From the Camino: I had been passed every day by a group of Spanish pilgrims, three men and one woman, who were clearly friends, if not before the pilgrimage, at least by this point in it. They were friendly enough with me as they passed me in the mid-morning. Somewhere in the very early afternoon, I would inevitably find them, having cafecitos altogether in some outdoor seating area. Some twenty to thirty minutes later they would pass me again. Occasionally I would see two of them at Mass in the evenings.
One day, one of the Mass goers was walking alone and told me that his friends, who had gone ahead of him, had called him to warn of heavy car traffic on the road route ahead, and to suggest an alternative, more pleasant route. He was kind enough to slow down for me and fill me in on their advice, which I was happy to take.
As it happened, the next day, he was again walking by himself, and slowed down again and took up a pleasant conversation with me. He was from Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands, and was making his almost annual pilgrimage to Santiago. It was both a vacation and a retreat for him. He was curious about my own pilgrimage, where I had started and was going to end, and how many days it had taken me so far. In the midst of relating these details, I admitted that it was my custom to stop once a week or so, wherever there was something noteworthy to see. I would rest, and see the big cities’ cathedrals, museums and noteworthy sites.
He looked at me and said with what appeared to have an edge to it, “¡Ah…un touregrino!” “Pilgrim,” in Spanish, is peregrino. He seemed to be calling me a tourist only pretending to be a pilgrim. I may well have missed some softening cultural cue, but it didn’t seem an entirely nice thing to say.
Shortly after this, we parted company, and he sped onward ahead of me to rejoin his friends.
I fell behind him and his companions when I stopped, again, in Lugo, for I was impenitent of my ways. I visited the cathedral there, as usual, and walked on the ancient Roman walls surrounding the heart of the city, and unrepentant, visited a special exhibit within the no-longer functioning prison, powerfully laying out the terrible and violent price Spaniards had paid to the secret police in the terrible days of Franco’s rule. All-in-all, I thought it was a day very well spent, and very much in the spirit of my Camino.
2 Thes 3:11-13 – 11 We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others. 12 Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food. 13 But you, brothers and sisters, do not be remiss in doing good.
For reflection: Every now and then one encounters some fiercely strong opinions about what makes an “authentic” pilgrim. Some will inevitably get expressed while on pilgrimage, but they are also found on Camino chat groups, forums and on Facebook. Some of these opinion are nonsense, founded on artificial standards, set by gurus without authority, guiding the unknowing, causing more confusion than is good. Among the claims you may encounter:
“Real pilgrims do not plan ahead, and are wide open to the moment”: There is a joyous openness to letting each day decide itself, starting when one rises naturally, and finishing as closed to the time that satisfies a whim. There is, though, no particular merit in it, and isn’t always entirely carefree. In the heavier trafficked months on the Camino Frances there may be a mad dash to get to the desired albergue before it fills with other pilgrims. The intensity of that concern may overwhelm many peoples’ reflective spirit, for a gain that just might not mean as much for them. There is no particular merit to planning or not planning, no particular automatic spiritual gain from either approach. Consider what you’re going to need most from the pilgrimage and plan, or don’t plan accordingly. If you’ve lived a tightly constrained life, it might be a great joy to walk unfettered by plans, but it might also be good to plan at least to walk at a time or rout with lighter traffic. If what is wanted is to be reflective without worries, some preplanning, be it a day or two ahead, or a complete trip, may be needed for your peace of mind. Do what will serve your spiritual needs at this time in your life.
“Real pilgrims carry all of their possessions, and do not use a shuttle service”: The winnowing process of Camino is a great gift one gives to one’s self. Discovering how little is needed to be purposeful and happy is one of the truly great blessings of this pilgrimage…if that is what you need. I encourage potential pilgrims to seriously consider paring everything down and carrying it all, on their backs. It’s a worthy effort with a huge payoff. But if you already have a streamed down life and don’t need that life-lesson, or are unable to make the Camino due to age or health conditions while carrying your gear, do what you are able, and get the assistance you need, even if that means using a taxi service that transfers a carry-on bag ahead to your next stop. Some pilgrim judges will disagree, with a puritanical spirit of rigorism, amplifying values that are neither historical nor authentic. In the Codex Calixtinus, the medieval text defining all things key to the Medieval Camino, pilgrims rode horses and had pack animals to carry their belongings. Having assistance has always been a part of pilgrimage for those who could afford it or needed it
“Real pilgrims would never take a taxi, train or ride in a car”: There is a value to walking every step of your pilgrimage, if it is done in humility and if circumstances don’t demand otherwise. It is the heart of the activity of this particular journey, to actually walk the Camino. If health concerns interrupt your journey, though, and you have companions whose company you value, should they wait for you, or might you take a taxi to catch up to them once you’ve recovered? Or, if you have a limited time frame, and this is a journey of a lifetime, might it be reasonable to choose to do some portions of the Camino and not others, linking them with a bus route? Again, do the doable and the uplifting.
“Real pilgrims stay in albergues“: It is true that many pilgrims stay in albergues, and find the camaraderie there one of their chief joys, establishing friendships they will hang onto for life. Yet as soon as the various routes were established, inns, roadhouses and a variety of domiciles, especially monasteries, gave the privileged the opportunity to have private rooms with private garderobes (facilities) and special food, with the understanding that they would leave an offering not expected from the poorest pilgrims. Do what will nourish your spirit, be it a companion filled blessed/cursed stay in an albergue or hostel, private room, rural farm or hotel. Those who stay in the latter support the local economy and provide jobs. Do not apologize.
There are some other claims I have encountered, whose good intent I encourage you to consider, but not feel bound by:
· “Real pilgrims leave all technology (smart phones, iPads, etc.) behind!” – I say, one person’s distraction is the next persons connection to the world.
· “Real pilgrims don’t clutter up their walk listening to music / podcasts / the news, etc.” – I found for myself that following the news in the late afternoon often channeled my prayer.
· “Real pilgrims don’t complain or demand.” – I say work on this one till it’s true, while acknowledging you’re still a pilgrim while you’re trying to get to that place where you don’t gripe or insist. This might be one of your key areas seeking transformation.
· “Real pilgrims start in Roncesvalles and not in Sarria.” – I say, “Preposterous!” You start where you start determined by what your time and body permit.
· “Real pilgrims don’t stop and sightsee. This isn’t a vacation!” – Actually, Medieval pilgrims were quite noted for taking in the sites where they could. It can be an incredibly enriching part of your pilgrimage, rooting it in the life of the people of the place, now and past.
· Most amazing to me was the claim that I read once (and only once, admittedly) “Real pilgrims are spiritual rather than religious.” – I say, on the one hand, that to be truly religious one has to be spiritual. On the other, it is possible to be a hypocrite claiming to be either spiritual or religious. Be your own best self, and work your way from there, independent of anyone else’s judgments or vacuous statements.
Most of these truth claims contain an element worthy for consideration, but their triumphal dogmatism offends this Catholic priest, of all people. My point is that there is room for you to walk the Camino the way you need to do it. I actively encourage you to carry everything, walk every step yourself, and profit form the shared experience of the albergue. Just don’t the inability to do these get in your way. And don’t allow the infallible statements of purists get in your way – As for the rigorists, I suggest they do the Buddhist pilgrimage to Llasa. There, the pilgrims prostrate fully, face down on the ground with hands extended above their heads, stand and walk three steps, then prostrates again, repeating this for the entire journey, for hundreds of miles. It’s many month’s long and should be sufficiently arduous for the fiercely demanding. Then, and maybe only then, they can be sure they’ve really been a pilgrim. The rest of us can settle for the doable.
