Epiphany 2001

On the Millenium Pilgrimage

We have just completed a wonder-filled pilgrimage to the shrine of Bishop Charles Grafton in the cathedral of St. Paul in Fond du Lac, WI. Some may ask, what is a pilgrimage? It is a journey both physical and spiritual to a particular historical place, sometimes identified as a shrine where there once happened in a moment a vision of the intersection of time and eternity.

Such is the incredibly beautiful cathedral of St. Paul wherein lies the alabaster sarcophagus of Bishop Grafton. We started the procession to the cathedral on the lawns outside the large convent of the sisters of the Holy Nativity which Bishop Grafton founded. By the time I arrived, the high school band in full uniform was ready to march. The clergy in their white surplices and cassocks were already in formation, and were prepared to move forward. More and more laity poured into the ranks of their fellows. To the joyous sounds of Onward Christian Soldiers we moved forward, flags flying, cross and tapers at the front, police motorcycles ahead and behind. We began our march of witness to St. Paul's cathedral.

It ended with a solemn procession as we sang the litany of the Saints to the chapel and sarcophagus of Bishop Grafton. Only there, as each pilgrim knelt and placed his lighted candle below the gleaming white tomb of the Bishop, did we grasp the significance of the moment. Our destiny, our end, our pilgrimage lies outside of time. Our eternal home is with God and His Saints.

+The Most Reverend Robert Sherwood Morse