Lent is swiftly approaching and it is a practice of many monasteries to select a common book for everyone to read during Lent. This helps build community as well as foster the sharing of spiritual insights. For the upcoming season of Lent I have chosen the spiritual classic, The Way of a Pilgrim and The Pilgrim Continues His Way
[featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Ikon on the road by Konstantin Savitsky[/featured-image]
Father Walter J. Ciszek, (whose cause for canonization is currently underway) had this to say about The Way of a Pilgrim:
“The value of the Pilgrim’s story lies in its simple presentation of the power of prayer; a power which reaches far beyond the intellect and human knowledge and beyond all efforts of man seeking to find meaning in life. This power is available to all who believe in God and it can transform man’s weakness, his limitations and sufferings and bring him to glory…the Pilgrim shows by example, by his very life style what it means to place one’s trust in God” (Foreword to The Way of a Pilgrim).
The book is more well-known in the Eastern Church than it is in Western Christianity, but it contains invaluable truths that I would like to share with you on this blog. My plan is to share with you every Friday a short meditation/reflection on a passage/chapter from the book. You will not have to purchase the book to understand or reap the benefits from these posts. However, if you want to follow-along, I suggest acquiring a copy of The Way of a Pilgrim. The translation that I will be referencing is by Helen Bacovcin. It has a foreword by the Polish-American priest Father Walter J. Ciszek (author of He Leadeth Me
“In this new translation Helen Bacovcin has caught the spirit of the Pilgrim, for she shares not only in his Slavic heritage but also in his love of prayer” (Foreword to The Way of a Pilgrim).
Sometimes what we need to jumpstart our prayer-life is to read something unfamiliar so that we can see prayer in a different light. The Eastern Church has a long and rich tradition of prayer that we should be familiar with and may help us on our own path to God.
I look forward to going through The Way of a Pilgrim with you and anticipate many spiritual insights along the way. If nothing else, it will remind us that we are all “pilgrims” or “exiles,” on earth and our “hearts are restless until they rest in [God].”