We leave Ottawa in a small snow squall. Toronto is clear and we meet our group. We are being accompanied by Archbishop Emeritus Sylvain Lavoie, OMI and Fr Susai Jesu, OMI. Our tour provider Maria Drueco is also with us. We are a group of 28 pilgrims. Mostly from Edmonton but some from Sask and Manitoba.
A small mishap. John and Christine from Arnprior board an earlier flight to Toronto. When they get to the gate for Tel Aviv, their bags have apparently not made it to this flight. After a tense search everything is resolved. A smooth flight to Tel Aviv on Air Canada in their newest B787 Dreamliner.
Leaving the plane, another mishap. Marie inadvertently leves her wallet on the plane. After another tense wait, they find it and bring it to her. Hey, we are pilgrims and these things happen.
We head for Nazareth with a tall concrete wall on our right separating the Jewish State of Israel from the Palestinian West Bank settlements. There are gaps so it seems artificial and not needed but this is Israel we learn.
Our hotel is comfortable. Nazareth is very hilly and a large city. Much bigger than in Jesus time. The streets are narrow. We stop for a chicken shawarma sandwich lunch, yum. As we leave the restaurant, the call to Muslim worship sounds. A man looks at me and says to slow down. It’s time to pray. I say we heard this too in Istanbul. He says that is a good place.
That night we celebrate Mass and enjoy awonderful buffet dinner complete with humus, mediteranean style lamb stew, beef, roast chicken and dozens of sauces and spices.
We sleep and sleep at last. Thanks be to God for this pilgrimage and safe journey.
The Chemin de Saint Jacques – 800 km from Le Puy to Saint Jean Pied de Port
In June 2013, I walked the first 200 km of the Chemin de Saint-Jacques (St. James Way) from Le Puy to Conques in France. It was more difficult than our first Camino de Santiago in Spain on account of the hilly terrain plus I was now … 3 years older. This route, also called the GR 65 – is part of the long distance walking route Grand Randonnée network and part of the European long distance paths. Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent since I love walking so much.
I picked up my credential booklet at the magnificent Cathedral in Le Puy. It identifies the carrier as a bona fide pilgrim entitled to stay in the various gites d’etape (equivalent to the refugios in Spain).
I also purchased a copy of an excellent Michelin map book with suggested daily walking goals for this route, as well as the Miam Miam Dodo guide book to eating and sleeping.
So there I was all ready and anxious to head out on a 10 day walking adventure. I attended the early morning pilgrim Mass at the Cathedral in front of the Black Madonna and then said goodbye to Marie over pastry. I started hiking up the steep hillside leading out of Le Puy with pauses to catch my breath.
I remember gasping for air as I continued to climb out of Le Puy. This was going to be a tough one I thought. Not sure if I am going to be able to complete this. It is the familiar ring of doubt one feels everyday on a long hike such as this. I was carrying my pack on my back but already thinking it was too heavy. However, I was soon to be rewarded with some of the most gorgeous scenery anywhere France – the central rural plateau region.
Here are a few pictures of my very first day.
I managed to make it that day to a small town called Montbonnet, a distance of about 16 km and checked into my first gite d’etape (pronounced jeet deh tap). There were 7 other pilgrims there, all women as you can see below!
I had completed my first day safely but was feeling very exhausted. Thanks be to God!
Statue of Our Lady of Notre Dame left, Cathedral Notre Dame du Puy, right.
Le Puy-en-Velay (le pwee) is a mythical city of 18,000 located in south central France. It is one of the oldest Christian settlements there having been established by St. George in the 4th century AD. Le Puy’s most striking attraction is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Puy dating from the 12th century. It is also the founding place of the Sisters of St. Joseph Congregation in 1650. And for hundreds of years, a major starting point for pilgrims on the Chemin de St. Jacques (St. James Way) all the way to Santiago de Compostella in Spain 1600 km away. Ten years ago now Marie and I were blessed to go on pilgrimage to Le Puy.
The occasion was a workshop on Jean-Pierre Medaille’s Eucharistic Letter to the Sisters of St. Joseph which resulted in the founding of their Little Design way of life lay communities around the world. Sister Rosemary O’Toole, CSJ of the Upper Room House of Prayer in Nepean, Canada, led the workshop. Marie, being a “little designer”, was invited to attend and I, Dave tagged along. The story of the Eucharistic Letter is told in Sr Rosemery’s beautiful video that follows.
