The Road Goes Ever On And On

Those who know me know that I am a JRR Tolkien fan, and today, between rosaries offered for those whom I have promised to pray for, Bilbo's walking song ran through my head:

Roads go ever ever on,

Over rock and under tree,

By caves where never sun has shone,

By streams that never find the sea;

Over snow by winter sown,

And through the merry flowers of June,

Over grass and over stone,

And under mountains in the moon.

The 1800 foot ascent up to O Cebreiro seemed to go ever on and on with no respite in site!  A very difficult day for me; the others fared better as they are more conditioned to the journey, having been on it much longer.  Rain, wind, steep mountain path with mud and dung from cows and horses with the water flowing down to meet us as we struggled to keep our balance walking over huge rocks and stones.

Again I was uplifted by my fellow pilgrims: Pad and Benjie, who would prefer to move along at a much faster pace, stayed in front and behind me, encouraging me, making me rest, making me drink water, being patient with me for the first 3/4 of the trek.  Janice and Pete were finishing eating when we dot to the only little village on the ascent.  Pat and Benjie kept on moving, but I was too exhausted and needed to use los servicios and get a granola bar out of my backpack.  I was too weary and chilled and wet clean through to eat.  Pete and Janice shepherded me the last few miles.

I was so glad to get to the top and see that the little church at the village's entrance was open.  I went inside - not caring if anyone followed me or not.  Mass for a group of German pilgrims was just beginning and I was so grateful to join my prayers to theirs!

This isolated spot has been occupied since ancient times, but this tiny village 1,293 meters (4,242 feet) atop the Cebreiro Pass into Galicia owes its fame to the Pilgrim´s Way and the Eucharistic miracle which occurred here in the 14th century.

Tradition has it that a weary priest was celebrating Mass in the little village church one winter´s day. A peasant from a nearby village, having fought his way to the top of the mountain through a fierce snowstorm in order to hear Mass entered the church just as the priest was performing the consecration. The priest insulted the peasant´s faith and ridiculed him for having come all the way to the top of the mountain in such severe weather in order to witness a non-existent miracle. At that very moment, the bread and the wine on the altar were literally transformed into flesh and blood.

The Eucharistic miracle of O Cebreiro was confirmed in 1487 by Pope Innocent VIII while the particles preserved from the miracle were placed in a silver reliquary donated by Queen Isabella the Catholic. The Church of St. Benedict (it is also known as Royal St. Mary´s Church) that the pilgrim sees today is not the medieval church in which the miracle occurred; that church was destroyed in the anti-clerical revolutions of the early 19th century. The present church was rebuilt in the years 1965-
1971 over the foundations of a pre-Romanesque church uncovered beneath the village´s streets in 1962. All that remains of the medieval church are the baptismal font and the chalice and paten in which the miracle occurred.

The chalice of the miracle that occurred in O Cebreiro is so important in both the history of the Camino and of the region that it was even incorporated into the shield of Galicia that the pilgrim will undoubtedly see while passing through the region on his or her way to Santiago.  

This road has a little more than 100 miles left - and that does make seem it will go ever on and on for this pilgrim!  Before the name " Christian" was attached to followers of Christ at Antioch ,
 Christianity was known as "The Way" and adherents were called "People of the Way".    For all of us our journey of faith goes ever on and on until we come to the heavenly kingdom - our personal Camino entails joy, suffering, challenge,  beauty, questions,  weariness, and elation, gratitude and moments of doubt.   Let us not forget that we travel this way as the Pilgrim People of God and we all companion each other on the journey.  Buen Camino!