16 posts tagged “compostela”
Well, I thought I'd post a few photos that I think sums up my hopes for my work in Spain, both the retreat and the interivews. Also, the opportunity I had to spend a few days with folks who run albergues on the way - to share notes and ideas. I'm ever so grateful to have reflected on my role as a deacon this first month since my ordination by taking time to attempt both practice for and research on hospitality to pilgrims.
They speak to my own sense of lingering.
I think I may already have posted one or two. The third and fourth I've left unblogged.
One is of pilgrims at mile (or click) zero, just in front of the Cathedral. Next, the blessed opportunity to wash the feet of those who have walked in faith. Third, a picture of a threshold I took soon after my arrival in Spain, but that speaks to me also of my leaving and the sense of having stood near the Holy while sitting next to pilgrims (perhaps like a veil, as I contemplate my Uncle's journey through death's dark veil to the City of Light Eternal. Finally, a photo from standing in the same spot, with a shift in perspective, because holy lingering is in part about taking time to see things from different perspectives.
Santiago is a decent sized, well, big city in Northern Spain. Quite different from the mostly pastoral Camino people so enjoy. There are a lot of reactions to it, some love it, some hate it, and a lot in between. Here are some pics that show the scene during a recent Medieval-theme festival.
Both in the retreat-time and in these week of volunteering in a refugio, I have thought often about Mary and Martha, and Jesus' clear preference for the via negativa of Mary, rather than the activity of Martha. Perhaps I am a little more confused about the matter, have seen the urgency - if you will - of the rather mundance, even having felt closer to saints and the Holy through some of these activities: preparing beds, washing laundry, feeding, cleaning up after pilgrims leave. I think perhaps what Jesus was saying, and this is a shift for me from prior thinking, was not that the activity of Martha was in and of itself bad: Jesus himself did a lot to take care of the physical needs of people, like feeding, providing wine from water, healing and restoring sight. He even took time from his preaching to feed a hungry crowd!
I think what Jesus is saying is be discerning. Perhaps, coming from an eschatological perspective, he is also saying ´Be prepared!´
While attention to activity can be a form of love, it can be a form of avoidance, or even self-serving. Be discerning - when do I need to get chores done (if we are watching because we do not know the hour, we will have our lamps trimmed and burning...)? For some pilgrims, it may be a healing touch is needed, for others, perhaps a listening ear.
C & L, my refugio permenants, are normally in the kitchen once pilgrims arrive, preparing dinner. And isn´t that just what they need after a long day of walking uphill? Afterwards, pilgrims are heading to bed, and need less. But sometimes they need a listening ear - and being in the kitchen, that is impossible for them (and often for me).
Surely there is a way to get the chores done, and also be available to folks who really need a listening ear. I´ve often said that ministry takes two, it takes companionship (the disciples were sent in pairs). Perhaps it takes three. Regardless, there are a lot of chores to get done, and most pilgrims need the physical attention. How do we meet the need of the occasional pilgrim who needs just to talk - who is carrying a problem?
C & L have a book pilgrims can write in, and most write a line or two of thanks. They always get glowing remarks for their hospitality, and since I am usually in the kitchen, my presence is a little less obvious. The few times I have been mentioned by name, I have noticed, are the folks with whom I spent a little time visiting before or after dinner, who needed someone to pay a little attention to them, and hear their story. I think this makes me a little more uncomfortable, as I try to navigate a world obsessed with details and activity, while being able to take the time needed to do a little more. At what cost will I let details go in order to be a listening ear?
One thing I have relished by volunteering is the brief encounters with pilgrims. They come in, often limping, or at least walking as if on egg shells. After a shower and a good meal, they begin to perk up like flowers soaking in water after a hot day. When they arrive, it is as if they could not walk another day, but the next morning, they are always ready to get started for the big climb going out of the pueblo.
Their stories are incredible, of course, just as I experienced with my previous walks. It raises further questions for me in my study as I consider the needs of pilgrims upon their entry into Santiago. One pilgrim spoke last night about carrying a problem during the pilgrimage, and wondering whether the physical pain was a result less of the strain of walking and more the strain of being on pilgrimage, that is carrying the problem on the journey. This pilgrim believed that upon return home, telling the story of the pilgrimage would be difficult (as it is for many). I do not think that a few days in Spain would cure that, but I think that offering a hospitality place to reflect on the journey could prepare people for their return home to folks who will inquire about their journey, and fortify them, or give them permission to say they are not ready to talk. Yet, I think it could also provide them with a little yeast to begin the ongoing reflection they will have when they return home.
I still think most pilgrims are in a better place to share with other pilgrims while they are in Santiago, especially if they are in a place that feels more like a transitional place, than a dumping off point. They are celebrating with their communitas, still, though not all feel that way. Some want a private room, but others, I think, are looking for a place to talk and share. There are a few places in Santiago that are doing more than is advertised. One albergue, run by the Franciscans, offers and evening prayer, with a wonderful meditative tradition. I´m hoping to interview one of the priests or sisters who receive pilgrims there.
