A pilgrim on the way: celebrating forty years of priesthood on the Camino
(source: CoR)
By Fr John McGowan OCD
I write this almost halfway through the 800 kms Camino to Santiago di Compostella.
This walking adventure started when the late Sr Frances (of Nazareth House) asked me to do it with her. She had to pull out but I carried on, at least for ten days….. that was four years ago. Now I am on sabbatical, celebrating forty years of priesthood, and decided to do the whole Camino.
Fr John taking a break
I would say it is one of the greatest graces of my life. Here you see humanity at its best, as it should be. The pilgrims look out for each other and care for each other. As I write, just now a South African nurse bandaged the foot of a fellow pilgrim; he was Korean and suffering from blisters. We are like the United Nations. It is wonderful to see all these people come together and get to know each other. On the Camino we are all strangers yet no one is a stranger. I think of that adage: ‘a stranger is a friend you haven’t met.’
We walk along, about 20-25 kms a day and as we walk we share. It is quite wonderful and a privilege to listen to so many stories. Many are in transition. Others are looking for something, for themselves, for God. There are people of all ages, young and old; we all mix as if we were the same age.It is not comfortable and many are suffering from blisters, tendinitis or some other ache.
One of the things I had to quickly get used to was sleeping in the same room, often a dormitory, with other people. Like most of us Religious I have my own room and bed. But this common sharing as we journey along is what bonds us together. Snoring is a problem; women are sometimes worse than men!
It is a privilege to pass through towns and villages that have been here for a thousand years and more. I notice how the Church is always the centre of a town or village, it is often the biggest building. Today, in our materialistic society, it is the banks that are central and the biggest buildings.To walk is the best way to discover a place and there is so much to discover of history, culture, art and above all the people. They greet us as we pass with “Buen Camino”.
One of the things the Camino teaches you is how simple life can be. As we walk along the only thing we own is the rucksack on our back. We are grateful for a bed at night and for the food we eat. It only costs €10 sometimes to stay a night. Tonight I’m staying in an old Poor Clare convent. The other night I slept in an old Benedictine monastery. As I go along I pray the rosary first thing in the morning. I leave at 6.30. It’s dark and you are alone. If I get the chance I will stop in a church and say morning prayer. One of the disappointments is that many of the churches are closed. Throughout the day you have time to yourself and time to be with others. Then at the end of the day we meet up to eat together. Before that I attend a special pilgrims Mass which is provided in every place we stay in.
As I write, it is the feast of St Therese of Lisieux. I pray for you as I slowly make my way to the tomb of the great Apostle James. Please keep me in your prayers.
