REFLECTING ON THE CAMINO PILGRIMAGE

REFLECTIONS ON THE CAMINO PILGRIMAGE

By the Rev. Mary Lessmann

We have entered the season of Lent, a time where we intentionally reflect on our spiritual walk. Over the centuries, our Christian brothers and sisters have discerned many practices that move us from the rapid pace of our busy lives into this intentional, reflective space. Prayer, worship, study, silence—all can be aspects of a Lenten discipline. Another discipline, recognized from the earliest days of the church, is pilgrimage. Over the last few years, Saint Michael has embraced pilgrimage as a congregational discipline; a means by which we set aside our normal daily rhythms and responsibilities to enter a space dedicated and offered to God during which we can be shaped and transformed.

In September 2021, 19 women from Saint Michael made pilgrimage to hike the final leg of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The Camino is the pilgrimage road to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia where St. James, an apostle of Jesus, is said to be laid to rest. Legend holds that St. James spent time preaching the Gospel in Spain before returning to Jerusalem where he was martyred. His remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain and buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela. The Camino, or Way of St. James, has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times and has existed for over 1000 years. It was considered one of three pilgrimages on which all sins could be forgiven—the others being pilgrimage to Rome and to Jerusalem. Over the years, the scallop shell, which pilgrims collected from the shore to ‘prove’ the completion of their trek, has become a symbol of the Camino de Santiago.

While our flight to Spain departed on September 14, our journey began much earlier. We began monthly training walks in January, gradually building up our endurance. First one hour, then two hours, then seven miles, then nine. Our training over those months also helped form us as a group. Many of us did not know one another before signing up for this adventure, so our long training walks gave us an opportunity to bond. “One of my goals for the experience was to meet more women who attend Saint Michael,” said Karen Lawrence, “and I accomplished that!” And Debbie Jenevein noted, “I feel that I have 19 new and very good friends that are much more than acquaintances or ‘surface friends.’ These are people I really care about and I feel they care about me. I am also more comfortable coming to SMAA events knowing I will see familiar faces.”

Our trip had the bonus complexity of happening during a global pandemic. We downloaded Spanish travel apps and completed online paperwork. We investigated what our testing options would be in Spain, as the U.S. was requiring a negative Covid test within three days of return. Flight schedules were changing rapidly as travel rules shifted, and we had to accommodate the requirements of various airlines. And, of course, all pilgrims needed to be fully vaccinated, and bring proof of such, prior to departing. With all of the planning work that was necessary to prepare to travel internationally during the pandemic, the actual trip over went off without a hitch. Everyone made their flight, cleared all documentation requirements, and arrived in Madrid without incident. We felt our trip was off to an encouraging start!

We had a lovely day in Madrid before boarding our bus to Sarria, where we began our walk. On the evening before our first day on the trail, we were given an orientation which included instructions on documenting our journey so that we might get our Compostela upon reaching Santiago. The Compostela is a certificate that is completed by hand, in Latin, for each Camino pilgrim who qualifies. To earn it, you must have a credential, or passport, that has been stamped at least two to three times a day, with dates, for at least the last 100 kilometers of the Camino. Our group hiked 115 kilometers, or 72 miles, over six days. While the true satisfaction is completing the walk, we were happy to receive our Compostelas as an acknowledgment of our journey.

One of the unexpected delights of the Camino is the setting. “The surprise for me was how beautiful the countryside was along the Camino,” Edna Cannata observed. “The forest often evoked a fairy tale setting, with the trees canopied overhead and crows calling through the woods. I loved seeing all the farm animals along the way.” In addition to other pilgrims, we shared the walk with sheep, cows, and roosters (to name a few) who were mediators of God’s presence to us. “A baby lamb came up to me and touched my hand with its soft nose and looked right at me,” Nancy Wilbur shared. “We named that baby lamb ‘The Lamb of God.’”

It is common for pilgrims to leave mementos and tokens along the trail. Many makeshift shrines and altars have sprung up over the years. Pilgrims leave photos of loved ones, notes and letters, items of special meaning, and many, many rocks. Rocks are left as a representation of various experiences. They are left in memory of a loved one who has died, they are left as a symbol of a burden that needs to be laid down, and they are left as an expression of solidarity with all the pilgrims who have walked this path before. We were moved by all of these expressions. And we brought our own rocks, symbolizing something we wanted to ‘leave’ on the trail, each of us discerning the right time and setting to set our rock down.

We planned the trip with an intentional rhythm to our days. We gathered for Morning Prayer prior to setting out each day. And we gathered for Evening Prayer and reflections prior to heading out to dinner each evening. For many of our pilgrims, this was an essential part of the experience. “I loved Morning and Evening prayer,” said Wendy O’Sullivan. “It is a practice I now try to incorporate into my daily life. It is a time for peace, gratitude and time with God.” Reflecting on the importance of this time, Sarah Morrow shared, “Perhaps my favorite part was our evening devotional. I marveled at each woman’s reflection. We all walked the same path, but we all came with a different purpose or carrying a distinct burden. How awesome that God revealed himself to us in myriad ways. And how fitting that we concluded each evening with the scripture reading ‘For the same God who said, “Out of darkness let light shine,” has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation—the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Cor 4:6).”

A distinct feature of the Camino are the mojones, or concrete markers, that help pilgrims stay on the right path. When we began our walk in Sarria, the mojon reminded us that we had to cover 115 km in the next six days. Seeing these numbers drop over the course of our journey is part of our encouragement. When we wake the final day, we see the 20 km mojon and we know that by mid-afternoon, we will have arrived at the cathedral square in Santiago. Judy Conner noted, “The image that will always stay with me is all of our feet surrounding the 0 km marker in the Cathedral plaza!”

In the end, what we hoped was to be moved, to be changed, to be transformed by our experience on the Camino. And while this looked a little different for each pilgrim, we brought this home with us. Whether it was the physical sense of accomplishment, the connection to pilgrims who had made the same journey over the centuries, the close community formed among our group, or the gift of God’s presence in his beautiful creation and in the slower pace of our days—we left the Camino de Santiago with a deeper sense of ourselves as children of God and members of the community of the faithful. We know ourselves as ones who search for God in the assurance that, in our desire to know God, he will make himself known to us. It is with deep satisfaction that we wish one another ‘Buen Camino!’ and return to our lives forever changed.