Pilgrimage Sunday

Every good Catholic vacation needs to have some sort of pilgrimage attached to it. That really isn't hard to do, beings the Church is everywhere in the world and saints come from all corners of the earth. For us, this took place in downtown Edinburgh. Oh yeah, we picked up a straggler too. 

Spain really isn't that far away. So, Gerry jumped the pond and joined us for a couple days of Catholic Cowboy fun. 

Our first stop on Sunday morning was at St. Mary's Cathedral. I had made arrangements beforehand to concelebrate at their 9am Mass. 

Beautiful church. Built in the late 19th century. There are different areas where Christianity, and Catholicism is particular, are alive and well. There are also other places where it is barely hanging on. It remains pretty lively in downtown Edinburgh. Our Mass was fairly full. 

Why this cathedral is entrusted to Our Lady...? Why not? Can't go wrong with Mary. She always leads us to Jesus. Every pilgrimage I take, I like to renew my entrustment to Mary. Just following in the footsteps of Jesus. 

Tradition holds that Scotland was evangelized by the Apostle Andrew. He, like most of the Apostles, died a martyr's death. Andrew was crucified on an X shaped cross. You often see him figured holding this cross and you see it in different symbols around the country. Particularly on the Scottish flag, which is blue with a white shaped X across it. 

Fr. Jeremy and Dcn. Peter were quite friendly and accommodating. 

After Mass we took a stroll downtown. 

There's a bagpiper on every corner around here. 

Our destination was the Edinburgh Castle. 

Back in its day, this place was a force to be reckoned with. Hard to describe the magnitude of this fortress and its purpose to protect and defend. There's a lot of history in these stone walls. 

The highlight of our Pilgrimage Sunday was St. Margaret's Chapel. Queen Margaret of Scotland was not from Scotland, but married the king after her family was forced to flee England. After that, she bore eight children and lived a holy life dedicated to God and neighbor.

This chapel was built in the 12th century and was a common place for the royal family to pray and have Mass celebrated. It remains the oldest standing building on the castle premises. 

Beautiful, noble simplicity. Here, we prayed for ourselves and for others just like St. Margaret would've done. 

Bring it. 

Fun stuff. Vacations are always funner when God is the source and summit. Our Lord was the leading force on this trip. And it was Him, who was our great culmination. Just like life. When Jesus is our alpha and omega, everything in between falls nicely into place. This trip to Scotland has been a good gig. Wonder what awaits us next? Only one way to find out... Let's ranch.