Buen Camino!

"Buen Camino". - how often did I hear that today!  From fellow pilgrims, from folks in the towns we passed through, from the restaurant folks, from guys  in suits and transients needing to travel for other reasons.  Buen Camino - a recognition that we are all on this journey together as the pilgrim people of God.  No journey is without pain, whether that journey is physical, emotional , or spiritual.  It is part of the human condition - the power of now and the power of presence (a nod toward Tolle and Hershey) is really the power to be mindful, to be attentive. "Now is the acceptable time", Paul tells us, because in the now we find God.

I am exhausted - no blisters but I "feel" my feet constantly.  Fr. Benjie gave me some ointment for my muscles - my hips and calves are screaming!  Such a comfort!  Tomorrow is our last day in the flat lands - from here on till the end it is up, up, up!! I had a time traversing the small hills today - I anticipate great difficulties!!

We stared in Mancillas de Mulas today and arrived in Leon 12.71 miles later.  Tomorrow about 25 KM and we end in San Martin.  We pass through the village of Virgen del Camino  - Our Lady of the Camino.  I will need her help and beg her intercession.  Coming to mind is a hymn I haven't heard in a long time:

Ven, con nosotros  al caminar,
Santa Maria, ven!

Come with us as we journey,
Come with us, Holy Mary!

Pat and I had been talking about our mothers, when we saw this one yellow rose and said, simultaneously, "My mom loved yellow roses!"  Today was the anniversary of his mom's death.

Arrival

I arrived in Leon, rather exhausted from the journey.  The long plane ride was blessed by the young man sharing the row with me (yes, no one in the middle seat!!) Danny works for Delta in Cicinnatti and was on his way to Portugal with a friend to visit another friend.

We talked until about midnight about faith and relationships.  He was genuinely excited for me when I told him what I was about to begin.  He would like to journey along the pilgrim road some day, too.  As the plane was getting ready to land, he asked if he could pray with and for me.  He imparted to me the most wonderful blessing!  Another angel on the way!  

My reception from my fellow-pilgrims was wonderful!  It's all good!  Began to see my first Camino signs in Leon.  Tomorrow will be a long first day - 23KM in the rain - mostly!!

Also was overwhelmed by the windows in the Cathedral!

Companions on The Way

It is amazing whom God puts in one's path on a daily basis, isn't it?

Last night on the shuttle to the hotel at 11:00 PM, I shared my ride with an elegant couple from Tampa who had had a tough travel day on their way to Seattle to see their daughter.  I started talking with them (surprise?) and learned that he is originally from Cuba.  He asked me where I was headed, and, when I told him, he wished me a "Bueno Camino" and shared his own experience on the pilgrimage, and he offered me much encouragement!

Getting to the airport EARLY (several hours), I was joined at the gate by a woman, Cheryl, who was on her way to Zurich to see her daughter and family.  When I told her what I was going to do, she shared her own Camino story.  She went at age 68 after retiring from 32 years of service with the VA as a therapist.  She spoke still so lovingly of the men and women she helped.  She talked about the rituals she and her 3 friends created as they walked - they were also therapists.

She spoke of the physical challenges of the early part of the journey, and the emotional ones of the last part of her 100 mile pilgrimage.  A beautiful woman in every sense of the word, she encouraged me to "let go", and lighten my load - on all levels.  Wishing me a Buen Camino, she left for her gate.

In today's reading from Acts we hear how Paul and his companions, after he was stoned and left for dead, moved on to Lystra where they "They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,  “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” My spirits have been uplifted and strengthened!  It's all good!!

The Journey Begins!

Journey is the constant theme of our lives as Christians - there is a reason our early foremothers and fathers were called "the People of the Way"!  Jesus took to the road and shared the good news of his Father's love and our salvation.  No coincidence that the disciples met Jesus on the way to Emmaus!    

As a member of the Pilgrim People of God, this journey via the Camino is a reminder that the Impermanence of the things of this world cannot be compared to the reality of the next!  I pray for patience and calm - two things I have in short supply!  May this pilgrimage call me to the be present to each graced moment on the way!

