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Pilgrimages of Europe : Complete
Set of Twelve VHS Cassettes |
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Pilgrimages are as old as mankind. The mystical and spiritual nature of a
pilgrimage holds an eternal, mythic appeal to the imagination of many
people. Every year millions of pilgrims of all nationalities, young and old,
set out on these voyages of the soul. The twelve documentaries in the series
Pilgrimages of Europe are experiential journeys to some of the most sacred
routes and holy places throughout Christian Europe.
These half-hour documentaries, richly filmed, look at the spiritual,
cultural and historical background of twelve pilgrimage sites throughout
Europe. However, the people, the pilgrims themselves, are at the heart of
these stories – their purposes and desires, their motivations, and the great
sense of the holy and the sacred which they find on their journeys of faith.
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands
The history of Amsterdam as an ancient place of pilgrimage dates to the
Middle Ages. In the 13th or 14th centuries, Amsterdam was nothing but a
small settlement at the mouth of the river Amstel. It was also called
Miracle City, and it owes that name to the Miracle of the Holy Sacrament. On
March 13th, 1345, a dying man was given the Sacrament of the Sick in his
house on Kalverstraat. He confessed and received Holy Communion. Afterwards
he ate and was sick. He vomited and the bowl was emptied in the fire. The
sacred host floated above the flames, unscathed. The priest was called, who
took the host back to the church, but twice the host returned inexplicably
to the house of the sick man. The priest saw the hand of God in this and
decided to return the host in a solemn procession. A chapel was built on the
site of the miracle. Medieval Amsterdam grew into an important place of
pilgrimage. And every year still, on the 3rd Saturday in March, thousands of
pilgrims from all over the Holland take part in the procession. Most arrive
by bus or train. But in many of the smaller towns surrounding Amsterdam the
entire journey is made on foot, some pilgrims walking as many as 40 miles to
reach Amsterdam.
CROAGH PATRICK, Ireland
In the 4th century A.D. the monk Patrick travelled to pagan Ireland to
convert the Irish to Christianity. Patrick won the population over by
integrating venerated pagan symbols, like the sun, into the Christian faith.
Croagh Patrick, a mountain on Ireland’s wild western coast, is such a
symbol. During a dispute with the druids, Patrick was challenged to fast for
forty days and forty nights on their holy mountain. “Our gods will destroy
you,” they threatened. Patrick accepted their challenge. After forty days
and nights on the mountain, he made his descent, none the worse for wear.
From then onward, his influence grew by leaps and bounds. To this day Saint
Patrick remains the patron saint of Ireland. Every Irishman climbs Croagh
Patrick at least once in his life, as his ancestors did even before the dawn
of the Christian era.
FATIMA, Portugal
The history of Fatima can be traced to the beginning of the 20th Century.
Three children witnessed the sudden appearance of the Holy Virgin beneath an
oak tree. They described her as a “lady of white light.” Mary instructed the
children to recite the rosary every day. She appeared to them five times
again that summer, her last appearance marked by a miracle, the miraculous
“solar phenomenon” of Fatima. Several years after the appearances, two of
the three children died. Lucia, ten years old at the time of the appearance,
joined the Carmelite order of nuns. Her mission was to proclaim the message
she had received from the Holy Virgin to the world. Fatima has become the
most important destination for pilgrims in Portugal, attracting over a
million and a half travelers yearly. The trek to Fatima is usually done in
exchange for a favor received. Pilgrims often make a promesa, a personal vow
to do penance as a sign of their gratitude to the Virgin. For many, this
means covering the last 500 yards on the marble floor to the Chapel of the
Apparitions on their knees.
IONA, Scotland
A small island off the western coast of Scotland was of vital importance to
the earliest years of the Christianization of England and Northern Europe.
