A Journey

I had the opportunity to visit Santiago de Compostela a couple of weeks ago. It is a small town with a big history. Located in the rainy, lush hills of Galacia in Northern Spain, the town and Cathedral is the end of the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile four week pilgrimage made each year by over 100,000 people. The Pilgrimage started in the 9th century when a priest discovered the bones of the Apostle James in a tomb near what would become Santiago de Compostela. Over the next centuries the route became more popular as Catholic pilgrims were given indulgences (forgiveness from sins for completion of a task) for completing the pilgrimage during holy years. The money brought into the region helped fund the Reconquisition of Spain. Are James' bones buried buried there? Maybe. Is the Pilgrimage worth it? Absolutely. The pilgrimage is not about the manmade route that the peregrinos travel or the manmade shelters they stay in. It is about the relationships that they build with the people who host them along the way and the relationships they build with fellow travelers. It is not about that the relationship that the Camino had with the funding of a war. It is about the relationship that each person who completes the journey has with God along the way. They have time to rejoice in the beauty of creation. They have time to pray during the miles and miles of walking. And they have something that so few have these days; they have time to listen for a response. The facade of the Cathedral. This part of the Church is from the 1300s.

The Shell marks the way of the Camino.

Hiking along the Camino.

My friend Scott is studying in Madrid and so we were able to meet up.