Seventeen years ago, in May 2004, my sister and I walked the famous ‘Camino De Santiago’ (the Way of Saint James). We did it as a pilgrimage, in the style of the pilgrims of earlier times, carrying all our belongings in rucksacks, living frugally, praying the Rosary and singing hymns along parts of the way, and finally hobbling sore-footed into lovely little Catholic Churches for Holy Mass (whenever possible) at the end of each long day when we had reached our planned destination. It was a life-changing experience for both of us. We met some wonderful and amazing fellow pilgrims, each one with their own interesting story to relate of their motives for making the pilgrimage. There also reigned a real Christian spirit of charity and kindness among everyone towards fellow pilgrims who were suffering or in need of help along the way. We had been told that most pilgrims nowadays walk El Camino for cultural purposes rather than religious ones, but that was not our experience. We came across many pilgrims, mostly Catholics but even some Protestants, who were walking it as a tough exercise to grow closer to God through the beauty of His Creation. There were even those who saw El Camino as a symbolic physical and spiritual analogy for life’s journey towards our final destination, Heaven.
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From Spirit Daily (abbreviated and slightly modified)
Committing to the pilgrim’s path has for centuries been a source of renewal for those willing to put their lives on hold and spend days, weeks or even months crossing Spain along the Camino de Santiago, a journey that takes hikers to the reported burial place of the apostle St. James.
But after a year of being kept off the Way of St. James due to pandemic-related travel restrictions, soul-searchers hoping to heal wounds left by the coronavirus are once again strapping on backpacks and following trails marked with a seashell emblem to the shrine in the city of Santiago de Compostela.
The Camino de Santiago is actually a series of paths that fan out beyond the Iberian Peninsula and spread across Europe. Whichever route one takes, they all end at Santiago’s beautiful baroque cathedral, where believers can visit the tomb of St James the Apostle who, according to Catholic tradition, first brought Christianity to Spain and Portugal soon after the first Pentecost.
The pilgrimage has its roots in the alleged discovery of the tomb in the 9th century. Pilgrims have come to Santiago for well over a millenium, but the number of pilgrims making the trip boomed in recent decades after regional authorities revived the route.
It is now supported by a wide network of religious and civic organizations and served by public and private hostels at prices for all pockets.
Over 340,000 people from all over the world walked “El Camino” in 2019. Only 50,000 walked it last year, when Spain blocked both foreign and domestic travel except for during the summer months.
Before a state of emergency that limited travel between Spain’s regions ended on May 9, only a handful of Spanish pilgrims were arriving in Santiago each day and registering with the Pilgrim’s Reception Office to receive their official credential for having completed the pilgrimage. Now that travel is again permitted, more people from Spain and elsewhere in Europe are walking the ancient path, although many of the hostels that cater to pilgrims are still closed. A few hundred pilgrims, having found the remainder of their way through the city’s cobblestone streets, are arriving in the Obradoiro Square of the cathedral of Santiago each day. Compare this to the several thousand exhausted pilgrims leaning on their walking sticks that used to arrive during a typical summer.
The numbers of pilgrims arriving in Santiago over the next year-and-a-half will be boosted in the 2021 holy year dedicated to St. James that has been extended through 2022. This is important for Catholics who take part in the pilgrimage, for walking it during a Jubilee Year gives us the chance to receive a plenary indulgence, which grants the full remission of the temporal punishment for sins. The last Jubilee Year for the trail was in 2010.
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
Bravo!
Would like to, but doubt I ever get back to Europe!
Pray for us in the rest of the world!
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Reblogged this on Zero Lift-Off and commented:
What a very nice and beautiful thing you did with your sister! I’m inspired by your devout faith and your personal pilgrimage. Very timely because just yesterday I was thinking about you and the CP&S Site coming to mind with a special feeling.