Leaving a day early out of Phoenix in order to make my Madrid connection was the first challenge for me, as I had this day planned out so that I could be calm when I left tomorrow! 

Had a TSA pre-check so it has begun well!  I probably still look a little stressed because I don't have a seat assignment yet!!

Readiness Calls For Simplicity

Each day brings me nearer to my departure for Spain and the Camino.  Physically and materially, I'm pretty well set.  I got my traditional WYD (World Youth Day) haircut yesterday - short, simple, utilitarian.  No muss, no fuss!  

Eric Storz wrote, "“Jesus puts to words the homelessness in a pilgrim’s heart."  That, of course, leads me to Matthew 8:20: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 

As I am well into the last half of my life, my greatest desire is to simplify, simplify, simplify - I keep getting rid of things - so much more to rid myself of!  Ridding myself of 'things" leads inevitably to trying to rid myself of my quickness-to-judge, my impatience, my intolerance of less-than-perfect....  Homelessness connotes more than "without a home":  I think it also speaks to detachment, to supreme trust in Providence, and to dependence on others in humility.

I am trying to "lighten my " load for this journey - both by cutting down on the "things" I'm carrying with me and by putting aside those things that distract me from the journey in and to the Kingdom.

Below is  pretty good map of the journey I am about to undertake.  I will begin in Leon - my compadres have been walking the Camino since May 1st.

I have lots to finish up re work at the parish and lots of  "little" things deal with about the trip.  Sigue adelante!

Musings in the Early Morning

Realizing that I wrote this more than 7 years ago or so and never published it! So, thought I'd do it now!

It's Saturday morning - early - and I've been up for a couple of hours - an exhausted body that sleep will not come to!
I've been back almost a week from vacation up home in northern Minnesota. In the summer, when driving with my family on a Sunday afternoon "to the lakes", Mom often commented on the color green as we would drive over the gently rolling hills and share her amazement with us that there were literally dozens of variations on the color. She was right - I noted the same thing in my drives to the lakes this summer. There was this great variety of green that stood out against a clear blue sky, DESPITE the fact that the days were dry, and that parts of the state were suffering drought. (The southern half of the state found a drought remedy in floods that did untold damaged just as I was leaving to return here.) It takes some refining of one's powers of observation to see the nuances of "green". Contrast in color, shadow, and light shows off the scenery with much more beauty than would just one flat color. The contrast adds depth, suggests something more behind the color, and invites the imagination to dream of what might be.

In Pilgrim Mode - Contemplating the Camino de Santiago de Campostela

And I begin....

Hard to believe that I am leaving in one week to walk "The Way of St. James"!  The journey of a life-time, long dreamt about!

Traveling with youth for WYD from the Archdiocese of San Antonio, my constant mantra for them was, "I am a pilgrim, not a tourist".  Tourists come to see, pilgrims come to be. Tourists relax, pilgrims are reformed – or ask to become more conformed to God. 

If you are not familiar with the Camino, this is a beautiful and unique look at the journey!

As Archdiocesan WYD pilgrims, this is the prayer, we prayed OFTEN from Denver to Paris to Rome to Toronto to Cologne.... 

If I should get tired and inclined to become short-tempered, Lord,
may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

If my meal may not be to my particular liking, Lord,  may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

If any delays occur and I should become anxious, Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

If any other pilgrim is making noise so that I cannot sleep or hear, Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim, not a tourist,

when I ask that person to be a bit more quiet.

If someone takes a better place or a more choice seat, Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

If I find myself last in line waiting, Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

If I should get the chance to help another person who always seems to be annoying me,

Lord, may I remember that I am a pilgrim,  not a tourist!

But, Lord, especially let me remember that what I find objectionable in another
is really what you oftentimes find objectionable in me, 

and let me remember this and forgive the other,
as you are continually forgiving me!

Baptism and RCIA interviews this morning remind me that I have commitments here before I can enter into Pilgrim Mode completely.  But we are all the Pilgrim People of God, as St. John XXIII helped us realize, and our pilgrimage here on earth is a journey of faith, communion, and justice.  Buen Camino, everyone!