Blessed are the Franciscans! Oh, goodness there is a picture I really wish I could post now!
... though I know some of you have been anxious to hear from me (especially my parents!).
Things here in Spain are going well. I´ve been with limited computer access, and do not have my labtop, so have not been able to load up pictures or blog too often. So, once I get back to Compostela and can load up pics, I will inundate you all.
For the time being, I will share a little of what my days have been like. The apartment I rented in Santiago was available for a brief window in June and then again in July, so between, I have used the opportunity to explore the nature of the experience of pilgrims and hospitality by volunteering at a privately owned refugio (not being offered an opportunity through public albergues, though I applied). The guys who run this particular refugio are well respected among many, as they provide a delightful experience to most pilgrims.
One of them rises about 5:30 each morning to prepare breakfast (simple, bread, jam, coffee, cola coa - my favorite drink - and juice). Music starts at 6:00 am. It used to be the Valkeries, but now is Ave Maria, followed by opera, including one of my favorite choruses, Nessum Dorma. I usually rise with the music, or wait to the pilgrims footsteps are over. My job has been to brush up about twenty beds, sweep the upstairs, and mop the downstairs. I´ve tried to increase the amount that I do. C & L, the owners, usually go to bed after the pilgrims leave, but as I am just rising, I have tried to get ahead on the chores. Today, I was able to do almost everything before they got up: brush thirty beds, sweep and mop the house, clean the kitchen and do the dishes from breakfast - last night we had about fourteen pilgrims stay. I also gave a thorough cleaning to some of the corners that hadn´t been touched in awhile.
The daily office has sustained me - I´ve been delighted to get back into the rythm of the office, especially noon prayer and compline, which during seminar was more difficult for me - something we did not do in community. I do miss, however, regular Eucharist.
Things calm down around noon. At 12:45pm, I light the incense, and at 1:00, the doors open to any pilgrims wandering in. They arrive increasingly around 4:00, when they´ve had a long day. Many more pass by earlier in the day. At 6:00, we start preparing dinner, and I find it somewhat cathartic to set the table, and do the dishes between courses. They cook the same meal each day, which is fine for pilgrims, because it is a new crowd each night, and easier for them - they have a rythm down pat. Great recipes. I have lots of food pictures.
Afterwards, we get things ready for the morning.
Between all this, there is down time, and I have taken to soaking my feet in the ice cold stream during evening prayer. It´s helping my bruised heel. It´s my own lingering time, and normally, the cows are coming home from pasture at that time.
Staying in this small pubelo, I have enjoyed the learning of lingering - meeting people, learning about a place I previously walked through or spent only one night. The people and place are no longer just a "buen camino," they are more real, more holy, because we have shared bread and wine, consecrated by our fellowship if not by a priest. And the glow of candles has melted our conversations together into delicious sense of community, even if only for a night.
Sorry no pictures, I'm without my laptop for a couple of weeks while I am working in an albergue outside of Santiago.
Great hospitaleros own a private refugio in Castille y Leon, and are teaching me the ropes of hospitality to pilgrims. How do you serve 15-30 pilgrims a day, while balancing your own needs.
Seeing how their "house rules" enable them to take time for themselves, and take care of themselves, so they are fresh and able to create the atmosphere of a fiesta is good learning for me!
Helped clean about 20 beds today, on top of mopping, helping serve food and do dishes, and checking in pilgrims as a "hospitalero." I'm a little proud, too, of how well I could manage a small decimal of both German and Spanish, while also making the English speakers happy! My goal is to learn five new things each day.
One thing I appreciate about these guys is their attention to detail - small details. For example, when setting the table, they are exact in the placement of dishes, making sure that the plates are in line with the edge of the mesa - which reminds me of a t/v show I watched once. In it, they showed preparations for formal state dinners at Windsor Palace. We work with what we have, but having little is no reason to be careless.
Two of the pilgrim rituals cannot be performed this year, due to renovations in the Cathedral. In the past, pilgrims would often place their palm in the Jesse Tree in the Portico de la Gloria, feeling the grooves of a hand formed by thousands of touches, and joining the branches of the faithful. Then, they might circle around to the back of the column and bump their head three times to the statue of the architect. Some pilgrims are disappointed, and I think this is because once one finally gets to Santiago, as surreal as it can feel, touching something can be important.
Here, a pilgrim touches a palm-print of an artist who designed the modern memorial to historically significant pilgrims (on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela).
Finding your place: lingering means finding a special place, "your place," and taking time just to "be."
Well, going to market has been one of my delights, but normally it was R's job! Buying fresh and local produce was actually cheaper, most of the time, than the grocery store.
My new profile photo (which should appear to your left) is a pic of my own feet. This may look like a stone-paved street, but it is in fact the granite tiles atop the Cathedral (remember my post about the rooftop tour).
