Camino Ignaciano 26 Regis Class of ‘81 - Basedow, et al

 Willie Nelson wrote the song “The Party’s Over” in 1959. Originally released by Claude Gray, Willie released it in 1966 and it rose to #24 on Billboards Hot Country Singles. The song gained popularity again when “Dandy” Don Merideth sand a verse while a color commentator on Monday Night Football in the 70’s.  As we wrap up this portion of our pilgrimage, the words he used to describe a when a team no longer had a chance to win, seem apropos for us pilgrims, “Turn out the Lights The Party’s over They say that all good things must end Let’s call it a night The Party’s over  And tomorrow starts the same ol thing again.” Goodbye Spain, goodbye pilgrims, goodbye to laughter, goodbye to the physical and spiritual challenges But hello to tomorrow, what it will bring and how we can continue to grow in our relationships with God. Best to all May Grant us Peace AMDG Fred

 Today started with a mass in Manresa in the Cave where Ignatius studied, prayed and journaled. An intimate setting for us and at the end, a fellow pilgrim, Emilio, who we saw at the start of our pilgrimage and who had walked more distance than us. It was a mass for pilgrims and left us all with thoughts on how to not let the pilgrimage end this week. We then bussed to Barcelona and visited several sites where Ignatius had stayed and also the Church of the Sacred Heart where the sword he laid down for the Madonna in Monserrat was on display. The last church we visited was the Basilica of Santa Maria Del Mar, where Ignatius begged for money for himself and for the poor. We the ended our pilgrimage with a lunch on the Ramblas. The team relaxed after this, some went to the nap each, some sat by the hotel “pool” but all are now ready for dinner, a good nights sleep and safe travels tomorrow avoiding the impending Nor’Easter AMDG and Peace Fred

 

My morning routine has become, well, routine. Wake up. Grab phone. Check messages. Scroll NYT headlines. Wordle. Connections. The Mini. Text my brother. Coffee. NYT Crossword. Read scripture. Comment on that scripture on my small group chat. Second coffee. Breakfast. And depending on the day, a walk or perhaps start Spelling Bee. All without speaking to anyone. My wife calls this my “me time”.  I treasure these 90+ minutes. My me time. This past Monday, as we started the second half of our pilgrimage, the prompt for our two hour walk in silence involved talking and listening to God. And for a good half hour, me and God did our business. Worked things out. And at the end of that half hour, I asked God, “So what are we going to do for the next hour and a half? Do you have more to teach me? Show me?” And Christ replied: “Let’s just be together.” So for 90 minutes I walked with Jesus. At one point we sang the Pilgrim Song together. Another time we prayed the Our Father. But mostly, it ...

 In the song “One for my Baby” written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer for the 1943 movie “The Sky’s the Limit, the protagonist is sitting at a bar at closing time lamenting the end of a relationship. Originally sung by Fred Astaire and made popular by Frank Sinatra in many recordings not only does the singer have One for my Baby, but One More for the Road. As we come to the end of this trip, I’m raising a proverbial glass to my fellow pilgrims who enriched my experience and more than made this something that has helped shape and focus me. We talked about how our shared experiences at Regis gave us a bond we didn’t know we had but each brought something different for me that allowed these musings to morph from a series of unconnected thoughts to whatever it is they became when I typed them on the page. So, just like in the song it’s a quarter to 3 (really) and I have a little story you might like to know about my companions, my perspective of what they brought to me as we moved f...

 

 Today was a day to explore Manresa and see sites where Ignatius had been. We had a pre-breakfast dawn walk to an art installation designed to honor people who had made a positive difference in the world. We also passed by an ancient crossroad where Ignatius had visions and also battled demons.  After breakfast, we started at a hostel that was just outside the walls of the old city and where the sick and poor stayed. What became a common theme was exposed as the city has been the site of numerous battles and had been ransacked multiple times leading to the destruction of artifacts. But there was enough of the building left (but no church which had stood adjacent) and restoration gave us the feel for how Ignatius spent his time. We then moved on to the Church de Seu, stopping by the remnants of the old church from the 10th century before entering the Basilica. some original components remained but most were either reproductions of restorations but still the size of the building...

