What can we do for our deceased on the practical level, for our loved-ones who have departed? During the month of November which is traditionally devoted to praying for the deceased, Montligeon suggests that we go on a pilgrimage. Why have a pilgrimage in November for a deceased?
When we love somebody, we say so. Sometimes though, we do not say it enough. Yet, to show our love, words are not sufficient. We also need practical actions, like for instance getting a little help, some gifts, some quality time, some loving-kindness or words of appreciation.
(C) Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Montligeon.
And what when it comes to a deceased person?
The bounds that tie us to our deceased still last after their death. We can still tell them that we love them, through words, prayers, thoughts, movements from the heart, thanks or asking them to forgive us.
We can also show them our affection and do something for them by going on a pilgrimage. According to don Paul Denizot, the rector of the Montligeon Shrine, it is a “real embodiment of hope that we can experience through faith”.
A pilgrimage is a purposeful journey, it allows you to leave your daily life, your comfort and get outside yourself. Quite similar to the pilgrimage we complete on earth, which leads you to heaven.
(C) Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de Montligeon.
A pilgrimage in November
Being pilgrims is something we experience throughout our life. We can experience it more specifically in November. Let’s go to a pilgrimage to reunite our whole life and place in under our Lord’s gaze!
Don François-Marie André, chaplain
In November, the Shrine Notre-Dame de Montligeon hosts five pilgrimages for the deceased, on 1, 2, 3, 10 and 17 Nov.
Why Montligeon?
This shrine based in the Normand region of Le Perche has been praying for the dead since the founding of the Oeuvre de Montligeon in 1884. Originally the purpose of this fraternity for prayer, which spans continents and ages, in Abbé Buguet’s idea, was to pray for the most neglected souls in purgatory, that is the dead for whom no one prays.
What sort of experience is it?
Like Fabrice, experience a day in Montligeon.
