, and doing as much as it is a journey to a collection of sacred sites. When you choose to live life as a pilgrimage, you approach living in ways that are personal, expansive, uncertain, and challenging.
- Personal: Although many others have preceded you on the spiritual path, your walk will be unique. You bring your life experiences, your desires, and your responses to how God speaks and how you listen.
- Expansive: Pilgrimage brings you to the edge of your physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual comfort. If you get too comfortable, count on God opening up a way that requires you to dive more deeply into the experience.
- Uncertain: A “Yes” to God’s call to travel far away and deep within your heart entails living with uncertainty, more focused on questions than on answers. Curiosity is the hallmark of a willing pilgrim.
- Challenging: The practice of pilgrimage challenges you to open all of your senses and powers of observation. You will see, hear, taste, touch, and smell new sites; you will experience familiar people, places, and experiences in a new way.
“Pilgrimage calls us to be attentive to the divine at work in our lives through deep listening, patience, opening ourselves to the gifts that arise in the midst of discomfort,
and going out to our own inner wild edges to explore new frontiers.”
~ Christine Valters Paintner in The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within
The stages of pilgrimage shape travel across the world and through the many phases of a lifetime. These stages are:
- The Longing and the Call: A pilgrimage is a trip you are compelled to take. Something inside you needs to be nurtured. Your soul has become restless. You may not even know how to name the longing, yet when the call comes, you must say “Yes.”
- Preparation: Preparing to go on a pilgrimage is an inside job. You take time to examine your reasons for going. You set intentions for the spirit with which you move into this adventure. You read, pray, discuss, and reflect on the invitation that is taking you out into unfamiliar territory.
- Walking the Pilgrim’s Path: Waking up, staying awake, paying attention … these are the daily activities of a pilgrimage. Even the mishaps along the way present opportunities to respond as a curious pilgrim instead of as a disgruntled tourist. Some of the most valuable experiences of a pilgrimage occur when things go “wrong”: the bus breaks down, language differences cause confusion, you confront a prejudice you didn’t know you had.
- Bringing Back the Boon: Re-entry from a pilgrimage begins along the pilgrim’s path. You write in your journal and take photographs, capturing moments you want to share with others. Nonetheless, the hardest question to answer when you return home will be, “How was your trip?” A pilgrimage may defy description because so much of the experience will happen in your heart and soul. Yet a pilgrim brings home more than souvenirs. You share stories, especially the ones that evoke wonder, surprise, and humor. Just as important, you show, by your actions, the insights and curiosity you experienced on the pilgrim’s path.
Linda Mastro and Amy Kulesa are graduates of the Bon Secours Spiritual Direction Institute and Associates of the Community of Bon Secours. Amy of Neshama Spiritual Direction & Breathwork is a Spiritual Director, Introspective Breathwork facilitator, and retreat leader in private practice. She is also a Secular Franciscan. Linda of Living Pilgrimage offers individual and group spiritual guidance along with workshops and retreats.
Linda Mastro and Amy Kulesa are leading “Rooted in Gospel Transformation: A Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi” on Monday, April 13 through Friday, April 24, 2026. The pilgrimage is a collaboration of the Bon Secours, Trinitarian, and Franciscan families. The itinerary traverses historical, cultural, and spiritual landscapes in which early Christianity took root.
To view the pilgrimage details, visit https://www.eocatholic.com/tours/rm26041326m60398#eotours.
To discuss your interest, contact Amy Kulesa, askulesa@gmail.com and Linda Mastro, linda@livingpilgrimage.com.