This semester is really a series of pilgrimages. Because we started in England, our first religious pilgrimage was to Canterbury.

Canterbury has been a Christian pilgrimage sight for over one thousand years. Pilgrims started traveling there after miracles were reported at the tomb of Thomas a Becket, now St. Thomas a Becket. Thomas, the Archbishop of Canterbury, had been murdered by King Henry II’s knights and entombed in the cathedral. The miracles drew the people in droves there; inspiring the well known literary work Canterbury Tales.

St. Thomas’ memory was attacked by another king, King Henry VIII, who destroyed Thomas’ tomb and relics (remains) when he took control of the church, breaking ties with the Roman Catholic church, and established the church of England. The second picture shows the monument that honors Thomas’ memory and significance in this place and the Christian world.

Our day trip to Canterbury was a difficult one. Several of us weren’t feeling well due to a cold or virus of some we’d picked up earlier in the week, and a couple of our kids we’re bickering and moody most of the time. I assume many pilgrims to Canterbury have had difficult times as well.

Despite the difficulties, and possibly because of them, I was able to stop and ponder and pray in this very old and holy place. It was sobering to think about St. Thomas’ murder and all of the people who have been there, seeking an encounter with the Lord. It was inspiring to think about Augustine and Thomas and the goodness that fueled them as well as the communities that formed because of them. And it was personally sweet to walk to the remains of the Abby Augustine built; the same one I first read about twelve years ago with John, then an enthusiastic first grader and I a new homeschooler.

We were relieved to find out that Henry VIII did not completely succeed at destroying St. Thomas Becket’s remains. The Catholic church obtained some of them years before Henry VIII and protected them. There are two relics in a beautiful, little Catholic church there in Canterbury just up the road from the cathedral. We came across it and went in to pause a moment and pray, in between more sibling discord, which helped form my requests.

May your journey today, wherever it be, remind you that you are also just a pilgrim, passing through this life on your way home to be with God the father and may you be accompanied by people who help you along your way.