Seminarians' Pilgrimage

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 journey over the last two days has been much easier on the feet. I have had blister problems since we landed in Paris, but the last 48 hrs has been different. I am now much more into the grove of walking and living on the Camino.

Everyday is a new surprise. It might be an exciting conversation with a man from Belgium, or finding a wild cherry tree. The 30K days seem like nothing when we are engaged in conversation, even in the blistering hot sun. A lot of people are surprised not only by our vocation stories, but also by our age. This has had me thinking more about our time in Lourdes and St. Bernadette. She was so young, yet had a great love for God. Age is not an obstacle to know, love, and serve God.

Last night we had the pleasure of staying with habited Cistercian nuns! The building was typical Cistercian style. Large block construction with minimalistic furnishings. It is always nice to stay with religious communities along our way.

We have been joining other pilgrims for dinner to keep costs low and to try new foods. The last few meals have been fantastic. It is always satisfying to have a warm meal after walking all day.

There was no wi-fi at the monastery yesterday, and the data has been too spoty to upload photos. When I have the chance, I plan on uploading a batch of photos and descriptions to give you a taste of what our day to day experiences are like.

– Luke

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

Today was a good day. Last night we stayed at a donativo alburgue, which is run by the localkraus parish and only asks for a donation from pilgrims. They treated us with the best breakfast we’ve had yet, complete with plenty of bread, Nutella, jam, and coffee. After such an excited start, we made some good time and caught up with some friends we had made the night before. We exchanged some hellos and kept with our quick pace. By noon we had reached our day’s destination, we had some lunch and pressed on a little further so that our Sunday’s hike could be a little shorter. Many of our friends had the same idea and we ended up at the same alburgue after a very hot 8km hike in the heat of the day. The alburgue was like an oasis in a desert, complete even with a tiny pool.

Tonight we shared a pilgrims’ meal, rather than cooking, and we are glad that we did. It was a mix of many cultures and languages. We shared some stories from our seperate travels and wrote messages in the guest book. There was also a tiny dog that many were quite fond of despite his churpy barks and incesent biting. It was a table of laughs and good cheer, with some whom we met on the first day and others just yesterday, but they all felt like good friends.

-Michael

The last two days of walking have been a little rough for me. I have accumulated 2 blisters on each foot.

I had them taken care of at a small albergue, yet they came back. I decided I would switch to my sandals for two days to give my blisters a break by airing them out. However, the low support has caused pain in my shins. These small pains and discomforts are a regular sight on the Camino. The discomfort is nothing serious, yet it is enough to remind me that this is a pilgrimage.

Over the last few nights, we have joined fellow pilgrims in making dinner. It is not only cheaper, but we also get to experience different cuisines from around the world.

We have also had a lot of interesting conversations about how the United States is similar and different from other countries. A common topic among many of the younger pilgrims is education. Some have free education, while others pay more. In every country it is complicated, but most students we meet say picking a major is even more complex.

Everyday is an encounter with someone new. It is also an opportunity for us to continue to live out the Gospel on our way to Santiago. This has taken many shapes over the journey, yet some things stay the same. We have continued to pray the liturgy of the hours and attend Mass whenever available. Many people have been intrigued that we are studying for the priesthood. This has brought about some great conversations about the Church, Philosophy, and what it means to live life.

Not every conversation we have has been that deep, though. We have also expressed our love for some of our home town favorites like the Packers, cheese curds, and Camp Gray. This mix of conversations and prayer has been easing the slight pains of walking and pushing on to Santiago.

-Luke