We were taken aback by the magnificent monuments and majesty of Le Puy: the ancient cathedral where a pilgrim Mass is celebrated each morning in front of the Black Madonna; the towering statue of Notre Dame de France (The Virgin Mary) overlooking the town; the Chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguille perched high on a rock spire; the small twisted hilly streets and a marketplace where women weave fine lace products.
The Black Madonna in Le Puy
The Sisters of St Joseph International Centre was a very comfortable place to stay overlooking the city. We were welcomed by a sister from Goa as well as two American sisters. They and their staff were charged with welcoming visitors, hospitality and operations. There was a main lodge, a guest house, kitchen, dining and meeting room facilities as well as a small chapel. There were sheep in the fenced yard next door that we could hear bleating. How lucky were we to stay in such a pastoral place!
View back to town from the Cathedral entrance way.
The next day Marie started her Eucharistic Letter program with Sister Rosemary and other participants from Canada, the USA , France and elsewhere. After breakfast at a small cafe, Dave said his goodbyes, attended the pilgrim Mass and then headed out for 10 days solo hiking on the Camino de Saint-Jacques.
At the Cathedral in Santiago after completing our pilgrimage.
Our first Camino de Santiago pilgrimage had been in 2010. Marie and I hiked some 700 km over a 29 day period from Pamplona to Santiago. I have already blogged about this journey in great detail here. In 2011, we were excited to embarked on our 2nd Camino – this one at the Galilee Retreat Centre in Arnprior, ON.
Fr. Jack Lau, OMI, Spiritual Animator, led us in a “virtual pilgrimage” at Galilee and on our own path in our local neighborhood. The idea was to walk everyday in a reflective way, reporting our progress, thoughts and observations, over a 3 month period. The goal was to bring the unity of Body, Mind and Spirit together.
Fr. Jack would send out a prayer or reflection that we were to keep in mind as we walked each day. We would monitor our distance and thoughts and report back to the group, whenever we felt like sharing. For example in the month of August I logged 146 km and reported back several times. Fr. Jack would acknowledge our messages and respond with prayers and encouragement. There was signage up at Galilee so often Marie and I would walk the lovely grounds there in silence and appreciation.
During this period, it was a bit of an upheaval time for us. We had sold our house in Ottawa, were living in a small RV and waiting for our new house to be ready in Arnprior. Dave’s mother passed away at this time. Hence the meditative walks, inner spiritual growth and stirrings and the frequent communications with Fr. Jack and the group were very helpful.
Here is a example of a typical message from Jack:
Camino@Galilee “Reflections”
I sent out earlier a reflection from an El Camino Pilgrim which was powerful and so will leave you with only this prayer from the Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hahn. Buen Camino, Jack,omi
To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem. To meditate means to observe. Your smile proves it. It proves that you are being gentle with yourself, that the sun of awareness is shining in you, that you have control of your situation. You are yourself, and you have acquired some peace.
We had a sharing night where those who had done the Camino in person before talked about their experiences. And at this time many of us we were being formed as Oblate Associates by Jack. It was the best of times! Thank you Fr. Jack for your spiritual guidance, creativity, love and leadership during the years you were here at Galilee. It was 10 years ago last month that you were called back to the U.S. to continue your ministry there. Miss you still!
I found this book to be hot and cold. The summary of philosophical thought from pre Greek to the 20th century was excellent. I kept falling in love with progressive philosophers from Plato to St Augustine, Immanuel Kant to Soren Kierkegaard to John Paul Sartre.
I learned that if St. Thomas Aquinas had chosen Plato’s philosophy to integrate into the Catholic faith rather than Aristotle’s, women would likely be treated as equals in the Church today. Plato saw men and women as equals while Aristotle thought women were incomplete men.
The fictional content of this book was confusing and boring. It was hard to understand what was going on between Alberto the philosophy teacher, Hilde his 15 year old student, her Dad and Sophie another 15 year old and her Dad. It seems Sophie (or was it Hilde?) existed as a dream in the mind of Hilde’s Dad (or was it Sophie’s dad?). It all seems superfluous to what is a great summary of western philosophical thought. I give the book a 3 star rating which otherwise would have been much higher.
A wonderful book on the importance of prayer in Christian life. It tells the story of a Russian peasant who wants to learn how to pray without ceasing. He wonders the country in search of a mentor who will instruct him and subsequently learns the Jesus prayer: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The author quotes extensively from the Philokalia, the Bible of Orthodox Spirituality. There is plenty of practical instruction on how to develop contemplative interior prayer, its benefits and how to overcome obstacles. If anything, there is perhaps a little too much repetition making it hard to finish reading.
