Day 35 of the Camino - Dedicated to solidarity with the poor.

Today was day 35 of the Camino. Our destination was O Pedrouso (13 miles). It was a great day for walking, especially knowing that tomorrow will be our last day. There is excitement among the group as we await with anticipation our arrival into Santiago and our visit to the Cathedral of St. James. We have a chapel reserved for Saturday at 5pm to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost and to give thanks to God for a wonderful pilgrimage.

I dedicated my walk and prayers this day to being in solidarity with the poor. As we walked the Camino, Sr. Leota shared with me stories about the poor in her parish community and some of the struggles they face each day.  Sr. Leota and I spoke about how often the poor have to walk everywhere (to church, to work, to buy groceries, to visit a doctor, etc.) because they can't afford the expense of owning a vehicle or the cost of paying for a Taxi. Most of us complain about having to walk somewhere, especially in extreme temperatures, without ever giving it a thought that many poor people have no option but to walk. I know that the Camino has opened my eyes to this reality after having to walk in the cold, hot, rain, mud, animal droppings. My feet hurt at the end of the day but when this pilgrimage has ended I will go back to the States and resume 

My good friend Sr. Bonnie once shared with me that religious and priests, especially in the USA, will never know what it's like to be poor because we will always have a roof over our heads and food on our table, not to mention all the other perks such as health insurance, transportation, pension, etc. She's so right! We live a very comfortable life like many others in our communities. However, we can't forget about those who aren't so comfortable. We need to be a sign of Christ to them. We are called to love our neighbor, to help those who struggle everyday to make ends meet. The community at Our Lady Star of the Sea has a charity offering taken up every month to do just that, to help people in need. I'm very grateful for their generosity and for the gift to be able to help some of the most needy members of our community by providing food for them through the community food bank, or by helping them by paying a portion of their utility bills or medicines, etc.  

Day 36 of the Camino - Day of Thanksgiving.

Today is day 36 and our final day of walking. Our destination was our arrival into Santiago (12 miles ). I dedicated my walk and prayers thanking God for the blessing of my sabbatical, the generosity of so many and for all God's love and mercy in my life.

Last night we stayed a rural house built back in the early 18th Century. The property had its own chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. The picture below is of the retablo inside the chapel. 

This next picture is a close up of the image of Our Lady of Sorrows that sits in the center of the retablo.

The picture below is of our group as we started out our walk. We all walked together today and enjoyed our conversations.

As we were walking, I saw this clothes line with someone's clothes drying on it. It reminded me of my mom and grandma Tiki. The two of them were always washing and hanging our clothes out to dry in our backyard. I also thought about the importance of washing clothes. It's kinda like the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We confess our sins to clean our soul and conscience so that we can be reunited with our God and the body of Christ.

Day 34 of the Camino - Dedicated to the unemployed.

Today was day 33 of the Camino. Our destination was Ribadiso (16 miles). It was another long day with several tough hills to climb. The path was beautiful and green.

 I spent the day walking alongside Sr. Leota, Janice and Peter. "Speedy" (aka: Padre Benjamin) left us behind in the dust at the beginning of the day and we didn't see him again until 5:45pm when we finished the walk. 

I took this picture of Janice and Sr. Leota in the morning at one of our restroom stops. They look very joy-filled and ready to walk.

We had Peter stand by this sign because the ladies called him "Casanova." Did I tell you that the ladies both need glasses in order to see? Unfortunately they forgot them this day. Just kidding. Janice says that Peter will always be her "Casanova."

I also thought of my compadres, Carlos and Cleo Casanova, and offered up a prayer for them and their family.

I dedicated my walk and prayers this day for the unemployed. U.S. statistics show that 6.30% of the population is unemployed. It's 8.1% unemployment in Cameron County.  Before I left on sabbatical, several parishioners told me that they were unemployed and finding work was difficult, especially because many of the jobs in our area are seasonal that pay only minimum wage.  It's very difficult to raise a family on such little income. Let us pray for our parishioners and others who are unemployed so that they may find work that will sustain them and their families' needs. 

