EL CAMINO – SURRENDERING TO PROVIDENCE (3)

Today is Day 14 of my time on the Camino.  It started in Burgos and ended in León, a distance of approximately 200 km.  No, I didn't suddenly sprout wings or tele-transport or any other such thing.  I simply took a bus.  By Day 12, when I arrived in Burgos, I had walked 255 km.  But that was much less than I had anticipated completing by that time.  If I had any hope of completing the Camino in Santiago, I had to make a choice.

Sharing my daily reflection on Facebook yesterday, I noted that there are actually two quite different ways of looking at the Camino.  On the one hand, it is a journey to a destination: Santiago. On the other hand, it is a journey that is itself a destination, in inward journey, that moves ever closer to the core of the self.  Both of these are valid, and both are important perspectives to maintain along the way.  So, in an effort to respect both of these views, I opted to take the bus today to cover a distance that would have taken me about eight days to walk.  This way I can continue for the next two weeks to follow the inward journey and still arrive in Santiago by my target date of June 28.

In all of this, I have felt the affirming grace of God.  In a somewhat interesting twist of divine irony, all of the roads that the bus travelled today, including a brand new autoroute, either were called Camino de Santiago or followed the Camino closely enough that it was possible to see pilgrims along the route.  That was surprisingly consoling to me because it meant that I was still following the Camino, albeit not on foot.  As a further consolation, I was joined on the bus by other pilgrims who similarly needed to cover more ground.  Whatever vestiges of guilt remained in me were easily overcome by these consolations.

The graces of this experience continue to mount.  The great gift of the last few days was the hospitality of the Jesuit community in Burgos.  I have rarely been welcomed into a Jesuit community with such warmth and generosity.  Everyone was most accommodating and helpful, from the woman who insisted on doing my laundry, to the superior who welcomed me expansively at the community mass, shortly after my arrival.  I was able to rest and allow my body to recover.  Two good nights of sleep certainly helped.

So tomorrow it's back into the routine: early rise, quick breakfast, on the trail before 7:00.  We'll see how far I get.

Thanks again for the prayers and the support. It is a great assist along the way.