One of the cool things about being Christian is that there’s a whole menu of religious devotions. Two such devotions, pilgrimages and retreats, are spiritually more involved and often entail something like “go here, and do this religious thing.” But pilgrimages are not exactly the same as a retreat or vice versa. Let’s take a look at pilgrimages versus retreats.
What is a pilgrimage?
I’ve covered what a pilgrimage is before in a previous post. But basically, a pilgrimage involves more of a physical journey to a sacred place. Many popular pilgrimages involve visiting significant places in Jesus’ life and ministry in the Holy Land, visiting churches dedicated to the apostles in the places where they died, or visiting places associated with miracles or saints.
Pilgrimages can be very physical because they involve travel, but the travel itself is part of the spiritual experience and devotion. More hardcore pilgrimages involve a lot of walking. I know that doing one of the longest Camino de Santiago routes is a walking journey of 1000 km across Spain in order to reach the basilica where St. James the Greater is buried.
I also want to bring up the point that pilgrimages have you out and about in the world, which is in contrast to retreats. Speaking of retreats…
What is a retreat?
I bet most people have been on a retreat of some sort, moreso than a pilgrimage. Retreats typically cost way less! Haha.
According to Fr. Hardon (2008), a retreat is a:
“withdrawal for a period of time from one’s usual surroundings and occupation to a place of solitude for meditation, self-examination, and prayer, in order to make certain necessary decisions in one’s spiritual life” (p. 466)
A retreat is not an escape from the rigors of daily life, but rather a regrouping and refreshing in order to go back into daily life with renewed vigor. When soldiers retreat from battle, they’re not giving up but rather temporarily removing themselves in order to regroup with the intent of returning to the battle.
There are many different kinds of retreats. I’ve been on silent retreats involving Ignatian spiritual exercises and retreats focusing on a theme meant to help having an authentic encounter with God.
Retreats tend to be more of a spiritual journey that involves going to a (hopefully) more isolated location in order to pray and contemplate. Some travel may be involved, but the real meat of a retreat is in the retreat itself.
Unlike pilgrimages that involve traveling in the world, retreats are stationary. Maybe retreats happen on retreat center grounds, but the only travel involved is from adjacent building to adjacent building.
Why is it important to know the difference between pilgrimages and retreats?
Encountering God in a real way is possible on both pilgrimages and retreats, but how that is achieved can look different. Pilgrimages tend to involve a sensory or tangible approach to the sacred whereas retreats tend to focus on the interior like your prayer life. A pilgrimage can have you visit St. Faustina’s convent in Poland, but a retreat can have you contemplating Jesus’ message of His Divine Mercy to St. Faustina.
I think the other major difference is physicality. Pilgrimages involve travel, often from place to place. Retreats, on the other hand, have you traveling to one place and staying there. And I don’t think most people travel far to go on a retreat.
Can I be on both a pilgrimage and a retreat at the same time?
I would say yes. I recently did this when I traveled to Phoenix, AZ to visit some local churches, shrines, and monasteries. But I also treated it like a retreat as I had a do-it-yourself retreat book with me as well. I spent a lot of time praying, journaling, and going through the book even as I visited different sacred places around Phoenix.
Check out that pilgrimage report here.
Hopefully this post illustrates some differences between pilgrimages and retreats!
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References
Hardon, John A., S.J. (2008). A Modern Catholic Dictionary. Bardstown, KY: Eternal Life.
JR is a full-time engineer working in the aerospace industry. Apart from having such a fly job, he flies unto the arms of Our Lady and the Church pursuing his faith and a relationship with Christ. Over the past several years, faith and flying via pilgrimages became a thing. When he’s not being fly, JR hangs out with family, friends, his chihuahua, and with thoughts of the next trip.