Tourist or Pilgrim?

Although I'm making a pilgrimage to Assisi, I took the day off today to be a tourist, have a break, and look around the lovely French town of Châtillon-sur-Seine. Which reminded me of an interesting article I read before setting off, by an Irish Catholic priest named Frank Fahey, and titled Pilgrims or Tourists?

I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Fr Fahey suggests that there are eight aspects of pilgrimage that mark it out as different from simple tourism (I'm quoting his words):

1.  FAITH: "Pilgrimage is essentially a journey in faith or at least with an element of faith expectancy in it. In this most people are indeed pilgrims."
2. PENANCE: "Pilgrimage is about growth—in search of wholeness. Growth entails 'change' and in the context of pilgrimage, change means 'change of heart'."
3. COMMUNITY: "Tourists can seek the company they choose, the persons that they eat with, the people they talk to on a tour. Pilgrims shouldn't. They must and should be open to all."
4. SACRED SPACE: "The essential journey of the pilgrim is the journey inwards to that sacred space within the heart where the Holy Spirit dwells."
5. RITUAL EXPRESSION: "An externalization (engaging mind, body, heart, spirit, imagination) of what is happening within ... the lighting of a candle, the throwing of a stone into a river or lake, a ritual washing or bath, a burning of our 'sins,' an extra prayer, a walk on bare feet, are expressions of a change of heart."
6. VOTIVE SACRIFICE: "The leaving behind of some part of ourselves—a symbol of our 'letting go' ... it is more than a ritual expression. It is, if it is to be a votive sacrifice, a symbol of the pain of having let go."
7. CELEBRATION: "There should always be celebration after a victory ... the victory here is the victory of God's grace over the weakness of our human nature ... the Lord indeed, has enabled us to transcend and grow in grace—all praise to him."
8. PERSEVERANCE: "Pilgrimage is never over. It is always journeying into the mystery of God and our conscious participation in that mystery and God is infinite. In heaven there will be the ecstasy of the journey and discovery without the agony. Here on the earth there is often more agony than ecstasy."

I should note that he's not knocking tourists(!), just trying to draw out the differences.

I've been working on the first four of these so far, the latter four are still to come. But do let me know your thoughts (you can read the whole article here).