(c.1156-c.1207) Saint Bona was a mystic who experienced visions from childhood. At 14, she made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to visit her father, who was fighting in the Crusades. On her way home, Saint Bona was captured and briefly imprisoned by Islamic pirates. Not deterred from travel, she was a regular pilgrim to various holy sites throughout her life, often as a guide to other pilgrims. She is the patron of pilgrims and flight attendants.
Saint Bona and her passion for pilgrimage remind us of the “journeying” character of life. We are “on the way,” works in progress, and as long as there is breath in us, we are not done. There is no room for complacency. Keep working a program. Keep coming back!
“O God…Be for us our companion on the walk, Our guide at the crossroads, Our breath in our weariness, Our protection in danger…Our light in the darkness, Our consolation in our discouragements, And our strength in our intentions…In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen” (Pilgrim Prayer of Saint James, said at the end of pilgrim Masses along the Camino de Santiago, Saint Bona’s most traveled pilgrimage).
Reflection by Brad Farmer