Camino Photo of the Day: Friar

Today’s photo requires some backstory. One year ago today, I sent my application to the Archdiocese of Seattle to discern for the diaconate. I felt that God was calling me to be a deacon. Ultimately, the Archdiocese rejected my application.

This was a heart-breaking moment for me. I still felt God calling me to serve Him, but now I was utterly adrift as to how.

When we set off on our Camino, this was one of the issues I grappled with in prayer and contemplation as I walked. It’s fair to say that it was the largest issue.

That particular April afternoon, I was thinking on these things and feeling kind of down on myself. Francine noticed, and we started talking about it for a while, when the strangest thing happened. A man in a Franciscan habit walked into view over the crest of the hill we were approaching.

Francine called it a miracle, but I can only wonder at the way God chooses to speak to me.

His name is Friar David, and he is one-third of the Pilgrim Friars of the Camino¹. They walk back and forth along the Way, offering first aid to pilgrims.

He’s a lovely fellow, and the three of us had a lovely conversation. When we parted I was smiling. He jokingly told me to show the Archbishop my Compostella and that he should make me a Deacon.

That’s obviously not how the process works, but I couldn’t help wondering what the Lord was trying to tell me through Friar David.

I absolutely love the goofy expressions that both Friar David and Francine have in this photo!

Date: 05 April 2016
Place: between Villamayor de Monjardin and Los Arcos (Navarra, Spain)

The Day’s Map:

1. Only later did I find out that they were also a weird heretical sect, but that’s another story.