When I posted my first blog entry the other day, my friend Anthony commented, "What happened to Camino de Santiago?" and rightly so! Ever since I first heard of the pilgrimage to the burial place of St. James in Spain (as a twelve year old in a book by Shirley MacLaine!), I was fascinated with the idea of making the 500 mile journey that has been traversed through the ages by all likes of people for all sorts of reasons. For me, it would be a spiritual quest toward God in the company of many interesting others who are also on the way.
But then I grew up and got busy with the things of life until a few years ago when my friend Tracy handed me a book by her friend Father Dave, who had walked the Camino in "Thanksgiving to God" for his ten years of priesthood. Once again, I was hooked!
And then the movie "The Way" by Emilio Estevez came out to area theaters and I went with a group of friends to see what the hike is all about. And we were so inspired! And we discussed the possibility of making the pilgrimage ourselves. And many were game, but just "not yet!"
The next thing I knew, Father Dave Pivonka was coming as our speaker in Blowing Rock, NC in August to lead our youth minister retreat...and his talk was about...you guessed it..his walk on the Camino! I listened with rapt attention as he spoke of the fellow priest he traveled with, the heavy backpacks they carried, the crowded albergues they slept in, the aching feet they nursed each night, the colorful array of people they met, the spiritual insights they gained, and the sense of accomplishment they shared when they completed their walk in the thirty or so days they allotted for it.
Father Dave also told how he prepared for the trip (not nearly well enough for the pounding that his feet would take!), how he found his way from place to place by following signs scattered throughout the towns, how he and all the pilgrims were issued passports that must be stamped along the way, and how they all carried a shell dangling from their backpack as a sign of their journey and as a way to scoop water that has been used through the ages of pilgrims who have walked this route through the ages.
A few months passed and then in December I found myself in Texas where I learned that my cousin's daughter Lydia was also intrigued by the idea of taking the pilgrimage, but would like to wait a year to do it when she graduates from high school. So I decided that I would not be able to make my way to St. James this year as I had hoped....and would try to find something else to do instead.
And what came up was the opportunity to travel to Poland, the spiritual heartland of Pope John Paul II who will most likely be made a saint this fall. I had read too, the incredible diary of the polish nun Sr. Faustina whom Pope John Paul II recognized as a saint in the year 2000. She had faithfully recorded her conversations and prayers to Jesus appeared who appeared to her to ask that she spread devotion to His Divine Mercy through the painting of an image that has been seen throughout the world.
So with these things in mind, along with an invitation to see the country through the eyes of the people who live there, I enthusiastically embarked on planning this journey. After a few months of research and bookings, I decided to squeeze in a retreat offered at Our Lady of Lourdes church in Raleigh by the "Women of Grace" ministry. Although it was to be on the day before I was to depart, I decided to see if I could fit it in and so prepare myself spiritually for my journey. It turned out to be a grace-filled morning beginning with Mass and followed by a lovely brunch, inspiring talks, and personal sharing with other attendees. And do you know what they did at the end of it? Invited each one of us to come forward, select a shell from the array of them that they set out before us, dip it in holy water blessed by Father Tony, and keep it as a token of our journey along the spiritual way toward God!!
I think my Camino (and yours!) has already begun!
