Welcome to June, readers!  It’s the first Sunday of the month, so I have a new challenge for you all: to go on a local pilgrimage.

Umm… go WHERE?

This sounds more daunting than it really is.  If you do a quick Google search for Catholic sites near you, you may be surprised at what you find!  You may just go to a new church to look at some new stained glass windows, offer a prayer in the chapel, and light a candle.  It would be especially interesting to visit (or even attend the Mass) at a church that is very different from your own: more traditional or more modern, or a different Rite of Catholicism, such as Maronite or Byzantine (learn more about Catholic Rites here!).  Maybe there is a convent, monastery, or a simple prayer garden within a few miles of your home.  If you are lucky, you may even have a shrine, the tomb of a Saint, or the site of a miracle nearby.  Who knows!  

If you have the time and energy, you could book a weekend road trip to something farther away, but just taking a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon for a local pilgrimage can still be a rewarding experience.  Our Church is truly universal, so there is always something new to see wherever you are.  As always, I would love to hear where you go and what it was like in the comments below!

Update on last month’s challenge

Last month, our marriage challenge was to attend adoration and worship Jesus in the Eucharist.  Revisit that post (and some great guest content from fellow Catholic author Cynthia Brewer) here!  

As my mom was visiting and could watch our kids, Chris and I actually got to go to Adoration together.  It was a quiet, calm evening that brought some much-needed peace in that last week before the kids and I flew out of Florida to start a new chapter of our family’s life in North Carolina.  Being alone with Jesus and my husband was an experience I hadn’t been able to enjoy for a while (#momlife), but I hope we can make it happen more often because it is so important and beautiful.  I hope you were able to attend also, or that you can soon!