From two Caminos: On my first Camino I walked from Porto, in Portugal, to Santiago. It was a two week journey covering 157 miles, or 252 kilometers. Beginning at the front doors of the Cathedral of Porto, I walked with a friend, the two of us fitting it into the regular American summer vacation kind of schedule that was available to us in our workaday world.
On my second Camino, I was able to get an extended sabbatical, and so I walked 540 miles, or 867 kilometers, from Hendaye, France to Santiago, on the Northern Camino until the breakoff of the Primitivo that headed to Oviedo. I walked alone, and made friends along the way. On this pilgrimage, setting no speed records, I began on August 19th, at the church of Saint-Vincent de Hendaye, at the Saturday evening vigil Mass, where I got my first sello, or stamp. I walked into Santiago on September 30th, 45 days later.
Both trips were precious to me. Both were completely worth it, as things in and of themselves. Both gave me lots to reconsider in my life, and many new ways of thinking. I’d like to believe that I am a better person, and a more faithful companion to Jesus, as a result of them both. The longer pilgrimage was a greater gift to myself, but the shorter one was worth it, all for itself.
Mark 1:9, 12, 14, 16, 21, 29, 35 – It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John… 12 At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, 13 and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan… 14 Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God… 16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea… 21 Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught… 29 On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew… 35 Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place… 35 Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place.
For reflection: The Lord Jesus was constantly on the move, particularly in Mark’s Gospel. He didn’t make one journey; he made many. Jesus seldom stayed in any place for any length of time. The whole process of proclaiming the Gospel meant moving from place to place.
We, too, are invited to keep moving, not to remain static, to continue in growth, to find our way to God. The Camino is such a precious metaphor for the journey with God, toward God. It is particularly right to invite Jesus to be your peripatetic model and companion. In that spirit, the Camino isn’t a one-and-done experience. Some people, especially Europeans, whose travel costs are less, do the pilgrimage in small sections, over a series of years. Some will do the same route repeatedly, or different routes over the course of several years. Some will take the spirit of the Camino home with them, and in whatever place they are, whatever they are doing, wherever they are going, they find themselves still on that journey.
Consider what you are able to do at this point in time. Work, physical health, family responsibilities, personal endurance all have a part to play in how much of the Camino you can achieve in a given trip or in your lifetime. It’s great to be able to do it all; it’s entirely worthwhile to do the
possible at this given time in your life.
Do not let the perfect, or someone else’s idea of “the complete,” be the enemy of the possible. Be generous in setting aside as much time as possible for the pilgrimage, and then live within what is achievable, with good conscience and excitement for what God will do with what is available.