This reminded me somewhat of my own travels and quests for a direction and purpose in my own life when years ago I traveled back and forth all over the US continent by myself doing most of it while driving my car and then on one of my excursions I hitched rides to a particular destination thousands of miles from home to seek help with a medical concern. On that trip I believe I absolutely experienced Divine Intervention and was kept from walking into a very deadly situation late at night in Chicago. I even think an angel was dispatched in that event to make sure I stopped dead in my tracks from proceeding or I would have been seriously injured; or dead. Because of that occurrence I ended up in a bus terminal and while purchasing a ticket asked the agent about this tunnel and he said it was a very good thing I didn’t try going through it; “you don’t want to go through there.” On another occasion while surfing just after a hurricane had passed by where I lived being very young and foolhardy and looking for adventure with a few guys I knew who could really surf well and I couldn’t as well, I still took the chance getting in over my head both literally and figuratively causing me to become caught in the undertow and swept further out to sea. When I finally popped back up to the surface after asking God while in the sea’s powerful grip, to please help me; while I remained as calm as I could. I saw that I was alone and in big trouble because to swim back to the beach from where I was popping around in the heavy surf, with huge sets of waves coming at me it seemed hopeless; but as I remained still and as calm as I’ve even been, out of nowhere from behind one of the biggest waves a man on a surfboard approached me and told me to grab hold of the board, which I did and paddled with him toward shore. Then in no time it seemed we were getting near the shore when he said, “you can make it the rest of the way now” and I let go and started swimming to the beach. As I was walking up onto the beach I quickly turned around to see this man and wave a big thank you to him, but he was nowhere to be seen! I get teary eyed now remembering and I know a miraculous thing happened to keep me alive.
Now to this I add how I saw the Holy Mother Mary two times, once when just waking one morning in a semiconscious but very lucid state of mind. I again saw her within the same year when I had traveled cross-country and was trying to find a place to live or call my temporary home, but I had been in a few different locales where there were some very strange people that I caught the attention of; and days later I found out that there were some very bad cults in that area. But while on this living quarters hunt I decided that because I was so tired from so much traveling and not resting well for weeks; that I would take a room at this inexpensive motel. I carried a Bible with me and would read Scriptures while sitting in my car. I had been weary of a few things going on, but being so exhausted I knew I had to get a night of proper sleep, so off to sleep I went. Then while sleeping I awoke and as I did I saw our Holy Mother Mary again the same way I had before. As I became fully aware of my surroundings I saw that the door to my motel room was open and to me the only explanation again is Divine Intervention stopping something bad from happening to me.
So the reason I bring all of this up to share with you and others who are interested is to first say that the recounting of this El Camino Pilgrimage inspired me with your personal story about that experience and what I’ve always considered a “Real Pilgrimage” journey! And then to say I wish I had done that like you had over the way I apparently haphazardly traveled and journeyed seeking some real direction, as to what I should do about my personal goals and God’s will; as it turns out I was on and off a pilgrimage of sorts for some years; due to other complicating deeply important circumstances and sense of obligation that I found myself in, not of my choosing; but perhaps just part of God’s plan.
So in all of this I hope to let others know that if you have even that tiny “mustard seed” of faith and wonder about things like this, or are having trouble being sure one way or the other about your faith in Jesus Christ, or just want your faith to grow; take my heartfelt words here for face value when I tell you I’m absolutely positive its exactly as has been told to us over the ages and God loves us to no end. Our lives are heading somewhere because Jesus Christ wants us to open up our hearts while on this journey/pilgrimage to Him and follow; not to fear or have any difficulty in believing in Him and God the Father’s plan, its unfolding in our own personal lives every second of every day; so just keep looking to Him with your whole heart and you’re going to make it to where He wants you to be, with Him in Heaven.
And Kathleen I know you had a life changing experience and it touched my own heart so deeply and made me smile loving God all the more; because He reveals Himself to us all the time. And who knows maybe during the remainder of my lifetime I’ll get the opportunity to journey to El Camino on that special pilgrimage, but, even if I don’t I feel like I did through reading about your own personal journey, which I appreciate very much.
Perhaps something I shared about my journeys will mean something to you or anyone else, or ultimately I believe helping us to see how we are all on an amazing journey with the greatest ending that comes in time; but how each of us is “that special and unique” to our Lord, and thus each of us is experiencing our own “precious journey of life” on earth to be shaped by our Lord the Master Potter, to be the precious unique child of God that he knows, and will then share His kingdom with in Heaven where everything will fit together so beautifully. Amen.
Peace and God’s Spirit be with us all in and through our Lord Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ.
Also, as a post script thought, those two times I saw our Holy Mother, shortly before that I did have the same type of experience where I saw our Lord Jesus Christ while my eyes were closed, again while lying in bed but seeing him so unmistakably vividly and real, with the words “Thy Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ” as suspended words revolving around Him. I’m glad I remembered this to add here because it also to me confirms beyond any doubt how our “purpose and journey” to Him is rock solid and planned, but we as individuals need to recognize that and see it; to then accept it and put our all into following Him to complete our “Father’s will.” Amen.
