It seems strange to think that there are just over ten days left, or about 250km, on this journey that was little more than a dream a few short months ago.  These are my thoughts as I lie in my dorm bed musing on the fairly lackluster day –  soft rain, a few conversations with walking companions, a relaxing afternoon of resting and rinsing clothes, a nice meal prepared with a few fellow pilgrims, and an early night. 

My thoughts go also to the realisation that walking 25+ kilometres a days has become the norm.  Whether alone or walking with another, there is an easy quasi-meditative rhythm that has settled in.   This rhythm guides my legs without the effort of sport and gives rise to a lightness of spirit that says, 'I am making this walk, simply for the walk.' It's all gratuitous in a way.  Like a choir of monks at prayer, chanting seven times a day and repeating the entire psalter every two weeks for an entire life time.  The gratuity of their prayer is in the fact that it is freely offered to God and for the world with no expectations. 

My gratuity is that I am making this walk with no strings attached except the simple commitment of raising some funds for a worthy project.  For God and for the world.  I am doing that which is most natural for any human person to do:  walking and letting the mind go free.  

This is gratuitous in that much of current thinking would say that I am wasting my time since I'm not rushing to get somewhere important,  I'm not multi-tasking or problem solving.  I am simply taking in the surroundings, being attentive to my body, listening to the person I'm walking with, intermittently allowing personal issues, desires and prayers to come to the surface…. all very open ended.  

And so, lying in my dorm bed, knowing that I will sleep well, I feel content with God and with the world.  I look forward to tomorrow, to the changing terrain of the Camino, and to deepening this sense of gratuitousness so that it can become more a part of my life and work when I return home. 

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This pilgrimage is being made in support of AJAN – the African Jesuit AIDS Network – a Catholic organization that links and supports Jesuits working in HIV and AIDS care across sub-Saharan Africa. The AJAN vision of empowered individuals, families and communities working towards an HIV- and AIDS-free society and the fullness of life, is realized by Jesuits and their co-workers who reach out to people with HIV, their families, widows and orphans, and who seek to prevent the spread of the pandemic.  AJAN achieves its mission through facilitation and support, networking, advocacy and resource mobilization.  We are also happy to provide you with a tax receipt for your contributions. Please make checks payable to: Aide aux Jésuites canadiens (“Help the Canadian Jesuits” ). Please also include “2013 Pilgrimage Supporting AJAN” on the check memo line. Checks can be mailed to:

Canadian Jesuit Novitiate Pilgrimage

c / o Kevin Kelly

5611 avenue Gatineau

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

H3T 1X6