Buen Camino!

In his novel, "Therapy" David Lodge refers to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela as "a bit of a dog's breakfast, architecturally, but. . . it works." Dog's breakfast is a British term which means confused mess. I agree with this description, and in honor of the pilgrimage and the Cathedral, this essay is a bit of a dog's breakfast too.

There have been so many special moments for John, Luke, and me on all the legs of our trip. I have recorded some of them in this blog. 

Highlights were meeting John's family in Ireland and learning about his family's history and visiting friends in Scotland who also have children from Haiti. 

John's dad is second from the left.

Going to the World War II sites in the Normandy region of France where John's dad served as an infantry sergeant in the European theater. 

And then we did the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, walking about 200 kilometers in the footsteps of thousands of others through the ages. Many pilgrims from the Middle Ages traveled to Santiago in the hopes of being healed of a physical ailment or receiving special indulgences. We walked the pilgrimage for religious reasons and prayed for many people who are fighting cancer and other problems. We also walked for the adventure, camaraderie and sport of it. We prayed for ourselves to grow closer to God and to more fully align our will with His.

When you take on and complete a pilgrimage like this, there is the hope that you will be transformed in some way or another, or that you will gain some wisdom or experience that will change your life. For me, it has usually been the smaller moments. I love to look up at the sky. What a reflection of God's glory it is! And I love to look down at the ground at the sparkly rocks and shells. I think about all the physical stuff in the universe and how God made it all.

Shells from Utah Beach, Normandy, France

 Some of my favorite times on the Camino were having one-on-one conversations with people as we walked among all the beauty. I would think about all the people on the Camino--even all the people in the world--and how God made us all and loves us and knows each of us intimately.

Yet, I was hoping for some big, revelatory moment when I finished the Camino, but it was more about being tired and sore feet and disappointment with the scaffolding. Sitting on the edge of the bed in the dark one night, thinking about all this, a thought popped into my mind: "Every moment is a big moment." Even this one. Sure, all moments are not grand or pleasant or memorable--we don't have complete control of this--but they all have their gifts. Sometimes--though it definitely isn't a necessity--it takes getting out of our familiar environment and routine to realize this.

After we had finished the Camino, I had the opportunity to spend some more time in the Cathedral, and it grew on me. It's not so traditionally beautiful like the Chartres Cathedral or the Cathedral in Leon.

Cathedral in Leon, Spain

But you know what? There aren't so many Masses offered at those other cathedrals; sometimes they seem to be more like religious museums. At the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Mass is celebrated at least eight times a day. We went to Mass with our pilgrim group the day we arrived, Mass on Sunday, and then on May 11, I went to the English-language Mass that is offered six mornings a week at 10:30.

Chapel of the Holy Spirit

Mass was in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit presided over by the Virgin of Solitude. There were about 25 pilgrims present. Father Juan Carlos, from Venezuela and the main celebrant, told us that we were in one of the oldest parts of the church. He had us introduce ourselves and say something about the Camino. People were from Australia, Ireland, England, Northern Ireland, Canada, Germany, Poland, and Sweden. There was only one other person from the United States. He said, "I walked by myself, but on the Camino, you never walk alone."

The first reading, read beautifully by a woman from Canada, was from Acts 20. In part it said,

You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Jesus at the Basilica in Loyola, Spain

Father James from England gave the homily. He talked about how fortunate we were to have been able to walk the Camino during the Easter season. He said that after Jesus rose from the dead, he was with his apostles, teaching them things. Despite being with Him for three years, the apostles still had more to learn. Jesus taught them that as He had served them, they must serve others. 

Father James said that we now have this time after the Camino to think about what we have learned. What has the Camino taught us? Jesus was a gift to us. How can we be a gift to each other?

At the end of Mass, Father Juan Carlos asked us to read the following prayer together, from our heart.

Santiago Pilgrims' Blessing

Father God we ask your blessing.

We are pilgrims who have come to venerate

the tomb of your Apostle Santiago.

As you kept us safe on our Camino way,

may you keep us safe on our journey home.

And inspired by our experience here,

may we live out the values of the Gospel

as our pilgrimage through life continues.