God bless.
Brother in Christ Jesus,
Lawrence Morra III
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Lovely story Kathleen- thank you for such an uplifting reminiscence. We did the Via Francais in the Jubilee year in 2010, but did not get to Spain. We are planning to complete it as soon as we can. Our daughter was young and managed it easily. You will never regret that time spent together with your sister (aside from those moments with God)! The pilgrimage, for us, must have been the source of graces, because it was literally the start of a journey of discovery in the beauties of the Faith.
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(Lawrence, this is my third attempt to reply to you! They keep disappearing. Looks like old Nick, doesn’t like the things I am saying to you!)
Thank you for your lovely story. Your own personal “journeys” you kindly shared with us certainly do mean a lot to me… and I’m sure with others too.
“Every man treads a virgin path to God”, some wise soul once said. This is so true. Everybody’s journey through life is unique, whether long or short, it is a journey never repeated by anybody else. But the creation of every man and woman has an identical purpose: “to be happy with God for all Eternity”. That is something all men share, and as St Augustine cried out: “our hearts are restless Lord, until they rest in Thee”.
We all journey together on Earth towards God, learning from our fellow pilgrims’ experiences, but the paths (decisions) we then make are our own. Each person must “work out [his] own salvation with fear and trembling” – (Philippians 2,12).
That is why Faith is such a tremendous gift, and Hope the virtue that encourages us to plod on towards our precious goal, despite the many knocks and bumps we receive along the way. A pilgrimage like the Camino brings all this very vividly to mind.
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Thanks for your beautiful words Crow. And yes you are right, my sister and I often look back wistfully on our Camino pilgrimage together…. all the things we learnt and shared, the lovely people we met en route, and the two unforgettable days in Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims High Mass with the swinging of the tall incense-filled “bota fumeiro” showering blessings upon the pilgrims, was truly jaw-dropping.
Yes, the silent moments we spent with God as we plodded on and on were very precious indeed. We enjoyed and benefited tremendously from the Camino, despite all the hardships and physical sufferings along the way. My poor sister got some terrible prize blisters! My shoulders and back ached non-stop from the weight of my rucksack, although we took really only the bare necessities.
In fact that’s another lesson we learnt: we discovered that one doesn’t need much in order to survive happily for weeks, even sometimes months on end. It was actually a truly liberating experience…. all our material needs packed into one bundle. Coming home again to our cluttered houses made us feel almost guilty!
I’ll pray that you manage to come back to Spain to complete your pilgrimage Crow, although it’s a very long way from Oz 😉 .
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Certainly Mary 🙂 . Always together with you in prayer, however great and deep the ocean may be between us.
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Hi Kathleen and thank you for not giving up! You know this got me thinking about the old adage three times is a charm so I wanted to look into that old saying because I couldn’t remember much about why and where it came from and it is interesting because I had my own insight as to what I think it means at least to me having always preferred the number three over others even if many people have said two’s company and here is a crowd which is one comment that was tossed at me a few time since back in the day and of course we knows that was an not so subtle cue to get lost! But on a serious note, there has been a long established belief that 3 is a magical number and back in “1721 I read that (James Kelly, Scottish Proverbs)” there was mention of this expression, english.stackexchange.com
“but the sentiment it expresses is of earlier origin.” “Martin Manser, The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs (2002) has this entry for the expression:
the third time is the charm According to popular superstition, success will come at the third attempt: After two aborted missions, N.A.S.A. is hoping that the third time is the charm. The proverb was first recorded in 1721 (James Kelly, Scottish Proverbs), but the sentiment it expresses is of earlier origin.
Variants of this proverb: third time lucky; the third time pays for all.
Proverbs expressing similar meaning: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again; there’s luck in odd numbers.
Interestingly, the expression “third is a charm” shows up in John Kelly, The Scottish Proverbs Collected, Explain’d and Made Intelligible to the English (1721) twice—first as a gloss on a related proverb:
154. All things thrive at thrice.
An Encouragement to those who have miscarried in their Attempts once and again, to try the third time. They will say the third’s a Charm, or there are three things of all things.
and later as its own entry:
235. The third is a Charm.
Spoken to encourage those who have attempted a thing once and again to try a third time. They will say also,
236. There is three things of all things.
According to G.L. Apperson, The Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (1929), “the third time pays for all” dates to no later than 1575:
Third time pays for all, The. 1575: Higgins, Mirr[or] for Magis[trates], P1. I.: “Q. Elstride,” st. 23, Which I haue prou’d, therefore the sequel vewe,The third pays home, this prouerbe is so true.
