Guy Stagg Quotes

At the start of the journey, I thought I was walking into the wreckage of Christianity. My impression now was of how much remained, holding tight to its decayed inheritance. Despite the decline of religion in Europe, it was still possible to cross the continent like a medieval pilgrim: traveling on foot, stopping at shrines, and supported by charity. Still possible to find comfort in pilgrim rites, even if the belief was gone. So maybe decline was also evidence of endurance, and loss the price we pay for surviving.

The pilgrimage provided a sense of purpose. As well as the long march towards Jerusalem, it also knitted my life into the landscape. The months were replaced by the shifting seasons, while he weeks were measured out in rounds of worship. Staying in monasteries and convents, presbyteries and churches calmed what was restless within me, and during the regular services I noticed how the minutes slowed and the silence assembled, until the days were worth more than they had been before.