Walking the Camino de Santiago
Woke up early, much to my surprise, but it meant that I was packed and ready to go in plenty of time to pray lauds before breakfast began at 6:45. Had my first communal breakfast at a gîte and learned some things. In France (or, perhaps, in this region of France) at breakfast coffee comes in bowls. I heartily approve […]
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Last night’s dinner in the seminary refectory was my first real chance to sit down and talk with French pilgrims. Well, I say “talk” but we probably only had fifty words in common between two languages and the six of us. None of them are going to be on the trail for more than two weeks, and some for considerably […]
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I slept like a rock. After a breakfast of black coffee and fresh bread in the refectory, my first stop was the cathedral. There I gave thanks for having safely arrived in Le Puy, prayed lauds, and then the morning Mass. It was celebrated simply but beautifully, and since we sang the Latin Mass parts I could sing along. The […]
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Today the Lord saw fit to begin my pilgrimage with an exercise in humility, patience, and trust. As I write this I am on an air-conditioned train racing the sunset to Le Puy. I flew standby from Heathrow to Lyon, arriving approximately six hours after I had intended. It was a near thing: I didn’t know I was going to […]
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Yesterday I received the traditional pilgrim blessing at my parish of Saint Patrick from our pastor Rev. David Mulholland on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was the first time I received this blessing from the same person twice, which probably says quite a lot about the number of parish transitions we’ve been through over […]
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Tomorrow I leave for France to begin my “long Camino”. This time, I am walking the route known as the Via Podiensis from Le Puy-en-Velay all the way to Santiago de Compostela, a distance of nearly a thousand miles. In a few weeks, Francine will fly to Spain with our friend Becky to begin serving as an hospitalera for two […]
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Kit for the Via Podiensis We’ve come to that part of the pre-Camino countdown where for every two or three items I’m checking off my list, I seem to be adding one more. Today my very last piece of kit arrived – a new windbreaker/rain shell to replace my old one. The new one is about a third the weight […]
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I often talk about the idea of Camino Families – that extended network of people that you meet and walk with on Camino. You endure a lot of hardship together, share meals, laughs, and stories. You become close – you become family. Here are some of the members of our 2013 Camino family that we met up with again in […]
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This was the sanctuary of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela as it appeared in 2013, at the conclusion of our first Camino. Since then, the sanctuary – indeed, the entire cathedral – has undergone a glorious restoration. You can get a feel for how the place has changed in our post from last year. It’s now considerably brighter and […]
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After a long celebratory night, the next morning we returned to the cathedral. I love this shot, sighting along the narrow winding streets of the old city towards the three spires of the cathedral, rising over the Palace of Raxoi, one of the other buildings – along with the cathedral – that frame the Praza do Obradioro. Date: 03 May […]
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