THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO (WAY OF ST. JAMES), SPAIN- A Journey of Faith

There are some things I have always wanted to experience at least once in my life for example skydiving - feeling the exhilaration of doing something really different from my everyday life; to experience a small group live-in retreat in the beautiful town of Assisi, Italy - a place I truly fell in love with 12 years ago but most of all a dream I had for over 20 years...to one day complete the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James)! Why? Because I always felt drawn to the idea of discovering who God was to me and this long walking pilgrimage seemed just what would help me discover God in a personal way. The St. James Way walking pilgrimage was my one greatest desire to achieve as a Catholic since I was in my mid-twenties! Last year, I thought I had to finally drop these dreams as being a volunteer, I had to be practical...yet the yearning persisted in my heart.  

Brendan Pereira, whom I really felt blessed to meet through his sister, Carol, a very dear friend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last month has just completed the Way of St. James  or the Camino de Santiago as it is known - a major Christian pilgrimage in Spain. I was really eager to know of Brendan's experience which he and his wife, Kherk Ying, were about to start  a couple of days after I met him - with a Malaysian priest and a group of lay Catholics. It would be the first time I actually know a person who has done this pilgrimage!

This post is of Brendan's beautiful personal sharing which truly touched my heart and given me much hope NOT to give up on this first pilgrimage dream of mine. I now intend to make the Way of St. James a reality in my life - no ifs or buts. 

It is also a sharing that will make each of us to look into our hearts and our lives too - as we too are pilgrims on this earth until we reach our Eternal Home.    

ARE WE PREPARED? ARE WE READY?

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What is the Way of St. James like? Was it inspiring? Did you ever feel like giving up? Did it get all too much? Was it worth it? Would you do it again? Did you feel the Presence of Jesus?

So many questions...It is difficult for me to capture all what I saw, smelt, heard and felt from Ponfredda to Compostella - a distance of more than 220 kms covered in pelting rain, pitch darkness, brilliant sunshine and , sometimes, numbing cold. But let me try.

At one level, my way of St. James was a snapshot of the 50 years of my life - the exhilarating; the tough, frustrating; annoying, surprising; comforting; challenging but ultimately, fulfilling!

On a spiritual level, it was not spectacular. Nor was there a moment when it all made sense, “an epiphany”. But everywhere around was the Presence of God! It was in the face of a loving priest who exuded the Joy of God and the Joy for God to all; it was in the loving concern of an American pilgrim who after covering more than 500 kms and carrying  the strain of a crumbling marriage, still found the energy and patience to  answer questions on the Catholic faith from a lapsed Catholic and a couple of atheists.   It was in the action of a young woman who chose to accompany a limping pilgrim along a longer but less punishing route. It was in the welcoming smile and generosity of an innkeeper in the back of beyond in Rufela who not only offered a few glasses of potent liquor to a clutch of pilgrims from Malaysia but also treated a sufferer with Alzheimer's with such grace.

It was in the serenity of so many pilgrims, that God never left their side when the going got tough and painful.It was in the kind face of 80-year-old Australian, Tony Andrews, who never failed to greet fellow pilgrims with a comforting word despite being in excruciating pain himself as he ticked off his bucket list wish of doing the Camino de Santiago once in his life.

As Blessed Paul VI noted, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses. Saint Peter expressed this well when he held up the example of a reverent and chaste life that wins over even without a word those who refuse to obey the Word...it is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelise the world."

There were witnesses aplenty to our Great God on the road!

And this journey gave me the opportunity to experience the goodness all around us. Because of the nonsense in Malaysia, the excesses, the religious and racial intolerance, there is a real danger of falling into an abyss of despair; of allowing the pall of negativity to cripple our thinking and turn us into cynics; of not trusting in the light and power of God; of not believing that each of us can be instruments of light and love for those around us.

But every one of the Malaysian pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago had an abundance of goodness and virtue to share. No doubt, each was searching for something on the journey and I am not sure if everyone got what they were looking for.But they were not self-absorbed in their own little world, content to shut out the others.

I have to talk about Fr. Simon Yong and my fellow pilgrims because my main take-away from the pilgrimage was this: we are never alone and God will always provide for us on this journey Home. Make no mistake, the journey will not be a walk in the park and often it can feel lonely.

Just ask Theresa. She walked the first stage of the final stretch in pitch darkness, sometime unsure where the next step would take her. Both her hands were occupied with walking sticks and had to depend on others for light from torchlight. But because we were all walking at different speeds, she found herself alone in unfamiliar territory.   Yet, she was calm. Why? Because she just felt the Presence of God, the God who had been beside her and guiding her.