It certainly convinced me of the importance of regular prayer if one calls themselves a Christian. Regular prayer is perhaps the most important aspect of living one’s faith. I found the book refreshing and very well written. 4.5 stars. Well worth the read.
This is an unusual story about an unusual man. George Florian Walter celebrated his Catholic faith by walking the world from 1970 to 2013. He renounced all his possessions (see LK 14:33), left his father and mother (see MT 19:29), denied himself, and took up his cross (see LK 9:23). The book recounts what led him to do this, where he walked and how he did it. He is a one man religious order – the Order of the Pilgrim.
Growing up in the Pittsburg, PA area he had a Catholic education followed by 4 years of study in the seminary to become a priest. On completion, he decided he could not be ordained as a priest because his faith was not strong enough. He had extensive book knowledge but no personal knowledge of God. A few years later, he came upon his vocation as pilgrim after three steps:
he realized God created him and loved him unconditionally (while in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado)
he discovered Jesus was with him always and that he is never alone (while on the Camino de Santiago in Spain)
receiving the Holy Spirit’s gift of prophecy (while at a Charismatic Renewal prayer seminar in Pennsylvania)
He also cites as inspirational The Way of the Pilgrim written by an anonymous 19th century Russian peasant who learns to pray the Jesus Prayer continously as he walks across Russia.
With this foundation in place he decided to focus on eschatological issues. i.e., those relating to death, judgement and final destiny of the soul and humankind. God owns me, Walter thought, so I must journey back to him. There is no point in collecting possessions, money, status, relationships along the way because all these are passing and will be lost at death, he concluded. So he gave away his possessions, said goodbye to family and friends and walked 40,000 miles over the next 43 years lifting up the cross of Jesus Christ and being a witness to the world.
He travelled with only a change of clothes, a plastic sheet, a staff, a bible and an icon of the Virgin Mary, no money, no food. He slept mostly outside and relied on donations of food and water and occasional shelter. He walked by the side of the road through 41 countries. He visited some places familiar to me such as the Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs in Midland, ON, Madonna House in Combermere, ON, Anchorage, AK, Rome, Paris and Jerusalem. In one of his longest hikes, he walked from Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico, to California, to Alaska, across Siberia, through Kazakstan and on to SW India over a 7 year period.
During winters he would ensconce himself in a poustinia, often a small storage room spending 4 days a week meditating, praying and reading. The other 3 days he worked in a parish or monastery to earn his keep. Watch the short interview below while he was in poustinia.
Pilgrim George experienced many challenges and persecution. His father could not accept his choice of vocation for the first 20 years. He was stoned by Muslim children in Turkey, beaten over the head with his staff in California and wrestled to the ground by robbers in Kazakstan. Getting visas to enter particular countries for extended periods of time was a real challenge for someone with no money or fixed address. Understanding the language or maps was a problem. However he had many passers by give him donations of food and water, offer him a lift, invite him into their house and the strong support of his mother and home Bishop. He said he never went hungry.
In the last chapter of the book, George recounts some lessons learned and observations on his pilgrim life. For example he came not to expect hospitality from religious people or groups. Churches, schools and rectories have insurance policies in place that trump hospitality. Nor could he expect hospitality from daily Mass goers whom he had just been united with who after Mass, would just walk out with not so much as a word of welcome, a who are you or would you like a drink of water? Most of his hospitality came from unchurched people and in poorer countries. Going to church does not automatically make someone a more loving person. Often it was young mothers with children in car seats who stopped to offer him a ride. This went against every natural instinct of concern for human safety and often their husband’s specific directions, notes George.
There is so much more fruit in this book. I will sign off here with a 5 star rating for content, meaning and interest. May God Bless you pilgrim George.
(Surprisingly I found this book at my local library. For further information search on YouTube to find several longer interviews of Pilgrim George.)
Pilgrim George working on his sandals that used truck tire treads he found along the side of the road
It was exactly 90 years ago today that Sister (now Saint) Faustina Kowalska saw a vision of the Lord Jesus who told her to paint an image according to the pattern she saw. She was in her cell in the house the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy had in Plock, Poland, about 90 min NW of Warsaw on the Vistula River. We visited Plock on our trip to Poland in 2016 and wrote about it at the time. The reason I remember the date – Feb 22, 1931 – is because my mother’s 10th birthday was on that day too. So Mom was born exactly 100 years ago today!
