BLESSING OF PILGRIMS
In accord with ancient ecclesiastical discipline, pilgrims
who are to visit the holy shrines should obtain a letter of recommendation from
their Ordinary or pastor before they set out. Having put their affairs in
order, they prepare themselves with sacramental confession, assist at Mass and
receive holy communion. In this Mass the Collect for pilgrims (pro re gravi) is
said. After Mass they kneel before the priest who says the following (for the
music see the music supplement):
Antiphon: May the
almighty and merciful Lord lead you in the way of peace and prosperity. May the
Angel Raphael be your companion on the journey and bring you back to your homes
in peace, health, and happiness.
P: "Blessed be
the Lord, the God of Israel! * He has visited His people and brought about its
redemption.
All: He has raised for us a stronghold of salvation * in the house
of David His servant,
P: And redeemed the promise He had made * through the mouth of His
holy prophets of old--
All: To grant salvation from our foes * and from the hand of all
that hate us;
P: To deal in mercy with our fathers * and be mindful of His holy
covenant,
All: Of the oath he had sworn to our father Abraham, * that He
would enable us--
P: Rescued from the clutches of our foes--* to worship Him without
fear,
All: In holiness and observance of the Law, * in His presence, all
our days.
P: And you, my little one, will be hailed 'Prophet of the Most
High'; * for the Lord's precursor you will be to prepare His ways;
All: You are to impart to His people knowledge of salvation *
through forgiveness of their sins.
P: Thanks be to the merciful heart of our God! * a dawning Light
from on high will visit us
All: To shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadowland
of death, * and guide our feet into the path of peace."
P: Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world
without end. Amen.
Antiphon: May the
almighty and merciful Lord lead you in the way of peace and prosperity. May the
Angel Raphael be your companion on the journey and bring you back to your homes
in peace, health, and happiness.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Our Father (the rest inaudibly until:)
P: And lead us not
into temptation.
All: But deliver us
from evil.
P: Save your
servants.
All: Who trust in
Thee, my God.
P: Lord, send them
aid from Thy holy place.
All: And watch over
them from Sion.
P: Let them find in
Thee, Lord, a fortified tower.
All: In the face of
the enemy.
P: Let the enemy have
no power over them.
All: And the son of
iniquity be powerless to harm them.
P: May the Lord be
praised at all times.
All: May God, our
helper, grant us a happy journey.
P: Lord, show us Thy
ways.
All: And lead us
along Thy paths.
P: Oh, that our life
be bent.
All: On keeping Thy
precepts.
P: For the crooked
ways will be made straight.
All: And the rough
places plain.
P: God has given His
angels charge over you.
All: To guard you in
all your undertakings.
P: Lord, hear my
prayer.
All: And let my come
unto Thee.
P: The Lord be with
you.
All: And with thy
Spirit.
Let
us pray.
BLESSING OF RUCKSACKS
AND EMBLEMS
O Lord whose word makes all things holy,
bless, we beseech Thee, this emblem and rucksack to be used on pilgrimage. May he
who carries them arrive safely at the Monastery of Golgotha and the Holy City
of Rome, the objectives of his journey. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R: Amen
They
are sprinkled with Holy Water.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, (it is handed over) shoulder this
rucksack which will help you during your pilgrimage. May the fatigue of
carrying it be expiation for your sins, so that when you have been forgiven you
may reach your destination full of courage, and when your pilgrimage is over,
return home full of joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R:
Amen
Receive
this shell, as a sign of your pilgrimage. With God’s grace may you behave as a true
pilgrim throughout your entire journey and be able to reach your destination and
gain indulgences. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R:
Amen
Let us Pray.
O God, who led the
children of Israel dry-shod through the sea, and showed the way to the three
Magi by the guidance of a star; grant this pilgrim, we pray, a happy journey and
peaceful days, so that, with Thy holy angel as a guide, he may safely reach his
destination and finally come to the haven of everlasting salvation.
O God, who led Thy
servant, Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and kept him safe in all his
wanderings; may it please Thee, we pray, also to watch over this servant of
Thine. Be to him, O Lord, a help in his preparations, comfort on his way, shade
in the heat, shelter in the rain and cold, a carriage in tiredness, a shield in
adversity, a staff in insecurity, a haven in shipwreck; so that under your
guidance he may happily reach his destination, and finally return safe to his
home.
Lord, we beg Thee to
hear our request that you guide the steps of Thy servant along the path of
well-being that comes from Thee, and that in the midst of this fickle world he
may always live under Thy protection.
Grant, we pray, O
almighty God, that Thy pilgrim finds a safe route; and heeding the admonitions
of blessed John, the precursor, come finally to Him whom John foretold, Thy
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hear, O Lord, our
prayers, and kindly accompany Thy servant on his journey; and as Thou art
present everywhere lend him Thy aid at all times, so that with Thee as his
shield he will be defended from all dangers and pay Thee his homage of
gratitude; through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
May
the peace and blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit, come
upon you and remain with you forever.
All:
Amen.
They are sprinkled
with holy water.
(If there is only one pilgrim the prayers are said in the
singular; but if the priest who bestows the blessing is a member of the
pilgrimage they are said in the plural.)