An Irish monk named Columba came to Iona in the 6th century to spread the
Christian faith. Right up to the present day, many pilgrims have followed
and continue to follow in Columba’s footsteps. The journey to Iona is a long
one. Since there is no direct connection by boat from the mainland, one must
travel via the island of Mull. As Iona comes into view, one can also see the
outline of the old abbey, which is where the present community of Iona is
housed. Hundreds of people stay at the abbey during their visit, and it is
an ever-changing population, an ecumenical community. Most of the guests
stay here for a week, to study, to talk and to pray and meditate amidst the
peace and quiet of the island.
KALWARIA ZEBRZYDOWSKA, Poland
In the 17th century, Jerusalem fell into the hands of the Turks. The
European aristocracy could no longer journey on pilgrimages to the Holy
Land. They were forced to find an alternative. The Polish nobleman
Zebrzydowski decided to have a replica of Calgary built on his estate. In
the southern hills of Poland eight chapels appeared with a church and a
monastery at the center. It was the work of a lifetime, enlarged and
improved by his son and later, by his grandson. The holy site was entrusted
to the care of the Bernardine order. Today, throughout the year, pilgrims
flock to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary
and of course Poland itself. They walk the ancient Way of the Cross,
stepping into the many chapels along the way to sing and pray.
KEVELAER, Germany
Hendrik Busman, a merchant, knelt in prayer one day beside the wayside
shrine just outside of Kevelaer. Suddenly he heard a mysterious voice asking
him to build a little chapel on the spot. This occurrence was repeated
twice. In the same year Hendrik’s wife Mechel was offered to buy a picture
of Our Lady of Luxembourg. Shortly afterwards, Mechel had a vision during
the night: in a clear light, she saw a little chapel with the very same
picture inside. When Hendrik Busman learned of this, he hesitated no longer.
The little chapel was built in May 1642 and the image of mercy placed
inside. The first pilgrims came to Kevelaer that same day. An annual
tradition, said to date from the year 1733, is the walk from Bocholt to
Kevelaer. Men and women of all ages travel the 30 miles in one day. About a
thousand people take part in this pilgrimage every year.
LOURDES, France
The story of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes has been recorded
in detail in handwritten documents. In the middle of the 1800s Lourdes was
an obscure village in the south of France at the foot of the Pyrenees. The
Soubirous family was reduced to poverty, when Monsieur Soubirous lost his
job due to an accident at the water mill in which he lost an eye. The eldest
child, Bernadette, was often sent to collect wood. On an icy day in February
1858, she saw a vision of a white lady in a grotto by the river. During the
last of 18 apparitions, the lady revealed her identity, calling herself the
Immaculate Conception. Each year, especially during the summer, special
trains leave various European countries bound for Lourdes. Pilgrimage
committees on a non-profit basis organize the trips. Lourdes has become the
major pilgrimage center for the sick and infirm. Pilgrims make the journey
with large groups of bedridden patients and the disabled. Helpers accompany
them, including doctors and nurses, all volunteers. All day long a steady
stream of tourists visit the site in the grotto where Mary appeared. Many
people feel that drinking the water or bathing in it does them good. Many
have been cured.
MEDJUGORJE, Bosnia
On June 24th, 1981, two young girls hiked up the mountain behind their house
in search of sheep, in the small village of Medjugorje, in former
Yugoslavia. Suddenly they were overcome by a huge display of light and
color, and the Virgin Mary appeared before them. Shocked and fearful, they
ran back down the mountain to fetch their friends. Six youngsters then
returned to the mountain where they witnessed the apparition once again.
Medjugorje is in that part of Yugoslavia now called Bosnia-Hercegovina, a
region destroyed by the civil war. It is a miracle that the village itself
is still intact, without doubt a sign of Mary’s continual presence, and of
her message of peace. Pilgrims now come here from every corner of the globe.
Vicka, one of the children to whom the Virgin appeared, still lives in one
of the hamlets near Medjugorje, and several times a week she emerges from
her home to address the pilgrims.