The following three pictures are images of churches on the Camino where I stopped to pray for the unemployed and all others who are on my prayer list. 

Below is one of the beautiful gardens we passed.

It was a rough day. This picture of Sr. Leota tells it all!

Good night and Buen Camino!

Day 33 of the Camino - Dedicated to children and youth of Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Today is day 33 of the Camino. Our destination was Palas de Rei (15 miles). The walk was long and had several hills. We were told by our guide that the worst of the climbs had passed, but I think today's climbs were probably the worst we've encountered thus far. I walked with Padre Benjamin (Speedy) who doesn't understand the meaning of the phrases: "let's rest for a minute" or "let's take a break." We walked so fast that we finished the walk one and a half hours before the others. Mama Mia!

Before I write any further about my day, I'd like to make mention that yesterday was Fr. Mike Gnanaraj's birthday. 

Fr. Mike, along with Msgr. Patrick Wells have been covering all the Masses and other liturgical celebrations at Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish while I'm on sabbatical. I'm very grateful to the two of  them for all their help and support. Happy Birthday Fr. Mike! 

As we began our walk in Portomarín we walked through the Plaza Mayor and stopped to take a group picture in front of this statue of St. James.

In case there was any question as to which direction we were to walk in,  Padre Benjamin and I decided to help point the way.

Once out of Portomarín, we walked through a beautiful wooded area. 

I dedicated my walk and prayers this day for the children and youth of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish. I prayed that they would come to know the love of Christ through our witness of faith, hope and love. I prayed that they be granted strength, understanding, wisdom and self-control when faced with the difficulties of peer pressure.  I prayed that they know how much God loves them and is present to them each and every day. 

When speaking to an audience of children on Ascension Sunday, the Pope talked about the importance of coming from the darkness into the light. “The light,” he said, “is always inside us. Because the light give us joy, gives us hope.” When people seek light, he continued, they can make the world a better place. 

The Pope went on to say, we can’t make the world better with hatred – only with love. “With love. With love. All together, like brothers and sisters, fighting alongside one another with love. And for that reason, I want to tell you one thing: When the Apostle John, who was such a good friend of Jesus, wanted to say who God is, do you know what he said? ‘God is love.’” “God is love,” Pope Francis repeated, “And we go forward together toward the light to find the love of God. But is the love of God within us, even in moments of darkness? Is the love of God hidden there? Yes, always! The love of God never leaves us. It is always with us. Let us have faith in this love.”

Our path led us through several small towns where we saw many cattle, sheep  and chickens. 

Quite often their owners lead them down the Camino path to greener pastures. This is when the path gets quite dirty and difficult to walk on due to animal droppings. One needs to be very careful where one steps.

Today we saw this little lamb and I thought of the passage from John's Gospel (John 10:1-21) about the Good Shepherd and how much we are loved and cared for by Christ.

We continued on our journey and came across this woman who began her walk in Barcelona. She has carried her pet canary and its cage with her all along the way. She told us that they lived together and that it was her pet so she brought it along. One meets many interesting people on the Camino. 

Arriving at Palas de Rei, our final destination, we stopped at this church to pray and thank God for completing another day of walking. 

I've include a couple more pictures of this church so that you can see the beauty of its interior. 

Good night and Buen Camino!

Day 32 of the Camino

Today is day 32 of the Camino. Our destination was Portomarín (13 miles). Four days left until we reach Santiago. These are the last 100 kilometers of the Camino. Many people begin walking from this point because they are able to obtain  a Camino certificate for walking the last 100 kilometers. 

We began our morning by stopping at this church in Sarria. The name of the church was Santa Magdalena. There were many images of Saints inside. I've included several pictures of church and Saints.

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Nice picture of Sr. Leota as we started our walk. 

The "honeymooners" - 42 years of marriage - an awesome witness of Christ's love.

Good night and Buen Camino!