Camino 2017-10-5 The Road Home

The Road Home

Tell me, where is the road I can call my own

That I left, that I lost so long ago?

All these years I have wandered.

Oh when will I know

there's a way, there's a road that will lead me home

After wind, after rain, when the dark is done,

as I wake from a dream in the gold of day

Through the air there's a calling from far away

there's a voice I can hear that will lead me home.

Rise up, follow me, come away is the call

with the love in your heart as the only song.

There is no such beauty as where you belong.

Rise up, follow me, I will lead you home.

By Stephen Paulus 

https://youtu.be/LbwhSP3ZIq4

I don't know fully why this pilgrimage has drawn me back time and again. I'm not from Spain, though some of my ancestors are. It's not the love of walking in and of itself, because I do that at home almost daily. 

I've little interest in walking other famous trails in their entirety. The walking is, surprisingly, incidental. It's a means to an end. 

Like the song says, we are asked to rise up. To follow the singer. To be in the place we belong. Home can be anywhere we want it to be. Home to me the past few years has been to myself, where God has wanted me.

The Camino De Santiago is not the place then but the process for me. In the time on this pilgrimage, I'm marinating in nature, city, and history -- People. Strangers walk into our lives, break bread with us, share a path. And they become less the stranger when they do so. Some become friends.

And if we walk with people from home, we deepen the relationship, tighten the bonds not to each other but to love universal - which allows unity and companionship to grow stronger.

I met up with Julz outside of Padrón . We started early, out of excitement. We only took one break. The 17 or so miles flew by because we were caught up in the moment. Stretches of silent reflection were broken up by outright howls of laughter from stories of our lives. We did this until we finally reached Santiago de Compostela.

I helped Julz check in, wildly coincidentally, at a small pensione that I stayed in when I brought my parents here 2 years ago. We then went to the cathedral where we parted for dinner. But before we did, we stared at our destination. And we processed. The climax and anticlimax of such a trip takes a while to comprehend.

And most of all we realize that we've taken a road home. Our personal home of self. And despite the effort, despite the journey, despite the song, we don't stay there alone. 

We come home so that we can venture out once more. We come home so that we can invite others to join us. We come home so that we can be centered and balanced before we walk set foot again in the trail.

Walking for me, Walking for others

You may have heard that I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2014. If you read my blog series on that pilgrimage, you're well aware of what went through my head and heart. If not here are the two main links:
   Before the Camino
   During and after the Camino

It amazes me how much the Camino changed my perceptions. Perhaps that's not correct. I think inside I knew what should and could arise from this pilgrimage. No, what's amazing is that in spite of all that I knew and perceived, my focus was all around one being.

Me.

My journey in faith.

My spiritual direction.

My own Camino.

And what I discovered, especially as I re-read my blog postings, was that what was changing was not necessarily my perceptions, but my focus. By focusing so much on me, I so lost sight of many of the things that truly make for a grace-filled world. The low point and high point of the refocusing pivoted on one night, as I describe in the blog entry Preconceived Notions and Judgement . As I mentioned there, I was up half the night, shocked that my self-focused walk almost blocked the Holy Spirit from working both within me and within others. On my camino, I was twisting in my path.

So the lessons revolved around the focus, not on what I knew. I know that religion is about our inter-connectedness, our relationships, other love with others on this earth. My spiritual focus was on me, which obscured the eternal truths. So, this next walk will not focus on me. It will be on

Us.

Our journeys in faith.

Our spiritual directions.

Our own caminos.

Now, with All Saints Pasadena friends Matthew Rhodes and Michelle Johnston, I'm planning on returning to the Camino in 2016 May-June. And many, many more are coming, though they will start at different places. Matthew and MJ will start at Saint Jean Pied-de-Port on the French border, the typical starting spot for the 500 mile journey. Stephen will likely start in Astorga. Others in Burgos, where I started my journey in 2014. And I'll continue to Finisterre, on foot this time.

This time, in 2016, I won't be starting in Spain. I'll be starting in Lourdes, France.

The Virgin Mary made over a dozen appearances to the village starting in 1858. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a place of mass pilgrimage. The spring water from the grotto is believed by some to possess healing properties. This pilgrimage site of healing receives millions of visitors every year.

I will begin my pilgrimage on the Camino here. I will seek healing in communion with others. Then, with oils and waters from this site, I will begin my Camino walk towards Saint Jean Pied-de-Port and onwards to Santiago de Compostella. Most importantly, I will share the water and oil with those who wish to share in a healing moment.

So it won't be about me this time. It will be about sitting with others and praying together for healing and love. I'll be praying with and for everyone I meet. I hope I stay in the moment and present with all I encounter. And, with a grace-filled heart, my focus won't need adjusting this time.

Day 16 - The Botafumeiro

So...

This happened

(Friday September 26, after the 7:30pm mass in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella)

From Wikipedia

One tradition has it that the use of a swinging censer in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral began in the 11th century. Arriving pilgrims were tired and unwashed. It was also believed that incense smoke had a prophylactic effect in the time of plagues and epidemics. Of course, incense burning is also an important part of the liturgy, being an "oration to God", or form of prayer.

Many other cathedrals had similar large thuribles at one time. However, most of the other cathedrals discontinued the use of their swinging censers over the years.