Santiago

Reflections on pilgrimage

photo taken by Julie Crandall

SANTIAGO

The road seen, then not seen, the hillside hiding
then revealing the way you should take, the road
dropping away from you as if leaving you to walk
on thin air, then catching you, holding you up,
when you thought you would fall, and the way
forward always in the end the way that you followed,
the way that carried you into your future, that brought
you to this place, no matter that it sometimes took
your promise from you, no matter that it had to break
your heart along the way.

(excerpt from PILGRIM and DAVID WHYTE: ESSENTIALS)

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Several friends have walked or are walking the road to Santiago this summer. People have journeyed on this pilgrimage for centuries for so many reasons.

Pilgrimage… I have always been fascinated with this important tradition. Dedicated and determined, people travel miles away from their homes. With maps in hand and bear essentials on their backs, they walk alone until they meet a stranger. Together, they move ahead with a sense of belonging. Together, they continue shaping and re-shaping the reasons for this journey, which is unlike anything they could have ever anticipated.

There is always a goal: ultimately, to reach the holy ground, to touch the sacred stone, to bathe in the healing waters, to restore a fragile faith.

There are many pilgrimage ways, including long journeys to holy places: Santiago, Lourdes, Jerusalem, and Mecca. As I sit in front of my table, I consider all the different ways we can take spiritual journeys. Alongside my friends traveling the long and diverse road to Santiago, I begin my own pilgrimage, tracing the finger path of the labyrinth before me.