For every one of us, the trek from Villafranca to O Cerbiero on day 2 was the toughest. Not only did it involve a 1000=metre climb but the distance covered was long and the weather, unforgiving. Rain, rain and more rain in terrain so daunting that Eleanor felt that had anything happened to her, finding her body would have been a challenge!

Still, all recalled that even in the most trying times on Day 2, help seemed to materialise from somewhere - from the taxi driver who suddenly provided relief for blister-laden Sophia or the farmer who offered three other pilgrims a ride.

There were lessons all around on Day 2. For me, it was the sobering thought that in my haste to reach the destination, I had somehow forgotten about my fellow pilgrims. I was too preoccupied with my journey that I forgot about my fellow sojourners who were struggling with the elements, poor signage and a bagful of emotions. In life, the danger of thinking about self is ever present. How often have I walked on, unconcerned over the difficulties felt by a neighbour, relative or church member?

But thankfully as Catholics, there is always a chance for redemption. Always an opportunity to embrace humility. And at the mass on Day 3, Fr. Simon - who was also part of the group that reached O Cebeiro first - offered an apology to those who were left behind.

Speaking about Fr. Simon, it was a true privilege and joy to be shepherded by one of God's own. It dawned upon me that we were one of very few who were travelling with a priest, a spiritual director. So we could celebrate mass everyday. We could pick his brain at meal time or during the walk. Sometimes, it is easy to take the good things in life for granted.

And we could witness first hand what it means to bring the Joy of Christ to strangers. I mean, Fr. Simon spoke to everyone on the route. Everyone! Most of the time, it was just banter. A joke here (don't give up your day job, Father) and a laugh there but always with the aim of bringing others into our fold.

And when he realized that someone was in despair or needed more than a few lines, he dropped back and walked with that person. One American pilgrim missed Sunday mass and requested for Confession. No problem! Fr. Simon walked along with him and heard his confession.

It is too easy to take our priests for granted; to complain about their homilies, to compare and pass judgement. But maybe a better option for us is to pray for more holy priests and thank God that He has blessed us abundantly over the years with those we have in our parishes.

Thank you, Fr. Simon and thank you Thomas, Fayene, Ka Imm, Veronica, Theresa, Mary, Sophia, Lynn, Eleanor and of course, Kherk Ying. Every one of you made the walk a fuller and richer experience for me. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your God-given gifts.

Years from now, I will still remember the beautiful voice of Fayene, shouting Mary's name in the forest for a good few minutes, the outdoor mass on Sunday and "war stories" told every night at the dinner table. I won't miss the grinding of someone's teeth and certainly not this line: "Hola is the name of a fat woman from Norway."

I will never forget Kherk Ying's first day. Didn't she suffer for the last 9 km on Day 1? The build-up of lactic acid in her legs made each step excruciating. But she persevered and far from being discouraged, wants to do the Camino in a couple of years, this time better prepared. She has already joined a gym and has a training session once a week at 7 am!

When I walked into the Cathedral in Compostella, it felt good, a pilgrim at the finish line of a long walk. Just imagine what it would feel when our pilgrimage in this life is over and we are welcomed into eternal life!

I conclude with a few verses of the PILGRIM'S PRAYER. It is so meaningful and provides a road map for our continuing journey through life's highs and lows.

"Although I may have shared all of my possessions 

with people of other languages and cultures; 

Made friends with Pilgrims of a thousand paths, or shared albergue with 

saints and princes, 

If I am not capable of forgiving my neighbour tomorrow, 

I have arrived nowhere.

"Although I may have had food and water each day

And enjoyed a roof and shower every night;

Or may have had my injuries well attended,

If I have not discovered in all that the love of God, 

I have arrived nowhere.

"Although I may have seen all the monuments

and contemplated the best sunsets;

Although I may have learned a greeting in every language or tasted the 

clean water from every fountain

If I have not discovered who is the author

of so much free beauty and so much peace

I have arrived nowhere

"If from today I do not continue walking on your path

searching and living conditions to what I have learned;

in from today I do not see in every person, friend or foe

a companion on the Camino;

If from today I cannot recognize God,

the God of Jesus Nazareth

as the one God of my life,

I have arrived nowhere.”

God Bless always and let us remember each other in prayer

Brendan

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The touching music video at the top of this post, "CAMINO DE SANTIAGO - THE PILGRIM's SONG" is by Cecelia Samartin, a best -selling novelist who was born in Havana, Cuba and resides in Los Angeles, USA.  

P.S. "Albergue" is similar to hostel accommodation