Author: sjspwellesley

For the last week, our group has walked through the Castilla y Leon region of Spain… that is until today, when we crossed into Galicia. This region is home to Santiago de Compostela, our final destination, and also has a markedly different landscape, culture, and even its own language.

Reflecting a Celtic influence, we heard the Galician gaita (bagpipes) ring out as we entered the town of O Cebreiro. Except for the stifling heat, one might easily think they’d crossed the ridge and somehow landed in Ireland. Celtic knots adorn houses, cowbells jingle, and the mountainsides are a patchwork of green and yellow fields.

Within the town, we visited the Church of Santa María, which is run by a Franciscan priests. In some ways visiting churches on El Camino can feel like a sport unto itself. Each church offers a unique stamp for the pilgrim’s passport (which we must have stamped at least twice a day). Yet, on the doorway of St. Mary’s a simple sign reads: “On the Camino you can collect stamps, but only here can you enjoy a place like this. Behold. Feel His peace. Engrave this seal in your heart. ¡Buen Camino!”

Today is likely the hardest day of walking for me and my group, so some extra prayers for strength, endurance, and peace would be much appreciated. (I’ll let you know if I feel more like an “expert” after 18 miles on treacherous terrain!)

As my group and I walk, we are using trekking poles. Imagine me cascading through the streets of Boston (and down the brook path in Wellesley) with mine as I trained this winter and spring (talk about humility in action!) At first, these poles might seem silly, like a superfluous addition to the journey. (What was that we said about not carrying extra things?!?)

fter watching Team Spain dominate in their World Cup match against Saudi Arabia (and after walking upwards of 16 miles in the blazing sun) we rested easy in Villafranca del Bierzo last night before setting out early again this morning to try to beat the heat.

Luckily the first two-thirds of our journey was in the valleys of the mountains on the way to Las Herrerías de Valcar. While this meant we had shade for a good portion of the walk (which helped a little with the sun and overwhelming humidity), it also meant the majority of our walk was along roads, which can get a little monotonous. To help motivate one another, we stuck together as a group as we walked the way today, taking steady inclines and bouts of tough mental terrain together…

Ever since I was a teenager, I have loved Thomas Merton, the famous spiritual writer and Trappist Monk. Something about his eager spirit and deep spiritual insight, mixed with a human vulnerability and ever-ready attention to God’s call has spoken to me from a young age.  

In his book Thoughts in Solitude, Merton offers a prayer that applies to anyone on the spiritual journey. As we mark the first week of our own Camino in everyday life, his words guide us as we pause and take stock of where we have been and where we are going. 

Let us pray with Merton:

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me…

We awoke this morning to thunder and lightning as a passing storm poured rain on the hour before we hit the trail (at 7am). One would have hoped the storm meant a break in the heat but we’ve had no

Part of walking the Camino is that most pilgrims carry everything they will need with them—on their backs! Unlike packing for a vacation, where whatever can fit in your suitcase and within airline weight limits is allowed, packing for a pilgrimage requires a consciousness about what it is we truly need and what is “extra” for the journey. While one or two “extra” things add a bit of comfort, each additional item is literally added weight.

When you are walking an average of 15 miles a day, extra ounces or even a pound or two can mean having the energy to push a little further or feeling an ache a little bit too early in the day.

Guides often advise that “the Camino teaches by subtraction.” Every unnecessary item becomes a spiritual and physical burden.  We must weigh our actual needs against our perceived needs…

Ascending the mountain with the sun this morning, our group traveled together to the highest point on the Camino: Cruz de Ferro. This iron cross sits atop a 5-meter high pole and is surrounded by stones that have been carried

In religious orders, sisters, brothers, and priests follow a particular rule of life. For Benedictines, it is the Rule of St. Benedict; for Augustinians, the Rule of St. Augustine; and on and on and on. Sometimes also called Constitutions, the Rule provides a structure to support the daily living of a vowed religious life.

To an outside observer, a rule of life might seem constricting or domineering. The same might also be said of a vow of obedience. Yet, if understood as a means to discerning the will of God through the practice of intentional living, the old adage about the rule rings truer than ever: “Keep the rule, and the rule will keep you.”

For the pilgrim, this adage might be adapted to apply to the rhythm of the Way, as if to say: “Keep the rhythm and the rhythm will keep you” or, more simply put, “Put one foot in front of the other, rinse and repeat.”

Setting out from Astorga this morning, our group stopped in front of the city’s beautiful Gothic Cathedral for a picture before heading to the city limits (see: duckling line like in Leon) to visit the Hermitage of Ecce Homo (Latin for “Behold the man” which Pontius Pilate declare of Christ as he tried to save him from condemnation).
This small chapel is said to have been the site of a Camino miracle after a small boy once fell into a well used by pilgrims to drink on the Way. His mother could not get him out and so prayed for his rescue. Amazingly, the water level rose until he was returned to her!

Our pilgrims stopped to pray and to get a briefing on the day before hitting the trail for what would be a warm walk of about 12 miles..