Thursday, June 25, 2009

Medieval Footpath



Saint James(in Spanish, Santiago) was one of the 12 Apostles of Christ. After Jesus was crucified, the Apostles were to go forth and spread the Gospel. As the story goes, James went to Spain where he had little success in converting the locals. Upon his return to Jerusalem he was promptly beheaded by King Herod Agrippa, making him the first Apostle to be martyred. James' followers secreted his body away in a boat and sent it back to Spain where they buried it and it laid hidden for several hundred years. Then, in 813 AD a curious hermit followed "sweet music and twinkling stars" to a remote field in Galicia, in northern Spain and discovered what was to be identified as the tomb of Saint James. King Alphonso II of Spain visited the site, built a church and monastery over the tomb and declared Santiago patron saint of Spain.
Pilgrimages to the site began and by the ninth century, the number of Pilgrims rose over the years, and peaked in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when about a half million people made the pilgrimage and when many of the towns and cities along the camino were built. Most of these ancient villages have changed very little over the centuries. After around 1500AD the number of Pilgrims dropped off significantly because of reformation, political reasons and other factures. But In 1982 Pope John Paul II visited Santiago de Compostela and popularity soared once again and has grown steadily since then. In 1987, the European Union declared the Camino Europe's first cultural itinerary. In 1993 UNESCO added the Camino to its World Heritage list.
The Gospel tells us that James, son of Zebedee, was in his boat mending nets with his brother John, when Jesus summoned them, saying "Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men". James and his brother did follow Jesus. And if one considers that today 100,000 people a year make the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to visit his burial place, it would seem that James is still "a fisher of men" over 2000 years later.
Rita

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Under The Milky Way



My sister once told me she thought I had my head in the clouds and that I was always reaching for the stars. I never was sure what she meant by that. I have always been a dreamer, though, that I am sure of. So, now here I am reaching for the stars, but not just any old stars, I'm shooting for the Milky Way.

The Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela is said to lie directly under the Milky Way, which guides the Pilgrim to the burial place of Saint James the Apostle. The "nickname" Milky Way goes back well before the time of Saint James when the ancient Celts had their own version of the camino(way/road), following the via lactea(Milky Way) towards the sea at Finisterre (Finis Terrae) the end of the known world, at that time.

Hence, the name of this log which I have created so that my family and friends, or anyone who cares to, can keep track of my progress as I make my Pilgrimage, walking more than 500 miles, through mountains and valleys, from the French border all the way across Spain, "under the Milky Way"

How charming and romantic to have the stars of our precious Galaxy, the Milky Way, to light the path and guide me on my journey. Even though I know that it will be both physically and mentally challenging and will take a great effort to make this trip, especially being the "woman of a certain age" that I am, I look forward with the sense of adventure and wonder of a child. I really think I am going to like this trip.

Rita

The beautiful Milky Way photo(used with permission) is by Larry Landolfi. Please visit his website and enjoy some of his amazing photos.