The Nialls' 2023 Family Pilgrimage
A Real-Life Example: Our 2023 Summer Vacation
Incorporating a family pilgrimage into your vacation doesn’t mean that everything will go perfectly! The imperfect realities of human interactions still come into play. This year, our family vacation was filled with the ups and downs of family life. We have four children, aged 18, 15, 12, and 8 years. The age range of our children always makes for interesting dynamics. Our 18-year-old is down-to-earth; her temperament allows for flexibility and she helps plan and prepare. Our 15-year-old is a free spirit and wants all the adventures to fall in his lap. The 12- and 8-year-olds are also flexible, but tend to fight if they are not entertained and only like to help if it's their idea. This mix of personalities adds to the sense of adventure
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Day 1: Covered Bridges and Climbing Trees
This year, we started our trip with my favorite activity: visiting covered bridges. Everyone enjoyed the different aspects of the bridges but the kids especially loved the more active elements: climbing rocks and playing by the water. Afterwards, we climbed the tree tops, rode down the lazy (or not-so-lazy!) river, and went out for a family dinner. Saying that it was peaceful every moment would not be honest. There were many fights, changing of seats in the car, and even losing Mom on the lazy river, but memories were definitely made.
Day 2: Pilgrimage Day
On the second day of our family trip, we went on a pilgrimage adventure. It became very clear that Satan, the enemy of family life, didn’t want us to have peaceful time together as a family, especially time spent with our Lord: our day began with a dead battery and a difficult call to AAA. But with the help of our Lord, we persevered.
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Though our day started late, we went to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs, about an hour from our Airbnb. When we finally arrived at the Shrine, we decided to begin with a visit to the chapel and then the gift shop. My two youngest children, who have been to the shrine before, took Dad to see the ravine where Saint Isaac Jogues buried Saint Renee Gupil's body. Then we went back and visited St. Kateri's museum. The shrine is the birthplace of St. Kateri. We walked the holy ground where St. Isaac Jogues and St. John Lalande were martyred. We attended Sunday Mass at the Coliseum and ended the day by visiting the beautiful grounds that St. Kateri lived on and the spring she was baptized in.
Days 3 and 4: Lazy Days at the Beach and Bash Bish Falls
The third and fourth days of our trip consisted of a beach day and our drive home with a stop at Bash Bish Falls. Our beach day was our lazy day. Many of us slept in, packed our gear slowly, and went off to the beach. Our 18-year-old enjoyed the beach, while the two youngest are still playful enough to enjoy swimming and playing in the playground. Unfortunately, our 15-year-old was bored and often on his phone. Nevertheless, more memories were made, including a trip back to the house for a break and games during a storm, reminding us that sometimes unplanned moments are the most memorable.
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Our trip ended with a short hike to Bash Bish Falls and a swim. It was fun to walk into Massachusetts from New York, but it was a little disappointing not to be able to walk down to the falls. But it was a good reminder that all family adventures - like life as a whole - have their ups and their downs, their disappointments and their joys.
Personal Takeaways
This year, our family vacation pilgrimage was filled with many different emotions ranging from peace, love, and joy to boredom, sadness, and exhaustion. But through all of these emotions, we journeyed together as a family and grew in our faith.
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Most of all, our summer pilgrimage helped me realize that the journey of faith looks different for each member of our family. As a mother, I realized that I must respect the journeys of each of my kids while continuing to expose them to the truth, goodness, and beauty of our faith. Though it may not seem obvious at the moment, I trust that God will use our family pilgrimages to shower on our children the graces they need to nurture their faith.