Just recently Fr. Seraphim Michalenko of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in Stockbridge MA, passed away. It was he who successfully smuggled a copy of the manuscript of the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul, out of Communist Poland, thus enabling it to be accurately translated, published and spread across the world. Initially the Vatican banned reading of her writings for 20 years due to grammatical errors and an earlier inaccurate translation. In 1979, Pope John Paul II lifted the ban just 6 months into his papacy after having her diary thoroughly examined for its authenticity.
We have a copy of the beautiful leather bound edition that Fr. Seraphim produced. It is truly an amazing spiritual book, one that I will read again soon. Sadly, the house in which Saint Faustina baked bread, helped out in the kitchen and had this vision, was destroyed by the Nazis during WWII. The Sisters were rebuilding it when we were there. Hopefully their excited dreams have now come to fruition. Here are a few pictures from our visit to Plock in honour of this 90th anniversary.
Meet Jizo the little buddhist monk figure that guides thousands of pilgrims on the ancient Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan. Isn’t he cute?
No I am not converting to Buddhism. Rather, I just finished reading Ottawa journalist Robert C. Sibley’s 2010 book wherein he talks about his pilgrimage there. I was amazed at the length and physical difficulty of this 1200 km hike up and down mountainous terrain on the island of Shikoku, Japan. He visited some 88 sacred temples along his 54 day long walk. Little Jizo serves as the trail marker just as the scallop shell on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage does in Spain. Wow, what an endurance!
Sibeley’s book is ostensibly not about this though. It’s larger theme is his seeking to restore a sense of mystery and enchantment in our world that has become analyzable, calculable and explainable in a scientific way for many people. Rather, if one listens deeply and really opens one’s eyes, one can learn to have a mystical experience at any time proving that the world still is enchanted despite our modern misgivings. A mystical experience is one where the truth of our being and our knowing of the world is laid bare for a few unforgettable moments. Where one feels the spiritual presence of God in everyday mundane activities and indeed within us. Anyone can become a mystic through training explains Sibley. Wow, what a breath of fresh air from the daily pandemic news these days, lol.
I liked the book but it was up and down. In a series of essays (on place, solitude, wonder, etc.), Sibley talks about his own experiences with enchantment and delves into the thinking of dozens of philosophers, theologians and writers from Rousseau, Kierkegaard, Rahner, Merton to Virginia Woolf and Wordsworth. I found myself constantly referring to the footnotes in the back as everything was very interesting and I wanted to learn more… Too, I liked his framing of things through wilderness trips to the north of Canada and Vancouver Island as well as on the Camino itself. There is a good bibliography.
At times though, my interest lagged. He seemed to have a set formula for each subject and would drone on sometimes too long it seems, just to complete the template. Is this a book about philosophy and spirituality or is it a book about walking and thinking? Ostensibly both it seems. I really enjoyed his discussion of Soren Kirekegaard wandering the streets of Copenhagen and then rushing home to jot down his thoughts while still standing in his coat and hat. For Rousseau who changed the world, it became “I walk, therefore I am.” In praise of walking.
I certainly agree that walking is a great way to unburden my thoughts and to find new connections and possibilities in life. Come to think of it, it’s time for a walk right now. I give the book 4 stars out of five because of the somewhat formulistic style but overall great content. Needs some distillation.
This meditation in Magnificat today connected with me as this will be the first time in 7 years we will be at home this winter:
Pilgrims continuously sigh for and long for our homeland, for travelers are always filled with hope and desire for the road’s end. And so, since we are travelers and pilgrims in this world, let us think upon the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our way is our home…. Many lose their true home because they have greater love for the road that leads them there.
Let us not love the road rather than our home, in case we should lose our eternal home, for our home is such that we should love it. Let us keep to this principle, therefore, that we should live as travelers and pilgrims on the road, as guests of the world, free of lusts and earthly desires, but let us fill our mind with heavenly and spiritual forms, singing with grace and power: For my soul thirsts for the mighty and living God. When shall I come and appear before the face of my God? (Ps 42:2-3), and My soul is like a parched land before you (Ps 143:6), and saying with Paul: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ (Phil 1:23). Let us know that although we are strangers to the Lord while in the body, we are present to the eyes of God. And so, turning our back on all evil and laying aside all apathy, let us strive to please him who is everywhere, so that we may joyfully and with a good conscience pass over from the road of this world to the blessed and eternal home of our eternal Father, moving from present things to absent ones, from sad things to joyful ones, from passing things to eternal ones, from earthly things to heavenly ones, from the region of death to the sphere of the living, where we shall see heavenly things face-to-face, and the King of kings, ruling his realms with an upright rule, our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory from age to age. Amen.
