Author: Michael Wanta

Today we marched about 30k. We talked among ourselves and with other pilgrims but a good deal of the journey was also spent in silence. Usually a portion of our daily walk is spent in our own thoughts. Currently, we are walking through a portion of Spain referd to as the mensa, since it is just about as flat as a table. With little elevation change, there isn’t a lot to look at besides the path in front of you, the fields to the side, and the far distant mountain outlines if they come into view. Here shade is infrequent and it is very hot.

Among such bleak settings there isn’t much to do besides talking and thinking. Some even come to El Camino to think out some issue in their life or to make some big decision. Neither luke nor myself have come for such a purpose, yet, I find it hard to avoid the expectation of grandiose thoughts and break through moments. The Camino has challenged me to live more simply, to trust in God’s providence, and to just enjoy life, but there have not been any large realizations or great discoveries. What I have learned, I have learned by the little things: the difficulties, conversations, silence, and joys throughout the day. I am reminded of the eloquence of the ordinary things if only we take some time to listen. God speaks to us through our surroundings, whether that is the mensa of Spain or our own houses and work places. I have given up my earlier hope for great ideas and have settled for the beauty of the littler thoughts that present themselves to me.

Sometimes, you just run out of things to think about. In the heat and the tiredness it brings, it can also become difficult to pray. In such cases, i have found it helpful to pray the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” This short prayer originates from the East and some Church Fathers teach that it is a summary of the Gospel. It is meant to be repeated in large numbers to foster meditation and it really does! Even if I am not able to reflect on its meaning or a specific part of it, the simple prayer allows me to call to mind the presence of God, his bountious love, and my need for him. We learned about the prayer in our spirituality class this last semester “Life of the Soul” with Dr. Cimoreli. We had the option to pray it 500 each day for a week to get a feel for it, but both Luke and I chose a different option to fulfill the assignment . We are now catching up on the opportunity and enjoying it.

Lastly, on the eve of the Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist, I woukd like to give a shout out to Dcn. Joseph Baker who will be ordained a priest tomorrow, Friday. We’re sorry that we can’t make it but will be keeping him in our prayers. Please do the same as he prepares for such a special day for him and the local Church of Madison. If you wish to attend the ordination, it will be at St. Maria Goretti Church at 7:30pm on Friday, tomorrow.

-Michael

Luke uploaded the picture post that he’s been working at for a few days. I hope it gives a good glimpse our day to day life. I thought that it would still be good to give a bit of a recap from the past two days.

Yesterday, while taking a midday rest inside a small town cafe, we saw a man at the counter with a “Catholic University” shirt on. After a second look, Luke and I immediately placed bets on whether he was diocesean or religious, there was no question that he was a seminarian. Somehow, we can just tell. He turned out to be a sem from Texas, studying at CUA in D.C. named Wade. He was going to stop for the day but joined us for the last 6k of our route.

This morning, I left a little earlier to walk with our friend Robert, Sem for Winona, while Luke walked with the rest of our walking group. Robert and I stopped at a Church for a bite to eat and some prayers 10ks into the morning. There we ran into Wade again, and walked the rest of the day with him, stopping at another beautiful Church, Santa Maria Blanca.

We all met up at the Albergue in Carrion de Los Condes. For dinner I cooked up a bit too much rice and veggies, with some sausage. We had some left over and shared with a biker who came in late.

The evening ended with Mass and some card games. It was really cool to attend Mass in a group of four seminarians from the states. The priest  was celebrating his 13th aniversary of ordination. He offered a beautiful pilgrims blessing service with the local nuns. It was another awesome experience of the Camino Community that is local and foreign and spands throughout the world.

Know of our continued prayers and please keep us in your daily prayers aswell as we travel the pilgrimage of life together.

-Michael

After pushing ahead yesterday, walking a total of 30 kms, we decided to take a rest day. To cover the Sunday oblihation, we went to Mass last night in the tiny town of Hontanas, which is nestled in a deep valley among the rolling hills of the Burgos region. It was hidden from site almost until we were walking into it. A surreal and relieving experience at the end of a 30k hike.

We took our time waking up this morning and enjoyed the short 10ks through the gentle hills and morning chill, passing an old monastic pilgrim hospital on the way to the historic town of Castrojeriz. Our day’s resting spot had plenty of old ruins itself, complete with a castle on the hill and a decaying convent on its outskirts. The town wraps gently upward around the castled hill. Although small, it contains two active churchs and a convent filled with cloistered Sisters just a 10 minute walk into the country.

 

We began our rest with some café and city exploration before checking into our albergue. Afterwards we headed to Mass and met up again with Robert, a fellow pilgrim who will be entering seminary in the Fall for the diocese of Winona, Mn. He spent the rest of the day with our walking group, joining us for a restaurant lunch, siesta, a climb to the hilltop castle, and a city wide search for a supermercado before dinner. The search for a grocery store, during which I recieved multiple directions that I didn’t understand, ended at the only open shop, a tobacco store that sold a few groceries. We made do.

