St. James The Pilgrim

Today we brought home an icon we commissioned with Mary Katsilometes, a Portland (Oregon) based iconographer. Mary has been working for years on several very large panels for a local Catholic church (Resurrection Parish), and her work caught our eye. Her work is breathtaking both in quality and in scale. We contacted her, and she kindly agreed to make time for St. James. We quickly reached an agreement, and set the process in motion. Today, some two months (or so) later we dropped by Mary's house/studio and picked up St. James. He is beautiful. Icons are to be blessed, and then are worthy of veneration. We will pursue this process with St. Mary's Cathedral in Portland. For now Robin and I feel blessed to have St. James under our roof. We have ongoing camino plans and as expected St. James will be asked to guide and protect us on our future journeys. St. James, pray for us, and for all pilgrims.

Winter Camino 2013 Slideshow

Robin finished this slideshow last night. It covers our walk down the Camino Frances, to Finisterre and Muxia, and the Camino Ingles. We started walking on Dec 31, 2012 and finished on Feb 18, 2013.

Enjoy the show.

Can you drink the cup?

I was reading a spiritual reflection the other day from the Henri Nouwen Society, and it referenced a scripture passage (Mt 20, 20) where the mother of James and John, was asking Jesus for special consideration for her sons. He responded, knowing what his future held in store, by asking "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" This is an interesting question for all of us. Let's open this up a bit. As this blog is about our times, and reflections on the Camino, lets start there.

The Camino experience places a pilgrim in a new and challenging environment. It requires many things from those who walk it. These include a willingness to be open to change, acceptance of one's companions, one's surroundings, one's own shortcomings and those of others, tolerance of discomfort, pain, and adverse weather just to name a few. Pilgrims set out on this journey knowing the challenges, but most expect they will complete the journey, and enjoy it. This vision of success and pleasure are companion themes in most of our lives. We simply expect things will work out, and we will enjoy our lives to boot. Let's hope so.  But, what if that is not the case? What then?

 My point is that in life, and the Camino is a microcosm of life, we each have a vision of who we are, the things that we will do, and how we see our lives unfolding. It is a given that anyone can be cheerful when life favors them, and everything is going according to plan (whatever that is). We can easily drink that cup. But what happens when life becomes less certain, success eludes us, we lose a job, our health fails us, or some other disappointment befalls us. What then? How do we react to that change? Do we turn bitter and reproachful? Do we search for someone to blame? Do we feel abandoned? Does our faith weaken? We can conjure up many ways to proclaim and celebrate the joys, and successes in our lives, but what of those days when the clouds gather, and thicken. Are we pulled to change into different people? Do we forsake happiness, and succumb to despair? Is that all that is left for us? The "cup of life" that has been given to us is still ours to drink, but can we do it? Do we have the faith to joyfully follow, not just accept, whatever path has been set out before us, regardless of the outcome? All that we do in life celebrates and consecrates the life (with its joys and sorrows) that God has given us. This is true whether we are walking the Camino or living our lives at home. Life is a locus of change. Our constantly evolving world can be confusing, and disorienting if success is our only compass, and the sole measure of our happiness. Embracing the cup of life, our cup, the cup of our salvation, and all that comes with it, and drinking of it fully, proclaims to all, as a wise priest once shared, that we are not called to be successful, but are simply called to be faithful. This is where true peace is found.

Buen Camino

The Camino continues to captivate and beckon

Botafumeiro - fly it once more!

The day we arrived at Santiago they did not fly the botafumeiro but they did the next day at the Pilgrim Mass. Perhaps that was due to the many priests visiting from USA, Italy and Germany on that day. Who knows? It sure was nice to hear the first reading proclaimed in English! We were sitting at the north transept so the view was a bit obscured but we were happy to see the botafumeiro flying again.

Robin

My favorite Camino beverage

After hours of huffing and puffing over snow-laden trails we reached the albergue Monte Irago in Foncebadon on January 23, 2013. We were going to stay in Rabanal but decided to push on to Foncebadon to make the next day's walk a bit easier, knowing the descent to Ponferrada would be long and hard. We were very happy to see Philipe (the owner and the hospitalero) 2 years after we first met him. After dinner, he asked us if we'd like some after dinner drinks and I happily opted for a glass of pacharan while J and James from NY both opted for a glass of orujo, a typical but very strong Spanish liquor. We talked about our discovery of the carajillo, an espresso drink mixed with (a liberal amount of) cognac or orujo, and how much we've enjoyed it, especially on cold (and wet!) days. Philipe then decided to show us how to modify orujo with fruits and sugar to either drink it as is or make carajillo with it, instead of with just cognac or straight Orujo. Apparently, this is very common in Spain and many people in rural villages make their own versions. It was fun to watch Philipe adding apples, lemons, and coffee beans to the orujo, and then setting the whole thing on fire. The excess alcohol burned away as Philipe enlightened us on this small part of Spanish culture. We all shared a warm, and fun filled evening in front of the fireplace (with lots of laughter) knowing our soaked clothing and boots were being dried for the next day's walk, as we sipped Filipe's magical elixir.

Cheers!
Robin

Jan 22, 2012 Approaching The House of God

So we finally found David's house - The House of God, as he named it. It was much less than a shack that he hand-built off of a deserted barn. I know for a fact that most pets in America live in much better conditions than David. But, what about his beaming smile? What about his voice filled with genuine gladness when he shouted "Hey, where are you from?" And, what about his last words to us; "Just enjoy!" Meaning, 'you think you are lost but you are never lost'. Okay, here is the kicker... When we were saying good-bye to him, he said, "Okay, bye! but, I am always here!" and he pointed his finger towards my heart....

I shall remember David whenever any doubt creeps into my mind that I might be lost....

It was a memorable day, to say the least. I don't know why, but both J and I thought about St. Francis a lot on that day.

Robin