Camino 2013 (Anticipation)

                                                             Our Pilgrims Prayer

Lord, I ask that you watch over us as we walk the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. 

Be for us our companion on the walk,
Our guide at the crossroads,
And our protection in danger,
May we deepen our relationship with you and walk together in solidarity with all God’s creation.
And Lord, you know the burdens we carry in the backpack of our hearts.
Lead us from despair to hope,
And fear to trust.
When we are weary, let us lean on you.
When we lose our way, help us to see the beauty that you led us to discover.
Be for us our light in the darkness,
Our consolation in our discouragements,
And our strength in our intentions,

So that we may arrive safe and sound at the end of the Road and enriched with grace and divine guidance return home renewed and filled with joy, peace, hope and love.

Amen

Why are we walking the Camino?

Lynn’s motivation - The Emmanuel book club book of the month for April 2013 was ‘What the psychic told the pilgrim’ by Jane Christmas. This book describes her pilgrimage along Spain’s Camino de Santiago de Compostela. I had never heard of the Camino before reading this book but was instantly hooked on the idea of doing it. My first thought, I have to admit, was that it would be a great way to lose weight – but that was a minor motivation compared to the lure of going on a significant and challenging life journey that presented an opportunity to escape the chaos that surrounded me and seek divine guidance on how to deal with it. 

Pilgrimage is traditionally a journey to a holy place — a place where saints have walked, a place where God has met people and blessed them.

Holy locations tend to inspire a sense of awe in those who visit them. Emotions and thoughts can clear and crystallize so that the divine can more easily be recognized. Cultivating a relationship with the sacred is the central theme and benefit of travelling on pilgrimages.

The Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago) is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. Millions of pilgrims have trod this route over more than ten centuries.

Pilgrimage is an opportunity to travel lightly, to walk free of daily routines, to meet people, to make friends, to enjoy and celebrate God’s creation. There is an opportunity, too, in the travelling, the conversations and the silences to reflect on the journey of our lives and on our journey homewards to God. And whether the context for pilgrimage is solitude or community, we will be drawn deeper into the mystery of God and the care of creation.

People through the ages have journeyed with God on pilgrimage:— to develop a closer relationship with God or nature, to seek forgiveness/perform a penance, to ask for healing, to pray for places where there is war or national disaster, to pray for family or friends, to seek guidance for a specific issue.

Pilgrimages offer rest and renewal which can lead to personal discovery. The old is left behind and new visions of the future are illuminated. My primary reason for doing the Camino is to seek divine guidance on how to let go and let God –to find a way to hold on to hope in spite of despair and replace fear with trust.

Russ’s motivation - Lynn said she would like to walk the Camino and I instantly agreed. I love hiking and it sounded like a great challenge.

Getting Ready

The days are ticking down, the planning is well underway, tickets, documents, etc. are all in hand.  Now we just have to pack everything we need into one too small suitcase, and two backpacks.