So “third time pays for all” may actually be older (in English) than “third time is the charm.” In any event, there are numerous instances going back to the Bible in which something is attempted twice unsuccessfully but then on the third try yields success; and it would hardly be a stretch for people to consider the third attempt itself to be blessed with a kind of good luck charm.
As Kelly’s Scottish proverbs indicate, a lot of folk faith resides in the number three, so it makes sense that proverbs extolling the virtue of trying a third time exist in multiple forms in English.” stackexchange.com
But interestingly as a side note the mention of “After two aborted missions, N.A.S.A.” ties into my dream as a boy of one day being an astronaut and I did seek that goal during all those travels I mentioned when I applied to all of the Armed Forces to become an aviator. But they all said even though I was outstanding and would make a fine pilot that the strict military qualification of not being color blind which I partially am; could not be waved.
Of course this was a huge disappointment because the typical plan to be an astronaut is getting an engineering degree and becoming a jet fighter pilot then onto test pilot or straight into the astronauts corps with N.A.S.A. I wasn’t bound or meant to be a another Chuck Yeager or John Glenn, although because I was determined I did enroll in an aeronautical engineering university and was flying there to become a commercial pilot, though I would have restrictions there and not get the better jobs. Turns out as well; finding that I did have some degree of defect in the inner ear. I didn’t try a third time on that one, as there was the military path or private training “pay out of your own pocket” routes to follow and outside of that maybe being an actor and portraying characters who were astronaut’s, which I did entertain as a sort of 3rd attempt; but it doesn’t count, not being the real deal!!
But, this is another interesting dot connection, as just yesterday I received an email response to a petition I signed in recent weeks and it was from Senator Mark Kelly who did pursue the exact career path I mentioned here which was a childhood dream; “As a naval aviator, he served on the aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Midway and flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm.” I did write him back a fairly short email for my standard, so it wouldn’t get tossed, and did put in a phone call to his office in Washington, as I say just yesterday; so those two missing attempts of yours may have been part of a bigger direction taking place above to put us where we are now; it seems to fit nicely!
But to me Kathleen the whole idea boils down to one outstanding fact, actually two; first that the Holy Trinity has always been a focal point in my thinking about this special number and we of course know our Most Precious Loving Savior who conquered death and all sin for us rose up from the clutches of death on the 3rd day. I mainly see my interest in taking the time to bring all of this up because there is absolutely miraculous significance to each and every moment and breath we take! Therefore every grain of sand on a long stretch of beach is specific and unique and also a part of the whole in that way I’ve mentioned before how God helps us by connecting the specific dots in our personal journey and our own individual unique paths that will ultimately lead us to Him and our eternal destination if we do as He old us to do and that is to follow our Father’s will through Him our Lord and Savior by accepting Him as our Lord and Savior taking each step ideally in our daily lives as Jesus Christ would. In doing this the overwhelming or mind boggling number of possibilities before each of us is fine-tuned and brought to crystal clarity as to what we should do making our path steady and true in this vast ocean or universe; we have no fear or doubt because we have and walk with our Lord, the truly Good Shepherd who will assuredly lead us home.
Back to the start when you state, “(Lawrence, this is my third attempt to reply to you! They keep disappearing. Looks like old Nick, doesn’t like the things I am saying to you!)” Oh I know just what you mean here Kathleen! Let me say I know from firsthand experience and battle with the enemy that resistance is applied where possible or where there is a crack in the doorway to get in and divert and disrupt any of us on our paths this is why we are told to remain vigilant and watchful so we don’t miss our cues and those dots God is showing us and to see the many deceptions or lies that at times saturate the world around us or the crooked ways of the world can become quite pressing on our lives while the Devil is always seeking to get his due; that Scripture point’s out clearly, 1 Peter 5:8 “ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
I’m more than honored to share my story with you and left out much detain but then that would maybe be a short novel here and stray too far from your written intent in your wonderful article. I actually see this as a great opportunity to share what God has allowed me to live and learn with you in this way hopefully in so doing I’m better serving our Lord Jesus Christ to the best of my ability being such a lowly broken human being. I wish I could so much more but who am I but a broken fallen sinner that cries in my heart for my lack and not being worthy enough to touch the place our Lord stands if He were here now or if I could be before Him anywhere in existence.
