Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
Today in the calendar of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is the feast of this blog’s patron, Saint Bede the Venerable. This amazing man was a Benedictine monk, priest, historian, and a Doctor of the Church, all while dealing with Viking attacks. I took the name Bede when I made my final oblation as a Benedictine. Bede occupies […]
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This coming Sunday my parish will participate in an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass. The Masses that weekend will be celebrated Ad Orientem. This will be the fourth year we’ve taken Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. If you are anywhere in the area, I hope you will consider joining us. […]
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It is now eighteen days after our arrival in Santiago. I’ve been back to my previous life and job for two full weeks now. Early on, somebody asked me “how’s re-entry been?” I’m not sure I gave a coherent answer at the time, and I’m not sure I’m going to give one now, either. In short, it’s been difficult. I […]
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We read today in the Acts of the Apostles of this great day, which in a certain way we can celebrate as the birthday of the Church: When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire […]
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On this day in 1917, not even a century ago, the Blessed Virgin began appearing to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. She appeared on the thirteenth day of six consecutive months. In another article, I’ve talked a little about the Miracle of the Sun. Regardless of miracles, Catholics are not obliged to believe these “private revelations”. Indeed, the Church […]
» Read morePraise God in His angels and in His saints! At about 3:00 PM on the Memorial of Saint Athanasius, the second of May 2016, we arrived at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. On the way in we met Anita, who escorted the three of us – Francine, Rebecca, and myself – to the cathedral Plaza. Afterwards, secured beds […]
» Read moreGalicia has been uncharacteristically cool and sunny, enabling us to do some fairly decent long-distance days. Oh, the forests of Galicia! So beautiful, and so otherworldly. As we came down from crossing our third mountain range, the clouds poured into the valleys below us like the sea lapping on the shore. Stories and poems have tumbled through my head […]
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Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit iustus, ab auditione mala non timebit. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon her. She shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports. Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum et gratia tua […]
» Read moreOnly 17.5 km today, but the last 8 km included a rough, rocky climb of almost 700 m as we left El Bierzo behind and entered our fourth Spanish kingdom: Galicia. We left early and had our second breakfast in Vega de Valcarce. By the time we stopped for a drink at a funky albergue/bar in La Faba called “El […]
» Read moreAfter Rabanal, we crested the Cordillera Cantábrica at Cruz de Ferro. Traditionally, one leaves a stone at the foot of the cross there. This is the accompanying prayer: Lord, may this stone, a symbol of my efforts on the pilgrimage that I lay at the foot of the cross of the Savior, one day weigh the balance in favor of my […]
» Read moreWe arrived in Rabanal del Camino three years to the day since the last time we were here, though not by any conscious design on our part. We have been walking with a young Dutchman named Stijn, and we ran into our old friend Rebecca again a couple of times during today’s walk. It has become a glorious, sunny afternoon. […]
» Read moreWe are spending the night in Sahagún. For those of you who are fans of “Babylon Five”, this will sound uncomfortably close to “Z’ha’dum“. It was a beautiful day for walking – cool and sunny. A welcome change from the recent weeks. We had our second breakfast at the Albergue Jacques de Molay in the village of Terradillos de Templarios, […]
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Today is the 89th birthday of Father Benedict, once Pope Benedict XVI. Happy birthday! Obviously, we don’t know how history will judge the life and works of Pope Benedict XVI. As for me, I think that in a century or so, he will be enrolled amongst the Doctors of the Church. If you have not read any of his books, […]
» Read moreEach day of our pilgrimage, it has pleased God to send us a new trial. If it is not hills to climb, then it is rain. If it is not rain, then mud. If not mud, then a driving wind. Today, it pleased God to send us all of these in succession. To these trials must be added the […]
» Read moreThis morning we arrived in Burgos, and we immediately went to tour the cathedral. What can one say about this magnificent edifice? It is simply one of the marvels of architecture and art. Eventually my photos will load, but this is hampered by lack of wifi and lack of bandwidth. To give a small idea of its splendour, consider this: the […]
» Read moreIt has been several days and 10 journal pages since I last posted. In that time, we’ve walked 64 km. The Camino continues to teach new lessons every day. Here are three. God speaks through whom He will. If necessary, He will send updates and clarifications. Several days ago, an issue with which I have been wrestling was answered by the […]
» Read moreAfter a lovely morning in cool, overcast weather, we had an endless afternoon as the Way curved around hill after hill after hill, hiding from us any view of our day’s destination until we had suddenly arrived. In the midst of that endless, depressing afternoon, we met a Friar whose positive impact on my day was immediate. Other impacts, I’m […]
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