Three years ago I spent a semester studying abroad in
Toledo, Spain. I finished my time abroad
by taking a week long hike along the “Camino de Santiago” (Way of Saint
James). This ancient pilgrimage is a
truly special route which now attracts a full range of people, from FC
Barcelona season ticket holders, to old Italian Grandpas, both of which I met
during my week long excursion. This path
is truly inspiring in an indescribable way.
I arrived at the cathedral in Santiago by coincidence the
day before Pentecost. Every day at
midday there is a special mass for the recently arrived pilgrims. When I arrived at mass I almost had chills, I
realized that I had basically lived Pentecost in the week leading up to this
mass. I walked together with people with
whom I shared no common language, simply a heart which felt like walking. Yet the magic of the path bonded us in a very
special way. Then as we all began to
arrive at the cathedral we celebrated the mass of Pentecost, a day to celebrate
the great beauty of the Holy Spirit and its ability to bond us all despite our
many differences.
The beauty of the camino is that it never truly ends, once
you begin, you continue walking along the path wherever life takes you. This past May 27, I celebrated my third
anniversary of arriving at the Cathedral.
It comforted my heart to see that while much had happened in the past
three years, many underlying good things remained the same.
I arrived back from vacation May 21. The girls even smiled and gave me a hug when
I got back, this was big. During the
week I caught up with Nils and Sor Keidy about what had happened during my two
weeks off. I received several notes from
community members at the finca who had passed through while I was away simply
saying hello and wishing me all the best.
On Friday I read the second reading at the first English mass in the
cathedral (we have a new Bishop from Ireland).
Then that weekend we spent Saturday night at the Satterlees (who live in
a neighborhood outside downtown) to avoid the major crowds and incredibly loud
noise that lasted all night due to the big celebration of the Carnaval of San
Isidro. We then returned to the
apartments on Sunday morning, and attended a beautiful Pentecost mass that
night.
This may seem like a typical week in Ceiba, but it was
specially beautiful in its own way. I
continued walking along my life’s path with people from completely different
backgrounds than my own, yet bonded in the great love that founded the finca 16
years ago. I received notes from friends
who walked alongside me presently and in the past during my life’s camino. I read at the first mass in English in a
Spanish speaking cathedral, two languages, one spirit. We then spent the night before the big
holiday in the upper room of an apartment apart from most of the town similar
to the disciples before Pentecost. I
still live the camino, it never ends, yet I currently am walking a new section
of my path with new people.
That Monday night for community night with the teens I had a
special Camino/ Pentecost themed night complete with memory cards and a scene
from “Up!” To close the night, each person had to share how they saw the fruits
of the Holy Spirit (kindness, peace, generosity, etc) living in each person
living here in Phase II. I was overjoyed
when each teen shared truthfully and positively about every member of our small
community. Afterward instead of blasting
music or complaining about homework, they all simply remained calm, did their
chores, and then went to bed with pensive faces, they were thinking, they were
getting it, they were beginning to recognize their own camino, what a truly
beautiful thing to see.
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