Path of Peace…

In March 2020 the Camino brought me to the city of Logroño in Spain, and the COVID lockdown kept me here until the end of June that year. That happenstance, coincidence or act of Divine Providence (depending on how we view life and what happens to us within it) enabled me to meet and spend a lot of time with the Parish Priest of the church of Santiago in the city, who offered me a place to stay during that confinement, free of charge, in the parroquial pilgim hostel attached to the church.

It was a crucial meeting for me, at a crossroads in my life, and a lasting friendship with that priest (José Ignacio) developed as a result. The reason our friendship developed was because José Ignacio was the first priest I´d ever encountered who genuinely encouraged people to find their own path to a deep relationship with God, accepting that it may not be through the church. He also had a deep affection for the Camino itself and for all pilgrims. As he once said to me during one of our conversations about the Camino and our personal experiences of it “I see myself in the pilgrims”.

Every year, during the Summer months when the number of pilgrims passing through the city rises to the hundreds daily, he would put leaflets in the church in various languages entitled Signposts for another Path. He had the “Gift of the Word” (to use an expression from St Paul) in that his sermons and his writing were deeply human and managed to bridge the gap between the religious and the spiritual. He believed passionately that the internal camino of our lives matters as much, if not more, than how we live our external life camino, because he understood that what we truly believe about ourselves will directly affect how we live our lives and the choices that we make. As he said more than once, ´when we find our true selves, we find God´.

I think he was right because, even though he sadly died last year, the church continues to put the leaflets out for anyone who wishes to take them and they´ve noticed that many tourists and local people take them too, not just people walking the Camino de Santiago.

Today, the 8th of September, the Christian church celebrates the birthday of Mary, mother of Jesus, and it seemed like a good day to share the leaflet that José Ignacio wrote for all life pilgrims (full wording reproduced below).

SIGNPOSTS FOR ANOTHER PATH

Who am I?
Prayer to begin the day´s walk
Guide me Lord along the Path of Peace.
Lord you search me out and know me;
You know my sitting down and my standing up;
From afar you know my thoughts.
(Psalm 139)

Pilgrim, you have already been walking for several days on the Camino; you know something about what this pilgrimage to Santiago is. Today we suggest that you ask yourself some questions. Good questions are important, even when we don´t have the answers.

Consider this text with care:
"In those days the Lord said to Abraham, ´Leave your country and your father´s house and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great people, and your name will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.  In your name, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.  So Abraham left, as the Lord had told him.  He was 75 years old when he left Harran, and he took with him Sarai, his wife, his nephew Lot, and all his possessions and all his slaves.  Together they placed themselves on the road that led to the land of Canaan
(Genesis 12: 1-5)

Consider these questions for your reflection:
Who called you to leave your home?
What has impelled you to begin to walk?
What do you look for and hope for on the Camino?
What questions have begun to form in your mind?

Consider a symbol:
Take your pilgrim credential and study it carefully.  Notice your name written there.  A wise person said we have 3 names.  The first one is given to us at birth.  If we consider the mother of Jesus, her first name is "Mary".  The second name is the one given to us by society, that is the name we make for ourselves.  Using the same example, Mary was known as the "Mother of Jesus".  The third name, which is the most important, is the name given to us by God.  Our life ought to be orientated towards the discovery of that name.  In Mary´s case her God-given name was... "Full of Grace".

Ask yourself what your 3 names are. Imagine 3 names that God might give you, then pick the one that seems most attractive.

Consider Your Self:
Find quiet times dedicated to what you find around you and to what speaks within you.  Promise yourself this for the pilgrimage of your life: each day take some time apart and try to quieten your body and mind.  Listen for how God is naming you.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to discover what you are calling me.
Give me the courage to be what you want me to be.
Amen