Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
On October 12, AD 40, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the Apostle Saint James near the town of Caesaraugusta in the Roman Province of Hispania, in what is now Zaragoza, Spain. He was discouraged. His mission in Hispania was largely a failure, with few converts and only a handful of ordained men to preach the Gospel here, at the […]
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Santiago Apóstol Today is the Feast of Saint James the Greater, known throughout the Spanish-speaking world as Santiago. He was one of Christ’s Twelve Apostles. Saint James is the patron saint of the archdiocese of Seattle, and therefore today is a solemnity within our archdiocese. May you have the joy of the feast! James and his brother John were natives […]
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Chanted from the version given in the Codex Calixtinus. Neither Ordinary nor Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, but rather from the Mozarabic Rite.
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I‘m considering doing another “Camino Photo of the Day” series over on my Camino Blog, this time using our first Camino, back in 2013. Anybody interested? I mean, even if nobody is, I may just do it anyway. Some weird post-Camino blues redux going on in my life right now, and I found that this helps. Source: Camino Photo of […]
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Solvitur ambulando: It is solved by walking. (Saint Augustine) Some time back, our Adult Catechesis class covered the Beatitudes. One of the main themes of the Beatitudes is, of course, detachment from worldly things while still living in the world. It struck me that this is exactly the center of what I call “Pilgrim spirituality” as well. When you walk […]
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Yesterday, following Vespers, I gave Father Wagner’s family the compostela from last year’s Camino. It seemed fitting, since I had walked for him. Indeed, the Pilgrim Office staff had written on it “Vicarie pro Rev. Michael Wagner”, indicating that I had walked as his substitute. Today I am reminded of something I wrote in my journal on this day back […]
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May the second looms large in my life. On this day in 2013, Francine and I walked into Santiago de Compostela for the first time, at the end of our first Camino. At this point, Francine had been walking for almost two weeks, and me for more than a month. I can’t describe the joy of that day. Arrival in […]
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This has been a crazy year. Here at Pistachio House, we had designated 2018 as the “Year of Hygge“. This was going to be the year that we concentrated on coziness. Pistachio House would be finally made into the cozy home we imagined. There would be coffee cake, walks, and new furnishings. It started out strongly enough, and it certainly […]
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It’s one month since we arrived in Santiago de Compostela as pilgrims for the third time. Every pilgrimage is different. You’re a different person with different concerns and worries and joys each time. And the Lord gives you different graces and consolations each time. It normally takes me a month or longer to process our Caminos. Re-entry is difficult. This […]
» Read moreOur first view of the city and the cathedral spires came on Monto de Goza – the mountain of joy. We sang “Holy God we Praise Thy Name”, and a rainbow broke out over the city. We fairly well bounded into the city, despite the urban slog. So many people! There are several conventions and a festival happening in the […]
» Read moreThis portion of the Camino seems to be a near constant series of bars and cafés. They have certainly multiplied since the last time we were here! After a most delicious breakfast at the albergue – and the Albergue Santa Irene is probably the finest on the Camino – we set out before dawn. This is only the second time […]
» Read moreYesterday began with rain and getting ourselves lost, adding two kilometers to our day before we even left Melide. Morale was low, and this cartoon posted on the wall of our lunch spot in Castañeda captured it perfectly. But then we ran into a delightful Australian family that we had been meeting up with now and again over several days. […]
» Read moreSo the plan always was on this Camino that we would take short days. I’m not sure what happened today. This is what happens when I leave Francine in charge. (I kid, I kid!) Today we walked 26 km. We’ve several longer Camino days over the years, but that was not the plan for this year. Oh, well. Today was […]
» Read moreWe left Portomarín in fog and mist that persisted for several hours. There’s something magical about the misty Galician forests that even highway walking can’t dispel. The dew condensed in hair and beard, and fell on us from the trees. The day was constant hills. The highlight of the day was undoubtedly exploring the Celtic pre-Roman ruins of Castromaior. Inhabited […]
» Read moreOf the 30,000 or so steps we took today to arrive in Portomarín, these 58 were probably the most difficult, coming as they did at the end of the day. The Camino climbs these steps into the town. They are made from the remaining stones of the ancient Roman bridge that used to cross the river here. Speaking of bridges, […]
» Read moreWe left the village of Samos as the clocks were striking 8 AM. First, the monastery bells, then a moment later the clocktower at the town hall, and finally a distant church. Most of the day’s walk was through a tapestry of forest and farmland. It was absolutely lovely. Magical. We passed through innumerable places that explored the hazy difference […]
» Read moreToday we walked about 17 km from Filloval to Samos. Last night’s sleep was a little rough thanks to a German pilgrim with a mighty snore! So we started late and sauntered through a haunting forest landscape dotted with tiny rural villages and tottering ruins. It began raining about noon, and by the time we arrived at Samos in the […]
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