At its heart the journey of each life is a pilgrimage
Through unforeseen sacred places
That enlarge and enrich the soul ( John O'Donohue)
A large part of my pilgrimage has been the journey into the faith of others. It has been a sacred encounter and a pilgrimage which has truly enriched my soul. It began when I studied at Lancaster University. It was a series of coincidences that led me to that university and I was not to know when I started there what a life –changing experience it would be. Having been brought up as a catholic and having spent all my education within the catholic sector before becoming a catholic nun meant that my time in Lancaster was the first time in my life I lived and worked within a secular context. But it was an exciting and exhilarating context. Not only did I study world religions for the first time but I came into contact with devout people who practised these religions and for whom they seemed to be a source of inspiration, meaning and grace. This was a great challenge as I discovered that what I thought of as the truth was a faith perspective and only one faith perspective amongst others. I also discovered that there were basic oncepts which underlay all religions. These encounters were enough to make me wonder where my own faith had come from and what doctrines such as the Trinity and the Resurrection really meant. Although it was disturbing at the time I now look upon that time at Lancaster as the most graced moment of my life. It was a moment which led me to reconsider my understanding of my own faith and to re-articulate it in terms that were meaningful to me. I was changed by that experience of Lancaster. I was disturbed in the security of my one-sided perspective as I came to understand that what I took to be the truth was only a perspective on the truth. I came to recognise the great diversity that there is in God and the search for God which is deep within all religions and indeed within all human hearts. I was able to recognise what was essential and what was peripheral in my faith as I came to rethink my understanding of God, religion and truth.
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