Pilgrimage of the Heart: A trail guide to the pilgrimage of our lives as Christians
Congratulations to our Tending the Holy Alum Father Kevin Goodrich, on the publication of his new book Pilgrimage of the Heart: Walter Hilton and the English Mystical Tradition, published in December 2024. Father Goodrich serves as Pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Dubuque, Iowa, and is also an active Spiritual Director, author and retreat leader. We had a chance to talk to him recently:
What was the impetus for writing this book? I’ve been studying English mystics for many years, especially Walter Hilton, and writing mostly academic texts. This book is meant for a wider audience interested in spirituality, the spiritual life, contemplation and pilgrimage. The impetus for this book is my own Christian journey. I wouldn’t be a Christian without the Christian mystics.
“This book is an invitation for readers to make their life a pilgrimage and go beyond wandering the hills of the Spirit to resolutely, intentionally, seeking their treasures.”
How did you write differently for this wider audience? What do you hope will be the value and impact of the book?
This book is for people interested in growing their faith, going deeper. Also for people who have an interest in spiritual writers like Julian of Norwich, who is the most famous of the English mystics. The book includes exercises for small groups, stories and other ways to integrate the concept of pilgrimage into your daily walk. Part of the inspiration for the book is that in the Middle Ages, there were printed pilgrim guides that would give people a map, information on where to stay, what to do, and so forth. So in a way this is a trail guide to the pilgrimage that is our life as a Christian. This guide includes tips, tricks, side journeys, illustrations and companions – other mystics whose experiences accompany you on your own journey.
If someone is more of an armchair traveler and not able to travel to places like Norwich or Iona, how can they create their own pilgrimage in their own space?
That’s really the premise of the book: we can make our whole lives a pilgrimage. We can benefit from a physical pilgrimage, but we can make our wholes lives– at work, at home, in our relationships. A pilgrimage is a sacred journey to a sacred place, whether you’re going to your home, to church, to work, even to a local park.
Here’s what readers are saying about the book:
“We’re invited to become friends with these great mystical companions in order to make our own pilgrimages; whether activist or contemplative, especially devout or just travellers on the way. Here is rich fayre more than sufficient for transformative journeys.”
- The Very Rev’d David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury
“A Pilgrimage of the Heart is a true gift for anyone on a spiritual journey toward a deeper relationship with God and each other. Whether you’re a spiritual director, training to be a spiritual director, or you are just searching for more, this book is for you! Father Kevin, in his beautifully inclusive ecumenical way, invites us to enter into the fullness of what God desires for each of us, reminds us that we are not meant to walk this journey alone, shows us the importance of contemplative spiritual practices in the midst of our daily lives, and introduces us to mystics that have walked this path before us and continue to light the way.”
- Heidi Lender, Executive Director, Christos Center for Spiritual Formation
Learn more about Fr. Kevin here.