EL ROCIO, Spain
The Romeria de El Rocio is the most important pilgrimage to the Blessed
Mother on the Iberian Peninsula. El Rocio is in Andalusia in the deep south
of Spain. The many pilgrims who flock to the little town every year come to
venerate the Holy Virgin of El Rocio, also know as the Virgin of the Dew. In
the 15th century a hunter who lived near Almonte, discovered a statuette of
Mary hidden in the trunk of a tree. He took it with him but was overcome
with fatigue on his way home. When he awoke the statuette had disappeared.
The hunter returned to the tree where he found the figurine again. In that
place, called Rocina, a little church was built, and thus began the
veneration of the Virgin of the Dew. During the week before Pentecost about
a million pilgrims, the Rocieros, make their way to El Rocio on foot, on
horseback, in oxcarts, on tractors or in cars. The trip often takes many
days. During the night after Pentecost Sunday the sacred event will take
place. The Virgin of the Dew will emerge from the church to greet her
people. No one knows the exact timing. For the people of Andalusia there
will always be an El Rocio. The day after Pentecost the Rocieros are already
making preparations for the following year. For them El Rocio is more than
just a pilgrimage. It is a way of life.
LES SAINTES MARIES DE LA MER, France
This is the story of the two Marys, the mothers of the disciples John and
Jacob, whose boat was shipwrecked off the coast of southern France. They had
fled by sea after being banished from Palestine. Their boat began to sink
near Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, a small town in the Camargue, where the
river Rhone flows into the Mediterranean. According to the legend, Sara, a
gypsy, watched from the beach as the boat foundered. She spread her cloak
and both Marys safely reached shore. They told Sara of Christ’s
resurrection, and Sara asked the women to baptize her. Every year tens of
thousands of gypsies from all over the world come to Les Saintes Maries.
They come to worship their patron saint, the woman they call Saint Sara. In
the morning they visit the crypt where the statue of Sara is displayed.
Later in the day the statue is taken from the crypt and carried out to sea
accompanied by a grand procession of gypsies. Although Sara has not been
formally recognized by the church, it has made a gesture, declaring May 24th
as Sara’s official saint’s day.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain
Santiago de Compostela was one of the three holy cities of the world during
the Middle Ages. From far and wide pilgrims made their way on foot to the
city in northwestern Spain to visit the shrine of the apostle, St. James.
According to the legend, James went to Spain after Christ’s crucifixion to
preach the gospel. On his return to Jerusalem he was captured by King Herod
and beheaded. The friends and followers of James put the apostle’s body in a
boat and pushed it out to sea. After a journey of many months, the body,
covered in seashells, washed ashore in Galicia on the western coast of
Spain. The shell later became the symbol of St. James Way. James was buried
further inland. His tomb was discovered much later, around 850 A.D. and
since then a steady stream of pilgrims have always visited his shrine in
greater or lesser numbers. About 8,000 pilgrims from across Europe still
make the journey every year. At the Pyrenees their ways meet. In Spain only
one road, the Camino, leads to Santiago.
SCHERPENHEUVEL, Belgium
The history of Scherpenheuvel, the Belgium place of pilgrimage, begins with
an age-old legend. Around the year 1500 a shepherd found a statuette of Mary
in an old oak tree on the Scherpe Heuvel (pointed hill) between the villages
of Aarschot and Diest. When he tried to pick up the statuette he stopped as
if petrified. He could not move. His worried master found him a few hours
later, frozen in place, with the statuette in his hand. The master took it
from the shepherd’s hands and placed it back in the tree. Only then could
the man move again. Ever since then Scherpenheuvel has been an important
pilgrimage site. Today, it is perhaps best known for its traditional annual
walk, a walk of atonement during which the pilgrims travel on foot,
beginning their journey in Antwerp. Some 35 miles long, it is often called
“The Great Trek.”
LENGTH: 12 half-hour videocassettes
ORDER CODE: JM20233V
VHS
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