 

Well, after about 115 miles of walking, not including our visits around the various towns, we reached the steps of the Jesuit Spiritual Center in Manresa.  It was a grueling 16 miles down from Montserrat, then up to Manresa, including 1 km hike up a very steep hill near a quarry in the height of the heat.  We made it up the last steps without any water between us, but we made it. There were some tired faces of pilgrims at dinner last night, but some faces of accomplishment and relief as well. The question we pondered on the way down out of Manresa was centered on where we take this experience.  How do we begin to or further commit to a life that is against the tide… one where we focus on serving God and others, in whatever form that takes.   We may not be there. The pilgrimage is a life long journey.  The important thing is that we try and always strive for the greater glory, not a glory of this world, but the glory of God. Today we walk around seeing the places...

 Last March I had shoulder surgery and after 9 months of Physical Therapy had to join a gym to keep up with the rehabilitation exercises. I was somewhat leery of doing so as I never did any strength training but I settled on Crunch with its motto of No Judgement. Planet Fitness also has a Judgement Free Zone. In thinking back on these 11 days it occurred to me that our group had created something similar here. As I mentioned before, I’m not a blogger and the idea of these musings wasn’t what I had in mind when I decided to do this for the pilgrimage. But thoughts that I had running in my head or sparked from conversations that occurred had a chance to form coherent lines of thinking that leant themselves to getting these comments into written form. Each one of the musings contain not just my original thoughts but include pieces of conversations I’ve had with each guy, either as we walked together or in shared conversations throughout our time together. And there was never any hesit...

We left the official Camino path today and cut across a plowed field, which saved some time on what was to be a 16-mile haul. It reminded me of a similar shortcut we had taken a few days earlier. Our guide for this pilgrimage is Fr. Jose Luis Iriberri (who literally wrote the book on the Camino Ignaciano) so we asked: Jose, you told us to always follow the orange arrows to stay on the path. He replied: You don’t need signs when you have me. It hit me today: Is that not what Jesus would say?  We can chat all you want about religion and dogma, doctrine and denominations, rituals and theology. But honestly, does any of that matter when you have Jesus?  You don’t need signs when you have me. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such thing there is no law. Walk with Jesus. You’ll get where you need to be.

 

 Last night before bed, we got to visit and pray with the Black Madonna inside the Basilica at Monserrat. We then did the Stations of the Cross from Mary’s perspective before ending our day around 11. This morning, we set out from Monserrat at 8:45am and didn’t arrive in Manresa until nearly 6pm covering somewhere between 16-17 miles of, what was at times, very challenging terrain. It took us several hours just to get away from Monserrat, almost all downhill and at least half very slow going due to the condition of the trails and the age of the pilgrims 😀.  We then set out towards Manresa on what was mostly rolling hills, stopping for lunch and much needed water replenishment. The day, which started out temperate, was quickly warming up when we were down off the mountain. Lunch was at the Bar Monserrat which felt like the only place we could have stopped on our way. The trip to Manresa after lunch could best be described as hot, dusty, and dry. There were periods of flat trav...

 The title of this blog is a play on Judy Blume’s 1970 classic middle school novel “Are you there God, it’s me Margaret”. The protagonist of that story is a sixth grade girl who moves from the city to the suburbs. The daughter of an interfaith marriage, she grew up with no real religious affiliation but would try and pray using the title of the book apps her opening line of prayer. And the book cycles through a short period of her life, learning and growing up, sometimes turning away from her prayers (when it seemed like God didn’t answer) or turning back in gratitude when something she had been praying for occurred. So how does a 50+ year old book with an 11 year old hero relate to a nearly 63 year old married father of 2? Good question. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I’m not really good at praying. But the fundamental reason for that is likely that I struggle with the concept of God, at least in how God is portrayed. God the Father? Jesus the son? Both feel like humans trying...