We ask Saint James to intercede for us as we

ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,

your Son and our Redeemer.

Amen

This prayer reminded me of how Father Michael, our pilgrimage leader, would end each Mass:

"Go and preach the Gospel with your lives!"

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

I'm finally getting around to writing about the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is, after all, the reason for the Camino. Just to recap, James, along with his brother John, were two of the 12 apostles and also possible relatives of Jesus. Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder." James is allegedly buried in this cathedral. 

The story about James and the Cathedral itself are both very complicated. Here he is above as an Apostle, one of three identities he has at the Cathedral. James supposedly came to Spain to evangelize the pagans. He returned to Jerusalem and was killed by Herod in 44, the first of the apostles to be martyred. His disciples brought his body back to Spain (some versions say in a stone boat) to be buried. His grave was lost for 800 years and then discovered by a hermit, who was led there by a star. Successive churches were built on the site and pilgrims started coming. The current church was consecrated in 1211. But the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela has been a work in progress for centuries.

Here is basically what the Cathedral looks like today from its most well known side on the west, opposite the altar.

Here is the view we had. As you can see, major renovations. But this isn't what I mean about the Cathedral being a work in progress. It started out as a Romanesque Cathedral. 

Here are some of the simple, even stark, Romanesque arches and pillars. But then the Gothic and the Baroque styles came along and they were incorporated into the Cathedral.

I'm pretty sure this is Gothic. And the facade on the front of the church in the postcard above is Baroque.

Here are some other views of the outside of the Cathedral. Above is the side that faced our hotel. You can see John and Luke walking across the plaza. Each of the four sides of the cathedral has a facade with artistically important stone carvings. Each side of the Cathedral also fronts a plaza.

Our guide Pedro is in the huge Plaza del Obradoiro, getting ready to take us into the Cathedral Museum, which is in the Cathedral.

The clock tower. Are you noticing the overcast skies in these photos? For most of our time in Santiago it rained or looked like it was going to rain. The climate in Galicia is much like the northwest U.S. We were fortunate to have such sunny weather for the nine days we walked.

Here's some blue sky.

Above in the middle is St. James in the second of his identities as a pilgrim. He is flanked by his two disciples, Theodore and Athanasius, who were also buried with him.

Another view.

Above is the only facade of the Cathedral that is still partially in its original state.

These stone figures were carved by Master Mateo, the sculptor who created many of the statues and carvings in the Cathedral.

The statue of the blind-folded woman on the pedestal represents blind faith.

Moving to the interior of the Cathedral. Here is the nave. It is in the simple, austere Romanesque-style. The gold at the end is the altar. It strikes me just now as I type this, that this layout is a good metaphor for life and eternal life. More on the altar in a bit.

Some of that good Galician granite.

The third identity of St. James in the Cathedral is that of Moor (Muslim) slayer. Part of the devotion to St. James stems from the inspiration people took from him in defeating the Muslims. (What we know of as Spain was ruled by Muslims for about 700 years) This role of St. James is downplayed; in the statue above, flowers cover (not quite) the bodies of Muslims that St. James is dispatching.

Our first look at the Cathedral came several days ago when our group had Mass in the Chapel of El Pilar, one of about 15 chapels in the Cathedral. Above is the Chapel of the Christ of Burgos.

Here is the Chapel of Mondragon from 1526. It was a little disillusioning when our guide Pedro told us that nobles and others had some of the chapels built so that they could be buried there, near the greatness of St. James.

Here are some closer views of the golden, baroque altar. 

Above is the botafumeiro. At special Masses a few times a year, it is filled with incense and swung back and forth in a 180 degree arc across the transept on long ropes. This happened on Ascension Thursday while we were in Santiago de Compostela.

Above is a close up of the altar, with St. James presiding. One of the traditions of the Camino is giving St. James a hug. Steps behind the altar lead the pilgrims up into this amazing area filled with gold and other shiny things. We hug the St. James that you see above from behind, looking out over the rest of the church, and thank him for safe passage to Santiago de Compostela.

