Seminarians' Pilgrimage

Today we crossed the highest elevation point on the Camino at La Cruz de Ferro. We left our albergue at 5:45AM to watch the sunrise over the surrounding mountains. The experience was arresting. The beauty of the colors changing over the vast landsape was truly astonishing. I was so engulfed in the moment that I never even thought about taking any pictures. The photo below is a stock image I found online. Sadly the picture doesn’t do any real justice.

After an hour or so after sunrise we headed down the mountain range. We were quickly encapsulated by low lying clouds, diminishing our visibility to about 20ft. The slow decent was actually quite nice as there were very few other pilgrims on the trail. Making good time, Michael and I decided we would try to push on past our guide book’s recommended stopping point.

We have opted to stay in smaller villages from here on out as the Camino is becoming more and more crowded the closer we get to Santiago. As the midday sun began to beat down, we realized that none of the city names we passed were any where on our map. After talking to some of the locals we found out that we had taken a scenic route, which was about 4K of the main trail. After readjusting our path, we eventually reconnected to the main Camino trail.

We arrived at our destination around 5:30PM… almost two and a half hours later than we planned. Michael calculated that with our small detour we had walked just over 50K (31 miles) for the day. Although it was difficult at the end, we arrived later than expected, and our bodies ached a little more than usual, the day was still relatively peaceful.

Looking ahead, the next few days are some of the most mountainous on the entire Camino.

– Luke

This post is somewhat emotionally driven, as it is a combination of thoughts and experiences I have had over the past few days. I never thought I would encounter anything like this on my pilgrimage, but I am happy that I have come to know more about it.

There are two things which have become blatantly obvious for me as I walk the Camino. The world is broken, and yet it is redeemed. I have had too many conversations with people who have troubling pasts. Everyone of them is as unique as the person telling it. Some have dealt with recent deaths of loved ones, some are recovering addicts, others are searching for answers after ending a heart breaking relationship, and still others are simply unhappy with how their lives are being lived. Although the magnitude and severity differs, they all have difficulties that are holding them back. Back from the best person they can possibly be.

You would think that they are all walking to Santiago to sort things out, but that is not the case. Some came to Spain looking for an exciting trip abroad to give them the joy they have been missing. There are also pilgrims who come to run away from their problems. Neither one of these reasons for walking the Camino is fulfilling. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that walking the Camino is not going to fix any problems you have. There is of course reasons to make this pilgrimage, however, it is not the be all, end all problem fixer.

It is quite evident that there is actually nothing in this world that will satisfy our longings. Even if we do not come from a broken past, there are things for which we desire and yearn, some of which even causes us some pain. Obtaining any material object, praise, or glory, fades quickly and we will soon want more. The answer we seek is not of this world.

Happily, what we are all looking for has a name and a face, Jesus Christ. He under went his passion and death so that all of us may be free. All that is being asked of us is to pick up our crosses and follow him. This path is not easy, in fact it is often more challenging than doing our own will. Many times we will fall back into the same temptations and feel as though we have reached rock bottom. Even if we continue to mess things up our human dignity and ability to love and be loved never changes.

No matter if someone is young or old, disabled or handicapped, religious or not, their human worth dos not fluctuate. Nor can anyone take this dignity away. Others can make our crosses harder to bear, adding to the weight, but they will never be able stop Christ’s constant love for us.

True freedom and joy is found in denying ourselves and follow Christ: to realize that we are infinitely loved and that such a dignity should not turn us in upon ourselves but should turn us to others with love and awe. There is no need to come walk the Camino or make any great pilgrimage. My heart aches for those who continue to live a life filled with empty promises. I have been carrying many of these people in my thoughts and prayers as I continue to offer sacrifice and deny myself, so that I too may come to a greater freedom. I pray that God graces me with many more years in my life so that I can keep working on uniting myself to him.

-Luke

 

I’ll add a few thoughts of my own as well.

There are many who walk the Camino, but are not on pilgrimage for religious purposes. The three motives that I hear the most are 1) to work out some problem 2) for the experience 3) I heard about it and it sounded fun. Like Luke mentioned, even those who do not come directly to figure out some issue in their life, we all struggle with something, large or small, and it’s bound to come out on the Camino just as it does in ordinary life.

The purpose for your journey is always a point of discussion among pilgrims, especially when you first meet and start to walk for a bit. I was once boldly told that “the way you live the Camino is the way you will live your life.” I don’t quite subscribe to this idea, but it does have some value. Again, walking the Camino is not going to fix your problems, and it is not going to determine the rest of yoyr life, it is not the pinnacle of your life, but it is a part of it. Although the Camino is an extraordinary experience, I’ve been trying to treat my days here as I would any other. Some come expecting a huge change in their life after the Camino or just to have a fun time meeting people and enjoying the local food and drink. But the Camino is more than that and also less. You’re in a different place experiencing new people and places, enjoy them! But live it as you would live the rest of your life. Life doesn’t go on pause nor does it truly begin when you step onto the trail, it is simply a continuation. I hope to grow while on trail but I know that I won’t be a finished product. As Luke said, the Camino isn’t necessary, we can grow, especially through self denial, every day of our lives, but it is a good place to break away from the ordinary, and set aside time for God.

A pilgrimage is a total gift of your time to God. The goal isn’t just to get somewhere or to set aside more time for prayer. The whole walk (and flight and buses) all of your time is given to God. Just as structured prayers help us to reorient ourselves to God and to make one prayer of the whole of our lives, so a pilgrimage or retreat serves to reorient ourselves on a larger scale.

