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!

St. Anthony, please come round: something's lost and must be found!!

We stayed outside of Cacabellos last night in a beautiful "Casa Rural" called El Tiempo Recobrado - a time to recover - and we did need to do that!

We started the day leaving Molina Seca with Cacabelos as our goal, but first we had to traverse the large city of Ponferrada!  It was a difficult walk as the Camino goes right beside the main highway and it is all asphalt and murder on one's feet and legs! We did all right though till we got to the large city of Ponferrada - it took FOREVER to get through it.  Camino signs were sparse and often misleading.  So much so that we got lost - in trying to avoid a longer and hillier 3 mile route, we walked an extra 2 miles anyway.

Being lost is very disconcerting; Fr. Benjie was far ahead of us, so the rest of us struggled to find the best option of three routes so we could get underway again.  Here is where I learned that God never allows us to be lost - our good and gracious God walks with us,beside, in front, and behind us as the Breastplate of St. Patrick would have it.  Our God appears in many guises; yesterday it was in Jose Luis, an older gentleman, who got us to the main Plaza where we could sit, have some tea and regroup.  There before us was the Basilica de la Encina named after the image of the Virgin found by a Knight Templar in the trunk of an oak tree (Encino) while constructing the fort that would defend the city against the Saracens. Pictures are below.

As we meandered the city, I decided to be patient and let God find me/us!  We must have looked confused, because each time we stopped, people driving by woul honk their horns and motion us in the right direction or those on the street  would simultaneously point in the direction we should go.
Finally, we got on the road again but the way continued to be tough.  The day ended 15.75 miles later in rain and wind.  We spent the night in a beautiful place called , in English, a time to re-reate!  Lost but now found, we rested in the love of our gracious God.

The Templar Fort

It's Thursday morning now - wifi failed last night!

After a night of rest we headed for Vega de Velarce - 15.98 miles again on asphalt trails by the highway.  The saving  grace was that the Perege and then the Velarce rivers flowed along us on our left most of the way.  The last 3 or 4 miles for me were most difficult - it was cold; it was hot; it was rainy and windy; it was hot...  Stopping and changing in and out of rain gear and jacket and hat took just enough energy to make me discouraged!   Discouragement is another form of being lost so I sang a few Easter hymns to myself and thought of the crucified but now risen Christ and I asked to be found.  My eyes and my ears turned to the rushing river and I thought ..."As runs the thirsting deer to where cool waters flow, So run the wishes of my heart to come before you, Lord"!  And I was found! 

The river!

 

And a small church on the way offered respite!

Today we climb 1800 feet straight up for 8 KM - in the rain !

Siguen adelante!  Burn Camino!!

St. James, pray for us!!

Follow in His Footsteps

On the 24th I was just too tired to write anything when we got to our hotel in Astorga.  The road was wearingly long and rough.  There were only a few miles without rocks that made balance difficult and were tough on the feet - hence the blisters.  The last miles into Astorga were almost too much for me, but I persevered. 

 

Have you ever taken a mule ride down into the Grand Canyon?  I did when I was younger than I am now - much younger.  After the 10 or so of us were all up on our mules - all ages including children and people who were at the age at find myself and older - we were told that the mules had walked the route, hugging the canyon wall, inches from the edge, for years.  Accidents only happened when one mule list sight of the one ahead of it:  we were told that it was very important, for us to keep our mule  within sight of the one ahead!

Walking the Camino is something like that!  Since I had slowed my pace due to pain,  I felt support and confident if. I could see Pat or Janice and Peter ahead of me.  It is something like that with God.  It is important to keep our eyes fixed on The Lord.  Taking our eyes off of him abandons us to our own foibles and predelictions.  That never ends well.  

This is the Cathedral in Astorga - it was closed on Sinday when we went by - would have loved to go inside.

But today is still Memotial Day here.  So I want to remember my dad, my uncles, and my Aunt Ruth who served in WWII.  This prayer by Episcpal Bishop James Magness is eminently suitable:

Lord God Almighty, whose only Son sought not to preserve his life but to make the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have abundant life, we remember this day the personal sacrifices made by many of our fellow citizens in the service of their country. On this day we pause, however briefly, to remember and recall those who gave the last measure of their lives for their faith, their country and their fellow compatriots in arms. The record of their courage is in the hands of history and the vestige of their lives is at rest in our memories. Grant that we and all the citizens of this land may have the grace to honor their good deeds as in righteousness we strive for peace among all the people of God's creation. Remembering their sacrifice, we rededicate ourselves to the tradition of courage that you, our Lord, have instilled in us. Give us a deep sense of reverence for life that is tempered by a passionate desire for justice. Continue in us the valor of those who have woven this tradition into the fabric of our country. This we pray in the name of the one God who creates, redeems and sustains. AMEN.

Lean On Me!

The first part of our journey today. We walked a further distance today in order not to have to go  a much longer distance tomorrow!  

The second map shows the rest of the journey.

  28 KM is 17 1/2 miles or so ... I could not make the last 3 miles and had to accept a ride.  It was very humbling!  But each of my companions on the journey assured me that they all had had their days of exhaustion and pain, too.

As pilgrims on this journey, and for all of us on our earthly journey, it becomes quite evident that we can't go it alone.  We need help - we are a communion of believers.  Yesterday, Fr. Pat stayed with me through the day, encouraging and silently supporting.

Today, Fr. Benjie took up the companioning task as I began to wane!  He is the pace setter and is always out front.  I was soon entrusted to  Peter and then to Janice, and they stayed with me till I gave in to the exhaustion.  

I need and depend on my trekking poles on this journey,  but I am much more dependent on the Body of Christ to make up what is wanting in my own life on many levels.  No one journeys to the Father's Kingdom alone.  We go as community or we do not go at all. This earthly pilgrimage requires us humbly to accept our own weaknesses which are made strong in the breaking of the bread - cum panis,  with others, with our companions on the journey.  

Compline and then bed - tomorrow promises to be very difficult - I will need to lean on others again!

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!!