Thursday, December 18, 2014

The International Military Pilgrimage

This is finals week at UNO.  Studying for three comprehensive exams has left little time for anything else.  Only one thing managed to cut through the fog of finals, an episode from the PBS series Sacred Journeys.  

In the initial installment of the series, host Bruce Feiler followed a group of veterans to Lourdes for the International Military Pilgrimage.  The link above goes to the full first episode.  The video below is Juan Roldan's account of his first visit to the shrine at Lourdes. 


In this clip, he describes the sense of relief that came over him when the waters of Lourdes were placed over his head.  His raw emotions, as well as those of the other veterans interviewed, got me out of analytic-thinking mode and into compassionate-feeling mode. 

I recommend the entire Lourdes episode.  Its message is worth meditating upon in preparation for the end of the Christmas season on January 11, Baptism of the Lord Sunday.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is still time to register for the 2015 pilgrimage in May. Applications are due by the end of January. Eligible warriors (and the caregivers of those who need them) will have their expenses paid.

Laura Felleman said...

Thanks for letting folks know about the next pilgrimage. Have you attended a previous pilgrimage?