Absolutely each of us is on a virgin path of our own nobody else’s and He can make each of these paths to righteousness. We are all equal to him and equally guilty of our own sins but there in we can all be equally deserving of Salvation through Him who takes away the sins of the world; the Lamb of God.
I love repeating what you say here all of which is so beautiful, breathtaking and to me absolute truth; “an identical purpose: “to be happy with God for all Eternity”. That is something all men share, and as St Augustine cried out: “our hearts are restless Lord until they rest in Thee”. This is truly what it comes down to or as they say “it will all come out in the wash,’ everything will be purified by His sacrificial gift if they will truly have trust and faith in Him! “work out [his] own salvation with fear and trembling” – (Philippians 2,12).” One of my favorite scriptures of all, and I have mentioned it before in my writing here and elsewhere but always reflecting on a martyr and saint who requested this particular verse for her own epitaph the beautiful soul who was depicted in the American film The Exorcism of Emily Rose who to me was so beautiful a heart of a woman to allow herself to e God’s instrument to save souls even when she was offered the opportunity to turn that mission down and live her youthful promising life ahead she chose to do the Father’s will and her actual name is of course Anneliese Michel from Reverie; her life and gift of service to our Lord brings tears to my eyes just like when I watch the movie and weep seeing such devout love of our Lord and Savior in this sweet woman who did truly want to help save souls from hell. OMG! I feel so much when I think of this. I’m also so sad when I look around and see how so many women and men live just the opposite today who are either blinded to the truth or arrogantly oppose it with their only interest in self and decadence. Many of the show business celebrities or just the plain everyday person making a mockery of their lives and cheapening what they really do have by existing that God provided for the greatest purpose!
What a great thing you have pointed to from your own personal journey and the Camino experience which gave you this further insight and appreciation of what Faith is all about and how real it is and can be in anyone’s heart if they will slow down and recognize the plain Truth before our eyes and in our hearts that God put there for Good Reason, with this there is abundant and endless Hope which leads us to all good things by way of our Faith in Jesus Christ our Lord Savior and Redeemer. Amen.
Thank you again Kathleen for opening up this view to most precious, simple, and basic truth!
Brother in Christ Jesus,
Lawrence
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@kathleen says:
June 8, 2021 at 12:36
What an effort but what a reward hat you shared with your sister!
“The pilgrims High Mass with the swinging of the tall incense-filled “bota fumeiro” showering blessings upon the pilgrims, was truly jaw-dropping.”
“Yes, the silent moments we spent with God as we plodded on and on were very precious indeed. We enjoyed and benefited tremendously from the Camino, despite all the hardships and physical sufferings along the way.”
This accounting really makes me want to do this someday!
Thank you again!
God bless.
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Lawrence, you have some real gems in your comments.
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Lawrence, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind and thoughtful comment. It is indeed “full of hidden gems” as Crow has said. It is too late here for me to reply to in detail right now, but I hope to do so tomorrow when I feel less sleepy…. that is, just so long as Old Nick doesn’t get up to using his disappearing tricks again 😉 .
Good night and God bless you.
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😉 .Gotcha Kathleen we’ll see to it we keep him under wraps and always glad to offer my best for you and company! You and your sister had a beautiful experience and opportunity! God loves you so much for it! I was about to fix the typo if I can get in to that comment “a reward that you shared. ” Yes when you have time always glad to hear from you Kathleen! God bless you and sleep tight! I have the AC on here and still roasting!
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@Crow says:
June 8, 2021 at 23:05
“Lawrence, you have some real gems in your comments.”
Crow you’re very dear and kind! Thank you for your consideration and vote of confidence, but I really have no idea if I say something worth all that much to anyone; its only I go with my gut and heart above all and have had many different experiences that still amaze me; so I think I’m supposed to share some of it hoping for the best basically, asking God to help me do something that makes a difference when I can.
God bless you and yours. Bless your heart!
Lawrence
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Thanks Lawrence, and I hope you managed to get a good night’s sleep too, despite the heat.
Going back to your comment yesterday where you talk about the fascinating use of numerology in Scripture, I believe that there are plenty of clues for Man’s understanding of both Revelation and historical or daily events here. Numbers Three, Seven, Twelve, Forty, and others, have a special significance, especially in the life of Our Blessed Lord on earth. Yes, it’s too deep a subject to go into here, but perhaps in a future post we can discuss this interesting topic.