In this gift of our lives, we are required to trust much. Difficulties come and the cross feels heavier, and these are times to trust. We should realize that God is challenging us just as a coach challenges an athlete. At times, the athlete may doubt himself or his coach because the training is too hard. But eventually he will overcome the difficulty and realize that the challege was to make him stronger. Trust is difficult because we usually only see the darkness when we need to trust, but once we crest the hill and see the light on the other side, it makes a little more sense. We might get a few false peaks but we’ll probably also get some great views or sneak peaks of our destination before going again into a valley. Sometimes we only think of trust when things are difficult but I think we should always practice trust by practicing gratitude and hope.

Here are a few ideas or the tip of a few ideas. It is hard to explain some thoughts through typing, especially on a small mobile phone. Most of these ideas have resulted from many days of thinking, experiences and conversations, and some are still in the works, thus they are diffiucult to put into only a few words.

-Michael

Yesterday, we had a short walk to the city of Leon which is in the midst of its week long celebrations for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul (Wednesday). The city was alive with concerts, venders, bands walking the streets, and plenty of families and friends strolling about or enjoying some tapas (snacks) at resturants. With all this ruckus, we found santuary in a benedictine convent whichs runs an albergue with a hundred some beds. The place had a peaceful courtyard for conversations and place for personal reflection. While in the city, we walked around a good deal, stopping for a bite to eat and spending some time in the historic and beautiful San Isidore which has perpetual adoration in the main Church. We went to Mass at the Cathedral before stopping by a local grocery store to make some sandwhiches for dinner. Once finished, we realized that we still had 2 and a half hours before our albergue closed so we decided to walk the city to people watch and enjoy the festival.

Since today was a Sunday, we decided to take it easy again, which consisted of sleeping in till 7am, grabbing a bit of breakfast before a holy half hour and Mass in San Isidore this time. It was a great relief to have Mass in the morning since most of the Mass times on the Camino are at 7:30 pm. I also had an interesting experience going to confession to an elderly priest who only spoke spanish. I used a translation app, and I may not have understood his advice but he gave me absolution and my penance. It wasn’t the average confession but the sacraments span across language barriers as long as the essentials are there. Again, the Church is universal, and this is another great example.

Refreshed from a slow morning, we hiked pretty fast, finishing our 20kms in about four hours. On our way, we passed by some Shepard leading their sheep into town.

The afternoon was spent in relaxation with various activities of napping, catching up on news, prayer, some reading, and conversations. Dinner was cooked by two guys, one Italian and one from NY who have been walking together for a while. We were joined by a number of new friends and even got in a game of euchre among some Americans.

We realized today that we’ve been in Europe a little over four weeks and on the Camino for three. We are excited for our fourth week of walking as we quickly approach some larger mountains and the midway point of our entire pilgrimage.

-Michael

Yesterday, June 24th, our good friend Joe Baker received Holy Orders and became Fr. Joe Baker. It is always a happy moment for us to see one of our brother seminarians ordained to the priesthood. The annual ceremony is one of the most joyous celebrations of the year. When planning this pilgrimage, we had taken into consideration that we would be missing our brother seminarian’s ordination. Not being present for such a momentous day has proven to be more difficult than we first thought it would be. It really hit home after seeing the pictures with Fr. Joe fully vested along with Deacons Luke Syse and Jared Holzhuter who were ordained only about three months ago. For Michael, it is a strange feeling to see the pictures but not have had a front row seat by serving the Ordination Mass, which he has been doing for six years now. It is difficult to be away from our brother seminarians especially for such a significant event, but we look forward to seeing them at our summer’s end gathering before departing to our different seminaries. Till then, we’ll keep connected through prayer.

We have found consolation in praying for Fr. Baker on the ocassion of his ordination and first Mass. Even though we have been mostly praying by our selves since we left the U.S., we know that, by prayer and especially the Eucharist, we are united not only to our brother seminarians but the Church throughout the whole word.

If you could please take a brief moment to pray for all seminarians as they continue to discern the Lord’s call and as they approach their ordination, that would be very much appreciated. And as always, please know of our prayers for you as we continue our pilgrimage.

-Michael and Luke

Although everyday on the Camino has been special, June 24th is something else. It is the solemnity of the nativity of St. John the Baptist, the priestly  ordination of our good friend Dcn. Joe Baker, Luke’s birthday, and, according to our friends,  a national holiday in Sweden called midsummer.

Since we traveled just over 30K yesterday, the walk today was not too bad. We actually reached our albergue 15 minutes before it opened. The weather could not be any better on this special day, with plenty of cloud cover to keep things cool but not enough to darken the sky.

We planned on celebrating the day by doing several different activities. We were lucky enough that the local parish church had a daily pilgrimage Mass at 8 that we could attend. We had been keeping vigil for today’s solemnity in our liturgy of the hours as well. In all, the day was marked with a good deal of rest, prayer, and celebration. Arriving at our Albergue early allowed us plenty of time to shop and prepare for the evening. Once evening came, and we again stired from our varied siestas, we began to cook dinner with our Swedish friends. It was a large meal marked by the traditional midsummer potatoes and a sort of deviled eggs. After dinner we went to Mass before finishing off the evening with dessert and card games. It was a good end to a big day and served as a farewell to our sweedish friends with whom we’ve been walking for a good portion of the camino. Tomorrow we will go our seperate ways. It was an enriching experience sharing our cultures and ideas with eachother as our paths traveled alongside one another, but we all look forward to walking our own paths again.

Lastly, we want to extend an early congratulations to soon-to-be Father Joseph Baker. We will remember him in our prayers as we go to sleep and he approaches his ordination.

-Luke and Michael