Camino de Santiago

‘God offers me everything that I need to love him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength’ Father André Melancon reflects on the Camino de Santiago

Very Rev. André Melancon, V.F.

“Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1: 2-4).

These words from St. James at the beginning of his epistle speak to the journey that he walked through his decision to follow Christ. Jesus called James and his brother John as they were fishing with their father Zebedee and his life was never the same. Tradition holds that St. James brought the faith all the way to Spain and after he was martyred in Jerusalem, his remains were brought to Galicia, Spain, to be buried. There is a great cathedral built over his body and the city where he is buried is named after him, Santiago.

Since around the ninth century, pilgrims have traveled from different parts of Europe to Santiago to venerate the burial sight of St. James the Apostle. They would carry a Galician scallop shell to signify that they were “pelegrinos” on the “Camino de Santiago.” Twelve hundred years later, thousands of pilgrims continue to make the journey walking the footsteps of St. James with Santiago as their destination. This past summer, I was blessed to be able to make this pilgrimage.

I heard about the Camino many years before and always had it in the back of my mind as something I would like to do. Watching the movie “The Way,” which is about the Camino only increased this desire. I decided I would try to walk the Camino on the10th anniversary of my ordination, but COVID-19 backed it up a year. I began my journey on June 25 with the hope of finishing the 30-day journey around the feast of St. James on July 25.

I finished the 500-mile journey four days early on July 20. Walking into the cathedral square in Santiago after 26 days of walking was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I felt as though I had done something truly great. It is a feeling I hope I never forget. As you can imagine, there was a tremendous amount of preparation that happened before walking the Camino. I spoke with lots of people that walked it before and watched many YouTube videos.

I tried to do a fair amount of physical training and even lost 25 pounds a

Day 22 was a 14-and-a-half-mile journey from O Cebreiro to Triacastela. Father Melancon is pictured here with the spectacular views of the Cebreiro mountains behind him.

in preparation for the walk. A significant part of my preparation though was spiritual. I viewed the Camino as akin to a 30 day retreat. I knew that there were spiritual graces to receive on this journey and prayed for an openness to receive what the Lord had in store for me.

One significant day on my journey was the day of the anniversary of my father’s death. I realized that it was his anniversary and that also soon, I would turn 39, the same age that he was at the time of his death. It led me to reflect upon my life as a journey with heaven as my true destination. This is the reflection from my journal that day.

I am almost positive that a month out from his 39th birthday, my dad did not think that birthday would be his last. He had done well in his treatments for melanoma and I am sure was excited about life. But almost two months away from his 40th birthday, he died. My dad was a man who loved the Lord very much and he had a holy death. I know he was spiritually well prepared. But it caused me to have a good reflection about my own readiness.

I sincerely hope my next birthday will not be my last, but we are not guaranteed anything. I would love to tell you that I live every day of my life ready for my master’s return, but unfortunately this is not always the case. There are times that I am laxed in my walk with the Lord. I realized today that when this is the case, it is usually caused by a laziness and/or a lack of faith, hope and love.

The Lord helped me to see today how he offers me faith, hope and love every day. He offers me everything that I need to love him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I imagined today ways that I can be more consistently open to God’s grace.

This reflection I think sums up the Lord’s spiritual grace for me on my walk.

As I walked into the cathedral square, my desire for heaven was so strong. I experienced the reality that the pilgrimage of the Camino was a metaphor for our earthly journey to heaven. As the 500 mile journey a One of the most significant spots on the Camino is the Cruz de Ferro, which is situated at the highest elevation along the whole Camino. The Cruz de Ferro is a cross where people drop stones, often brought from home, which symbolize a burden that they want to release. Father Melancon says he thought a lot about what burden he wanted the stone he would lay at the cross to symbolize. But, as he threw his stone, the petition that came to his heart was something totally different than what he thought he would say. He explains that it was as if the Lord spoke the burden through him that he wanted Father Melancon to release. He was reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit interceding through us. “If we trust God and give him permission to show us how he wants to work in us, he will work and often he will surprise us. God is the great physician and he knows how we need to be healed. He only asks that we trust him.”

required much sacrifice and commitment, our journey to heaven requires even more. But as I quoted St. James at the beginning of this article, “the trials and testing of our faith produces perseverance.”

As we enter this season of Advent, we remember that we are on a journey to heaven. The Lord will come and we want him to find us ready. I am grateful for the opportunity to have walked the Camino. So many people prayed for me and encouraged me along the way. I hope to one day walk it again. I know that the journey changed me for the better and for that I am truly grateful. (Very Rev. André Melancon, V.F., is the pastor of St. Bernadette Church parish in Houma, and the dean of the Terrebonne Deanery.) BC

All of the Camino’s different routes end in the front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The city’s main square, Praza do Obradoiro, in front of the cathedral, is the final destination for many pilgrims. Father Melancon finished his journey in 26 days.

Father Melancon passes the Monument of the Alto del Perdón, the famous sheet metal statues of pelegrinos (pilgrims) who have journeyed the Camino Santiago in different periods of time, some accompanied by horses, mules and even dogs. The statues are located southwest of Pamplona, Spain.