Every human being needs to make sense of life. To make sense of the “whys” which emerge from the deepest parts within. Every human being needs to seek and to find their place in the world. In order for me to do this, over the summer months I set out on my path as pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago, a human and spiritual journey of both searching and finding.
I want to share my Pilgrimage to Santiago and the journey that took place within me which helped me to forget the idols that enslaved me so that I could seek ideals that would transform me. My journey, in the desert of doubt, opened up my horizon, lit my way and helped me to see. It helped me to discover the real and distinct path taken by those great pilgrims before me, Christ and Saint James.
The “Camino de Santiago,” at its most basic level, is a very long walk. It means “The Way of Saint James” referring to the various pilgrim routes throughout Europe that all lead to the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, where legend has it that the remains of Jesus’s apostle Saint James the Elder rests in peace. The Camino has existed for well over 1,000 years and is considered to be one of the three most important pilgrimages undertaken by Christians (the other two being Jerusalem and Rome).
The most popular contemporary pilgrim route, and the one that I followed, is the Camino Frances. It runs from Saint Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to its final destination Santiago de Compostela some 800 kilometers away. During most years more than 100,000 people walk this particular Camino following the big yellow arrows in the countryside and the scallop shell signs in towns and cities that mark the way.
At a deeper level, the Camino is a spiritual journey through a 1,200-year cultural, spiritual and religious history. A history that comes alive and that includes a vast community of pilgrims . . . a strange community that is not fixed in time or space but that moves ever westward toward Santiago.
I learned that the real pilgrim is one who sets out on the Camino guided by the faith of their ancestors who, like the ancient people of Israel, sought to find answers. I discovered that I cannot be a follower of Jesus by hearsay alone and that Christ passes right by me at times but that sometimes I do not wish to see him . . . in a pauper, in a child, in an older person, in any life-seeking being.
The Camino helped me understand a worldwide spirituality, a path for seeking and finding, a path of peace and brotherhood, a path of life and hope, a journey of oneness where none are strangers and all are as brothers and sisters. There were also practical examples and I want to share some with you, here are those that really impacted me:
The Yellow Arrows that guide you and how important they are!
They point out the path that the Camino follows, and if it weren’t for them, at times I would not have known which way to go. As I found them along the Camino, I gained confidence that I was going in the right direction. It’s so silly when you think of it . . . a simple, yellow arrow; but, how I relied on each arrow in moments when I was unsure of “the way.”
As it turns out, our life is a path. Many times we feel lost, and we get frustrated at not finding any direction or reference that gives us security. Then comes our fears, wounds, hindrances. How great it is that someone painted those yellow arrows all along the Camino. And on the path of life, which arrows do we follow? To whom or what do we look for when we feel lost and alone? Could it be that someone has painted arrows in our life so that we don’t get lost?
Why did I put four pairs of pants in my backpack?
This will sound familiar to anyone who has ventured out on the Camino (or any long walk), right? It didn’t seem to matter how much I put in my backpack until I had to carry it all. Walking I realized how heavy things are and how many things I could have done without. They say that a modest person is one who could carry all their important possessions in a backpack, surely a pilgrim is the one who said it!
We all carry a backpack on our camino of life. Sometimes we add things or carry them just because . . . It can be a number of things, it can be what other people think of us, it can be a consuming lifestyle that’s out of control and doesn’t attend to real needs, but there comes a time when so much weight can keep us from moving forward. Therefore, I learned, it’s important to stop from time to time to ask yourself ~ Am I carrying around burdens in my life that I don’t need? How can I differentiate between what is really important in life and what’s not? What do I need to take out of my backpack to not end up burnt out?
Blisters, wounds, scratches, sprains …
How they hurt! No one escapes pain on the Camino de Santiago. It’s impossible to walk more than three days and not notice how our bodies suffer. I learned to listen to my body, adapt, modify my pace, and even stop when necessary. But it’s through the pain that I came to understand the cost of the Camino. And it’s also how I learned the fulfillment in completing each leg of the journey. When I realized what I’d overcome each day, I was transformed into a slightly different person each time. Although it sounds naïve, the Camino wouldn’t have been the same without the pain.
Something similar happens on our journey in life. Sometimes things happen to us that make us learn to walk. They could be things that we seek or not, but the journey continues. And we face some important questions like, how do I learn to walk with something that hurts us in life? Am I being cured or am I still carrying burdens with me? Is there something in my actual way of walking that is hurting me?
Every pilgrim needs extra help in order to keep walking!
Especially when your legs have already gone hundreds of kilometers? When I take a second to think about the people that shared the Camino with me, those who supported me when I was tired, those who reminded me why I set out on the Camino when I wanted to give up or take an easier road, sometimes even a simple conversation with another pilgrim turned a difficult 30km stretch into a pleasant stroll. How great is it that I found true fellow travelers along the path.
There are great life lessons hidden on the Camino and being of help is the greatest one to me. Knowing that I could depend on someone in time of need made a world of difference. The question is therefore, do we walk the path of life simply entertaining people or do we help them to not throw in the towel and keep moving forward? Could it be that we become true pilgrims when we embrace the mission of helping others walk?
Very soon I’ll arrive in Santiago!
When I arrived in Santiago on the morning of August 15th, the Holy Day that celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, my heart was filled with joy. My quest to encounter Christ had been graced. I had achieved what I proposed at the beginning, the reason for my journey.
There I received my Compostela and pilgrim’s shell, symbols of completion of my journey on the Camino. In our modern time, they are just symbols, but originally the pilgrims received a scroll and a shell and the shell was placed on top of their capes and hats, something which distinguished them from the rest.
Everyone who arrives in Santiago by walking experiences a change in their life and they return home a different person. I have been blessed with that grace as well! I have also gained a mission and when I look at my shell, I see a symbolic hand and it represents to me the good deeds of Jesus for all people. Whoever wears the shell wants to be identified by that kind of lifestyle, and so does this humble pilgrim!
The author of the Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis, said that God wanted us to learn how to love and be loved and for that reason He lived among us as Jesus. Life, itself, and what we do with it sometimes leads us away from that experience of love. On the Camino de Santiago de Compostela there are so many chances to learn. The opportunity to begin that lifestyle is there. It consists in loving God and loving others as yourself, following Jesus on the path of life.
I thank ALL of you who journeyed with me in prayer. If it had not been for your prayers, I would NOT have completed The Way. I also carried each of you in prayer as I moved across Spain asking God to guide you on your own camino. I want to close with the greeting that I heard a thousand times “Buen Camino, pilgrim!!!”
Theresa Montminy
US Province
Theresa Montminy is a life-long Catholic who was graced with a solid Catholic foundation in our Catholic Schools. She graduated from Mount St. Mary’s College in Hooksett, New Hampshire and followed a course of study at Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Manchester, New Hampshire both under the guidance of the Sisters of Mercy. She speaks often about the blessings of a strong Catholic education and acknowledges her gratitude to the Sisters for their influence in her life.
