After much planning and preparation, our pilgrimage to the UK begins today. While some members of the group have already made their own way to England, the majority will gather at Christ Church Christiana Hundred at 2:00 pm for a special Pilgrims’ Eucharist, followed by a coach journey to Philadelphia Airport.

This time tomorrow we will be arriving at Heathrow, from where we board a coach and travel to York, stopping en route at Lincoln Cathedral. At York we will link up with members of the Christ Church choir who are singing at York Minister. On Monday we will part company with the choir and head north, eventually reaching Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 

I am looking forward to spending time together with my fellow pilgrims and hearing their stories. On a personal level, I am hoping that the pilgrimage will provide opportunities for quiet reflection and prayer. I am also bringing some books. Last week I was scanning the row of titles on our bookshelf and discovered a book I had completely forgotten about. “Marked for Life: Prayer in the Easter Christ” is by a nun, Maria Boulding, who lived at the Benedictine community at Stanbrook Abbey. 

Like Henri Nouwen, Boulding has the distinction, in my mind at least, of being always sound in her writings on spiritual matters. In the front page of the book is the name of its first owner, Peter Wright, the date - 1980 - and the name of the church where he was rector at that time: St. Michael’s, Lewes, UK. He or his widow Carole must have given me the book years ago, although I don’t now remember.

I first met Father Wright when he had retired to Brighton on the south coast of England. He and his wife Carole were always very gracious and welcoming. Peter himself was self-effacing and humble, with a lightness that was disarming. He was one of a number of retired clergy who worshipped at St. Michael and All Angels. He was on the preaching rota and would preach about once a month. I always loved his sermons, which were recorded on cassette, which allowed me to listen to them over and over. His sermons were simple but deep, and I wanted to absorb his wisdom as much as possible.

As I held his book in my hand, and saw his handwriting, it rekindled a connection to him. Throughout the book he has underlined certain passages in pen. This is usually a no-no for me. (I once lent a book to a friend who returned it with all the passages he liked highlighted in yellow. I could have killed him or, at least, covered him in yellow highlighter.) With Fr. Peter’s book, however, the parts underlined have opened a window for me into his own spiritual life.

Prayer was central to Fr. Peter’s life - as it should be in the life of every priest. “Marked for Life” is a long meditation on prayer. Boulding records how it changes us. Prayer, she notes, “is part of the plan of creation and redemption.” Prayer is a life-long habit, a practice that prepares us for the next life. How does it change us as we grow older? This passage, which is underlined in the book, offers an answer:

“There is a sense in which we grow younger, grow in the capacity to wonder and enjoy, and find in ourselves a new simplicity and reconciliation as a fruit of persevering prayer. We become free to play in God’s presence.”

I am looking forward to reading this book on pilgrimage as an encouragement to pray - a deeper kind of prayer. 

Over the next few weeks, I won’t be posting my usual Wednesday meditation but instead will endeavor to post regular pilgrimage updates to the blog on my website. They will be more like diary entries than meditations, and you can follow them as the pilgrimage unfolds.

To finish, here is part of a poem from a 9th century Irish hermit which speaks to me today.

Celtic Blessing

Lord of my heart,
give me vision to inspire me,
that working or resting,
I may always think of you.

Lord of my heart,
give me light to guide me, that,
at home or abroad,
I may always walk in your way.

Lord of my heart,
give me wisdom to direct me, that,
thinking or acting,
I may always discern right from wrong.

Heart of my own heart,
whatever befall me,
rule over my thoughts and feelings,
my words and actions

Father David