Than another set of steps takes us down below the altar where rests the remains of St. James and his two disciples. Pilgrims can kneel in front of the gate and say a prayer. 

This is all very interesting and somewhat beautiful and prayerful to me, but I am still trying to figure out if there was anything special I was supposed to learn or take away from this pilgrimage. 

Of Cows and Paradors

On the tour that we had to Finisterre, our guide Reuben talked about one of Galicia's most important topics: cows. Apparently, Galicia is like the Wisconsin of Spain. According to Reuben, a town may consist of two people and 300 cows. The Galicia region produces about 60 percent of the milk in Spain. The cows eat a fermented corn mash that smells terrible but that they love. There are strict rules regarding milk production. Antibiotics are prohibited. 

Here's Reuben. He told us some funny things about the care of cows. He said that the farmers are very concerned about the well being of the cows. Happy cows produce more milk and for a longer period of time. The farmers experimented with playing music for the cows. Rock music stressed the cows out and decreased the milk production. Music that was too soft didn't help them either. But what the cows did like was pop music. Reuben said he laughed so hard when he went to a farm and "Dancing Queen" by Abba was playing for the cows. 

From the subject of cows, we will move to Santiago's fanciest and most expensive hotel, or parador, Hostal dos Reis Catolicos. Parador was a new word for me and refers to luxury hotels in Spain. Hostal dos Reis Catolicos is at the top of this list.

It was commissioned by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in 1486 to help care for pilgrims who has made the arduous journey to Santiago. It fronts one of the same plazas as the Cathedral. Over the years, many doctors trained at the facility.

According to Wikipedia, Hostal des Reis Catolicos is considered the oldest, continuously operating hotel in the world. Over the years, it transitioned from a place that cared for pilgrims into a parador. It is considered one of the finest hotels in the world.

The parador is constructed around several courtyards.

Above is a 16th century wood carving that was in the entrance hall.

This contribution container in the entrance of the parador has a sign above it that says, "He who gives to the poor shall not suffer poverty."

"Europe was made on the pilgrim road to Compostela."

Last Thursday as I stumbled into Santiago, I remembered passing the above quote, engraved on the sidewalk in several languages. I should get a picture of that, I thought at the time. But it was a busy time of day with lots of people walking and I was too tired anyway. Today, I walked back to find it.

I think it means that as people traveled from all over to Santiago de Compostela via different routes, they helped build up the towns and other places in Europe along the way. One such place was Tours, France. Pilgrims on the way to the shrine at St. James would also stop at the shrine of St. Martin of Tours.

As it turns out, we are staying at Hospederia San Martin Pinario, located on the left side of the building above.

Here's a closer look. The Hospederia is housed in a a former monastery, San Martin Pinario is dedicated to St. Martin of Tours (Pinario means pines; there used to be a pine forest at the foot of the monastery.) The Hospederia faces the Cathedral de Santiago, the shrine to St. James.

The building, which dates from the 16th century, and the grounds are beautiful.

We have been here for almost a week, far longer than the 18 other places we have stayed on this trip. It has been nice to lay our heads in the same spot for awhile.

I didn't check out the church part of the monastery until today. It's at the back of the building. At the top, below the cross, is a carving of St. Martin of Tours on his horse.

Here's a little bit closer of a view. One of the stories about St. Martin is that he was riding his horse and saw a beggar who didn't have much clothing. So St. Martin cut his cloak in two and gave the beggar half.

Inside the church.

The altar is baroque. You have to give those baroques an A for effort, but oh my, there's a lot going on. It's an interesting contrast to the approach of the Irish, who are not known for any great churches. It's as if they looked around at all the natural beauty and said, "We can't compete with God." 

The rotunda-like ceiling.

There were six side chapels that were pretty amazing, too. Above is St. Benedict.

At this chapel, the cherub is holding a chalice to catch the blood of Jesus.

The choir, behind the altar, is carved of wood. The lower panels depict scenes in the life of Mary.

Here is the flight into Egypt.

This painting, of Jesus riding into Jerusalem, was in the museum portion of the church. I liked all the activity in the scene.

Beautiful view from our Hospederia, where many pilgrims are staying.