Another thing you brought up is our human brokenness. We are all flawed and broken sons of Adam; we all need God’s love and forgiveness, His boundless mercy, and His grace to pick up our cross again and follow Him … But it’s where we recognise our weakness and our total dependence on Our Loving Saviour to guide us safely onwards (as you do) is what matters and where our peace and joy lie.
I truly hope you are able to walk the Camino De Santiago pilgrimage one day Lawrence, although I have heard it has become more secular with lots of New Agers trying it out nowadays. Anyway, I’m sure one could block this negative side of the Camino out of one’s mind, and still benefit greatly from the deep Catholic Christian roots of this ancient pilgrimage.
P.S. Don’t worry about the typos 😉 . We all make them, but it is always possible to understand what people are really trying to say.
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Hi Kathleen and yes thank you I did after getting the place to cool down! I actually rather prefer dealing with the heat than the cold only its terrible trying to sleep in sweltering heat! My problem was I fell behind the curve and didn’t started the AC early enough so it was a bit uphill for a time. Hope all is comfy there for you!
Yes, I agree numerology is very intriguing or fascinating because even just with my own perception of things over the years I see very significant connections in this way at times. I did bring this subject up with a good priest/friend some years ago and who agreed; only adding don’t try going too far with it; but did agree with some of my observations and how meaning or hidden messages can come through this means at times, what he referred to as symbolism, and absolutely I say symbols are obviously significant to we humans as part of how our minds relate to existence or communication and God knows all this of course all too well about us, so it all ties into understanding and making subtle or even overt connections bringing order and meaning where perhaps it could appear confusing or chaotic even.
Another amazing scientist or man who was a great mind in his area of discipline was Sir Issac Newton, and he too even did calculations with formulas that perhaps one of which is a stretch, but, by his methodology he believed it showed End of Time; and I guess Time will Tell; as his calculations are actually not many years from now.
But I see agree with you that it’s a great idea to at some point do a comprehensive reporting on numerology and symbolism in the Church and Holy Scriptures as to how these can tie together in some way and the importance of any such connection in our better understanding to see the Truth.
I love what you said here; “broken sons of Adam; we all need God’s love and forgiveness, His boundless mercy, and His grace to pick up our cross again and follow Him.” This is the crux of it for sure and to never quit but be always willing to hold onto hope and forge ahead trusting and abiding in Him or Savior while growing in our faith. I just spoke with a lady long distance on a business matter and as I do I didn’t only ask how the weather was there but sidetracked into how things were going in that major city as far as unrest and any violence which occurred last summer; and as we talked we came right to he very point you just made, and I added that we humans can’t expect that all of us will get along or see eye to eye on all things but being cordial to all is proper and expected by God. I mentioned how I remember what one of my top favorite film actors Mel Gibson said during a television interview right after he completed shooting The Passion of The Christ and how he felt about all the negativity and hate being directed at him just for making the film and whether he hated those people in the Industry going against him, to which he replied; “no I don’t hate any of my brothers and sisters, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them all either!” I was watching that interview and it sealed the deal as they say for me as to how I felt about Mel. I thought wow, he has this beautiful perspective; God bless him. If only I could calm down and look at all situations the same way I thought! I improved after that, so Mel actually helped me for the better, to change my perspective by his example; but I still have a ways to go! “Our total dependence on Our Loving Saviour to guide us safely onwards,” thank you for saying that and saying I do; but there too I have to work on always improving and seeking to do my best or better.
Oh you are so right how grand Camino De Santiago pilgrimage would be for me to experience one day! As far as commercialization that is everywhere and goes hand in hand with what I’ve said many times lately how nothing is sacred it seems in this world anymore but I exaggerate on that too, there are still many ways of finding inner and outer sanctity as well but the world is against it and by the fallen nature of it all men will exploit anyone or anything they can for a buck or pound, even if they have to take a pound of flesh in the process; like many of our illustrious politicians do here at times! But all that aside I could benefit greatly by participating in experiencing the “Catholic Christian roots of this ancient pilgrimage.” Again I appreciate you bringing this to the fore, and helping me to think about its significance and importance to we Catholics.
God bless you.
Appreciate the understanding about the typos difficulty I have at times! 😉
Lawrence
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