by Bridget Ruffing, ’22
On the afternoon of Thursday, September 23rd, a large group of students from Thomas More College embarked on a three-day journey through the hills of Pennsylvania to participate in the annual Pilgrimage for Restoration. During this trip, they would offer up their individual suffering, prayer, and companionship in the tradition of the Christian Pilgrim. Last year, the student body had to forego joining in the Pilgrimage for Restoration. When it was announced that the College would once again be taking part in the Pilgrimage, students responded with enthusiasm. More than half the school was ready to sacrifice a warm bed, prepared food, hot showers, and an entire weekend of leisure to march to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of Bernadette Lloyd and Annika DeMaster, ’23, the student pilgrims made it safely to and from the Shrine, bringing back with them blistered feet, light hearts, smiling faces, and ties of friendship made stronger by their shared experience.
Bernadette and Annika are both seasoned pilgrims, and each has been participating in the Pilgrimage for Restoration since she was a child. When asked just how many pilgrimages she has made, Bernadette responded, “I could not tell you! I have been attending since I was a toddler, and I would estimate that I have taken part in at least fifteen.” Annika has also been making this pilgrimage from a young age, and says of her experience, “I have been making this pilgrimage for eleven years with my family. It has been a huge part of my spiritual formation during my teenage years and really taught me how to accept suffering. On pilgrimage, you learn to accept all the discomforts as the cross that Christ is giving you to carry with Him.” This year’s pilgrimage was a meaningful one for both young ladies, because it was the first one they were able to attend not as participants, but as leaders of the Thomas More College pilgrims. It was also an important occasion because of its unique destination.
In years past, the Pilgrimage for Restoration has always been made to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. This year, however, the destination was changed to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Pennsylvania, which happens to be both Bernadette and Annika’s home state. Each young lady’s participation in this pilgrimage—which has contributed so much to her formation as an adult—was a sort of homecoming for her. Annika has particularly fond memories associated with this year’s pilgrimage and says that her favorite moment from the weekend was “walking to my family’s farm (where we stayed for the second night of the pilgrimage) and getting to show my fellow students where I live, the nearby church where my parents were married, and asking them to pray for my parents on their anniversary.”
“I can say without a doubt that this pilgrimage has improved my spiritual life, which, in turn, has affected all other areas of my life—especially my life as a student.”
–Bernadette Lloyd, ’23
When asked about her experience leading and organizing the College’s troupe of pilgrims, Bernadette remarked, “I quickly realized that I needed to offer my work to God as a prayer. That is, every job I had to do, whether waking the students up in the wee hours of the morning for Holy Mass, or encouraging them to quicken their pace, was my own pilgrimage. As an organizer, my prayer is to help even one soul learn to pray better and to endure their suffering well. That is something I reminded my brigade of throughout the day: remember to suffer well!” This is the true attitude of the pilgrim: the willingness to do what is difficult for the sake of God’s glory.
This pilgrimage is not all suffering and penance, however. Bernadette attests that, overall, marching in the Pilgrimage for Restoration “is a joyful experience.” Each day of the pilgrimage is punctuated by singing, laughter, and conversation. Each evening, everyone gathers around large bonfires to eat their dinner and enjoy each other’s company. One of the nights is reserved for a talent show that everyone watches and participates in. Pilgrims entertain one another with a wide variety of skits, jokes, and musical performances. This year’s pilgrimage was host to a wide variety of acts, from an eight-year-old juggler to a ten-year-old bagpiper, complete with full Scottish regalia. Thomas More students took full advantage of this opportunity for fun: a group of sophomores and juniors captivated their audience with a spirited rendition of “Lead Kindly Light,” and one freshman displayed his prowess in juggling. Just as pilgrimage teaches one the value of suffering well, so too does it teach one the value of sharing true joy and laughter with one’s friends.
On this pilgrimage, students had the opportunity to encounter Christ in a profound manner by uniting their suffering with His. Moreover, they were all able to grow in trust, love, and humility in their interactions with each other in a way that is only possible through the unique experience of sharing trials and burdens. Bernadette is familiar with the powerful effect that making a pilgrimage together can have on a group of friends. She notes that “the motto of the Pilgrimage is ‘no one makes pilgrimage alone.’ This means that not only the physical marching, but the planning and preparation, even the recovery afterwards—all this suffering is undergone together with the pilgrims in your brigade. If you are overly confident in yourself and do not ask those around you for help when you need it, then you are not making a good pilgrimage! Your suffering must be united with Christ in His walk to Calvary—and even He had Simon help carry His cross!” Bernadette witnessed firsthand the camaraderie that suffering together naturally bred among the Thomas More pilgrims this year and remarks, “I was overjoyed to see the pilgrims from Thomas More helping each other every day, offering their jackets to each other when they got cold, staying back with someone who was injured—even when they wanted to keep walking—and taking the backpack of a classmate when it got too heavy. All of this showed that they were denying their own will for the sake of Christ, whom they saw in each other.”
The act of making a pilgrimage is an edifying and necessary part of the authentic Christian life, and it is an equally importantaspect in the career of a Thomas More student. When asked how her experience as a pilgrim has helped her academically, Annika replied, “It’s taught me virtues that carry over into my studies. It’s helped me persevere and overcome difficulties.” Bernadette can also attest to the multiple ways in which her time as a pilgrim has benefitted her: “I can say without a doubt that this pilgrimage has improved my spiritual life, which, in turn, has affected all other areas of my life—especially my life as a student. As Catholics, we know that we must suffer to attain the Kingdom of Heaven. Being a student requires us to pursue our studies; similarly, a walking pilgrimage teaches the pilgrim that he or she must suffer well for our suffering to have merit.” Now that all the pilgrims are safely returned to campus, one need only look around and witness the love, attention, and renewed devotion that each has given to his or her studies, friendships, and faith to conclude that Thomas More College has been deeply blessed by this opportunity to continue its tradition of making pilgrimages and sacrifices together as one community.
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