Lastly, before dinner, I stopped by the local convent and joined the community for vespers. They sang beautifully in Spanish and I slowly followed along with my English translation, joining the Spanish when I knew the words. It was awesome to be praying the same prayers although a language and a cloister grill seperated us. Though the nun, who opened and closed the glass window connecting theit choir stalls and the Church, waved joyfully at me twice. But how cool is it that this community in the middle of nowhere Spain is praying the same prayers as myself and the rest of the Church through the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours! Whenever I prayed my breviary In the past, I joined this community in spirit but today I was with them physically too. It was a place permeated with peace, and perfect for a pilgrim’s rest day.

-Michael

 

This last Spring semester at Seton Hall, I had the pleasure of taking a course offered by St. Andrew Seminary’s beloved spiritual director, Fr. Fred Miller. The class was on how to strive for holiness in the different Christain vocations and a large section dealt with the the ways (also known as “phases”) of the spiritual life: the purgative, illuminative, and unitive ways. These are not seperate segments of the spiritual life but function as descriptors for the predominating aspect. First a person must struggle against themselves and be purified of sin. Second, God draws the person further in, illuminating new aspects of their faith life which often seem confusing at first. Third, due to a deeper union with God, a person begins to experience the work that God has been doing in him since the begining. Warning! Don’t try to figure out exactly where you are in this spectrum, especially not from such a brief description. It is better not to worry about it and to continue to pursue holiness where you are at. Once again, these ways are somewhat fluid and should not be seperated into sealed off ideas.

So how does this relate to the Camino? I postulate that there are three similar ways of St. James, with the same names.

In the begining, one is purified through bodily struggles. The whole first week or so is centeted around bodily pains and needs, as one works himself into a routine. This purgation comes in the form of blisters, tiny Spanish breakfasts, waking up early, old Italian men snoring, foot pain, the hot sun, a little hunger, exhaustion, not understanding other langusges, and more foot and leg pain. In these things and more, one is slowly and simply stripped of exterior aspects of their person. There is an adjustment made to a simpler life with simpler needs and tasks. It is hard to explain it all, but I have experienced this stripping away in these past weeks. I have become a little more in tune with my needs for food, prayer, solitude, company, and rest, even if these needs cannot always be met.

Over the past few days I have felt a transition. The purgative way of St. James continues, as I continue to deal with little struggles and need to keep an eye on my bodily needs. Yet, the illuminative way has begun to open up as the body takes a bit of a back seat as my routine has settled in, allowing time to focus on reflection, friends, and the beauty around me. In the begining I struggled to think as I walked, but such activities have come a little easier to me. Today especially I had many good conversations about life in general, my vocation story, and about an hour plus of Catholic Q&A with Mike. I am enjoying the fluidity and sincerity of the pilgrim community which allows for such conversations.

Some people come to the Camino with a question to answer. I, however, have not. Rather I have come to experience God through simplicity and through the people and places around me. My routine is developing and I am able to concentrate on the deeper aspects of life, on thoughts and friendships, yet I am not certain how exactly I will choose to walk the camino or what lessons I hope to learn. I do not know exactly what God has planned for me, or what my walk will be like tomorrow, what questions to ponder or what to talk about, but I look forward to seeing his plan unfold as he illumines my way.

As for the unitive way… I’ll let you know when I come to that part.

-Michael

The past two days have been a bit of a change in pace.

Yesterday, we took a short day, only 20km. Thus we slept in! More than that, we stopped half way in Viana for lunch, a few games of cards and finally Sunday Mass. Because of this we ended up walking in the heat of the day, again. The day, however, was brought to a joyful end at our parochial donativo. Although we had our first night on floor mats, we were treated to a medieval fair and a tasty home cooked dinner at our Albergue. The cook was a former diplomat from Canada who loved spain so much that he now spends his time running the local donativo. We had plenty of food and even some entertainment as the medieval rock band, who had spent all day roaming the streets, stopped by for a bite to eat and a few songs.

Today was much different for other reasons. Instead of two fairly large cities, we walked through a lot of Vinyard today. Just about 20 out of 30 kms were filled with few other things in sight. After the first 12 or so kms I decided to break away from our American-Swedish walking group, which has formed over the past few days. I spent the day in my thoughts speaking only for prayers, thinking out, and the ocassional “burn Camino!” The silence was peaceful, except when the unexpected bikers wizzed by, and the time allowed me to process my fursr week of walking.

I must stop now as the albergue worker is telling me to go to bed. So I look forward to Camino week one for the second time and the experiences it will bring.

-Michael