Of Monasteries, Pilgrims, and Crusades

I apologize for not posting these last two weeks. Wednesdays are busy for us, and I have trouble preparing a post ahead of time. I actually wrote most of this several weeks ago, and then did not have a chance to finish. :)

But here it is, although not as fleshed out as I would have preferred: These are new ideas to me, so I might not have them well thought out, and I might not even agree with them later. But in the mean time, they were an interesting discovery.

I have always loved the idea of pilgrimage. To most people that conjures up sad images of the Muslims traveling to Mecca, or the Catholics journeying to Canterbury. But the ideal of pilgrimage, the idea of making a journey that is focused on one thing, and on one thing alone, braving all the hardships and terrors of a long and dangerous journey, to reach that destination: that has always fascinated me. I was especially interested to learn recently that the Jews used to make pilgrimages, commanded by God. Three times a year, for the Feasts of Weeks, Unleavened Bread, and Tabernacles, they were commanded to journey to Jerusalem.

Similarly, monasteries. I do not agree with many aspects of Catholicism, and I do not believe that, as Christians, we should shut ourselves away from the world in little communities, and commit to celibacy, etc. I also realize that it very rarely (if ever) worked in practice the way it was meant to. However, the ideal of monasticism, dedicating your whole life to God and to His work, shunning anything that would draw you away from that, the peace and the quiet, the long hours spent in prayer, the fellowship of like-minded brothers working around you for the same goals, and the beautiful music of praise; these are things that I long for.

And yet again, the Crusades. I understand that there were many atrocities committed on both sides, and that they were, in reality, an awful thing. And yet...the ideal of an Holy War, in which a brotherhood of men-at-arms, united by the bonds of Christianity, are fighting to drive out evil, and reclaim the holy places for the glory of God...is that not a good thing?

I realized recently that we are all of these things, in the spiritual sense. We are pilgrims. Our home is not in this world; we are traveling to the heavenly Jerusalem. And all of our energies and thoughts should be devoted to that.

We are also (or should be!) monks. We should be separate from the world, obviously distinct. We should have that peace in our hearts, even when it is noticeably absent from our circumstances. That fellowship of the saints should be a constant thing, not merely a few hours on Sunday. And the music of praise in our hearts should never cease.

As for Crusaders, that should be obvious. We are in a war, against the powers of hell. Sometimes that battle manifests itself physically (fighting to defeat an evil bill in Congress, for instance), and sometimes it is purely spiritual. But it exists, nevertheless.

Most people have probably never wanted to be Crusaders, monks, or pilgrims, so these 'revelations' might just sound odd to you. But to me, realizing that a flawed human institution which I could not condone, but appreciated all the same, actually had an ideal form, in the spiritual realm, was exciting. :)

May God bless you all as you journey on your Pilgrimage, fight in your Crusades, and dwell in peace in the company of the saints!
Rachel

N.B. I don't have the time tonight to find the verses that go with my thoughts. I hope to add the references within the next few days. :)