Following in the Footsteps

Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage Psalms 119:54

As someone who has been tethered to computers and the Internet for many years doing my online teaching and consulting work, I have come to realize the need to create a balance between the connected self and disconnected self.

To achieve that goal, I spent five days in July 2012, not teaching or consulting, not in a car, nor with a computer, but rather walking the last 115 kilometers of the Camino Frances pilgrimage route across northern Spain (mostly in the mountains of Galicia).

My goal was more than to simply get untethered, I sought to walk in the path of the apostle St. James (Yacob in transliterated Hebrew and Santiago in Spanish) who walked in the footsteps of Jesus as one of his disciples. The Camino Frances traces his apostolic path, but in the direction toward his resting place in Santiago De Compostela in the true spirit of pilgrimage.

Crossing mountain ridges made it an arduous journey, but in my prayerful approach and in the sharing of that with other pilgrims, it was a rewarding pilgrimage. What made walking more than 8 hours per day for 5 days possible was not my training or equipment, but the spirit that endows when the words “Para Dios” (For God) guides your steps. Those are the words that I received in answer to my question of two Spanish pilgrims on a previous visit to the Camino when I asked why they go on this pilgrimage.

Although my pilgrimage was completed, while still resting my heels (and knees;-) I made plans to walk the last 117 kilometers of the Camino Portugues from the border of Spain and Portugal at Tui this time northward, but to the same destination, Santiago de Compostela – arriving on the feast day of the apostle, whose remains are kept behind the altar in the Cathedral.

https://followinginthefootsteps.orgfollowing-in-the-footsteps-on-the-camino/

Click on the play arrow in the video frame below to view a brief video I took one morning on the Camino at Palas de Rei, Spain in the mountains of Galicia where I stayed in a cabin overnight (listen for the German pilgrims singing as they began their walk that day).

Upon my return to work, my immersion in technology remains firmly entrenched, but I am finding the needed balance between being tethered and untethered from it – and using technology in this blog to raise the name of Jesus above all names.

I hope that you will find ways to balance your immersion in technology with the rewards of getting “untethered” and reflecting on our wider connection with life, each other, and a prayerful walk following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Buen Camino!

Pilgrim Paul

Camino Portugues at Tui, Spain

Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who set their hearts on pilgrimage. – Psalm 84:5

As my first entry on this blog, I would like to share my experience with you from my second pilgrimage in Spain – from Tui to Santiago de Compostela along the Camino Portugues.

On this pilgrimage, I became aware of the importance of this prayerful walk as one in which I was not alone, even though I walked it alone.

Certainly, there was the communion I felt with our Father’s beautiful creation all around me as I walked under sheltering trees of eucalyptus and pine forests, through quaint villages along country lanes, friendly villagers urging me on with the words, Buen Camino (Good Way), bordering fields ripe with the fruit of harvest, doves cooing, roosters crowing, and dogs wagging their tails.

And there was the sense of common purpose with other pilgrims, whether they were walking in front or behind me, walking along with me, or sitting by the trail resting.

This was also my experience on my walk along the last 115km of the Camino Frances, but this pilgrimage held more meaning for me because it more closely traced the path left by the Apostle Iacob (Jacob, the brother of John, Santiago, St. James) when he walked and preached the Gospel along the Roman roads through what was then Iberia, from the south to the northwestern coast of Spain, known as Finisterre (end of the earth).

This path along the northwestern coast was also taken by two of his loyal disciples when they returned his martyred body from Jerusalem to his final resting place in Santiago De Compostela.

Monte Santiaguino above Padron

In the towns along this pilgrim path, you could experience the legacy of this apostle through the people who live there. They filled local churches, kept fresh flowers on their wayside crosses (cruceiros), and in many other ways showed that they still followed in the footsteps of their beloved Santiago.

It struck me how our lives can interact in ways that speak of our valued principles (our morals and ethics) beyond words and a moment in time. As I walked, I was encouraged onward by the footprints left by those who walked before me. And with each step I took along the trail, I left a footprint that showed a pilgrim’s progress to those who followed.

Even when there were no other pilgrims in sight, I would come upon the traces of their prayerful walk through the rocks left on waymarkers to mark a moment of prayer for someone, crosses made of small branches left on the path or weaved into fences, a worn pair of shoes, a note to other pilgrims, or a memorial with the photo of someone who was in their prayers.

Camino Portugues waymarker with rocks

In the quiet recollection of my journey, I became aware of how this path was formed by pilgrims following for nearly two thousand years in the footsteps of the Apostle who followed in the footsteps of Jesus – and how this pilgrimage stretches forward in time and beyond that path throughout the earth.

I encourage you as you walk your Camino, to reflect on the footsteps you are making, the path you are taking, and the Buen Camino we can make for one another.

Buen Camino!

Pilgrim Paul