“Roads That Work on You”
The ritual of the nine churches
Nine Sundays, nine stops, and a road that took shape inside me as I walked it. The journal of a ritual lived step by step, beginning on 28 December 2025.
It's not a church tour
The Ritual of the Nine Churches is an old custom: you walk on foot, in one direction, never turning back the same way, and you carry an intention with you. At every stop you light a candle and leave something of yourself there.
I walked it for nine Sundays in a row. Not out of discipline, and not to tick a box, but because I felt that repetition does its work. The same rhythm, the same intention, week after week. What changed was not the road. It was me.
How it began for me
I can't quite remember what the weather was like that Saturday before. What I remember very clearly is what was happening in my mind. It resisted, constantly.
It's going to rain. It's going to snow. There'll be a flood. Of course this Sunday had to be the worst day of the whole year. Where do you think you're going. You'll freeze, you'll get soaked to the skin, you'll get sick.
The thoughts came one after another, without a pause. The same phrases, over and over, like background noise that wouldn't stop. It went on like that all Saturday evening. As if a part of me was trying with all its strength to stop me, to turn me back, before anything had truly begun.
[…]
I went to the window and — what do you know — it wasn't raining. It wasn't snowing. There was no flood. It was cold, yes, but with a hat and gloves I knew I'd manage. I drink my coffee. I get dressed. I walk out the gate.
As I was locking the gate, the church bells rang. The bells of the very church I was about to walk to, some twenty minutes from home on foot. It was waiting for me.
The walk was quiet. Surprisingly quiet, especially after the storm of words the night before. No pressure, no hurry. Just my steps and the cold air.
[…]
I walk out through the gate and I'm met by the most magnificent winter sun. No flood had come. My path had been lit.
What you'll find in the book
- The journal of the nine Sundays, written along the way, with doubts, signs and realizations.
- The real routes through Bucharest, with the names and addresses of the churches.
- What happens inside you when you return, week after week, to the same intention.
- Available in Romanian and English, as an ebook (EPUB) on Lulu.
You might be wondering
What if I don’t feel anything?
You don’t need to feel anything special. The process is not always visible.
What if I can’t keep the rhythm?
The ritual is not about perfection. It is about returning.
What if I don’t know where to go?
Any place can become part of the ritual, if it is chosen with intention.
How do I read an EPUB ebook?
After purchase, you download the file from Lulu. On your phone, open it with Google Play Books (Android) or Apple Books (iPhone). On a computer, any free ebook reader works, for example Calibre.
Do they have to be 9 churches?
Nu. Poate fi orice loc care are sens pentru tine — biserici, alte spații sacre sau pur și simplu locuri alese cu intenție.
What matters is not the place, but the rhythm, the continuity, and the presence with which you walk.
Maybe it’s not the moment. Or maybe it is.
You don’t have to be sure. You don’t need all the answers.
One step is enough. It is enough to begin.
Don’t begin the ritual in confusion
If you feel confused, sometimes it helps to see more clearly what you are carrying.
In such moments, a systemic perspective can bring clarity. What you are working through is not only personal. What you feel is not always entirely yours.
A session can offer you: insight into transgenerational dynamics → clarity around your intention → a direction for your ritual. It is not mandatory. But it can make the path more conscious.
What those who have walked this road say
Would you like to read about other rituals? Rituals and pilgrimages on the blog →