Day 18 of Walking
Hello everyone,
Last night we stayed at a Benedictine convent in Leon, and it was one of the best places yet. We looked around the Cathedral, which has beautiful stained glass windows. We were blessed to go to the 6 pm Mass, then dinner. For the first time we ate NOT from the pilgrim´s menu, and it was great. We had helado (ice cream) for dessert. I know that doesn´t sound very penitential, but we decided there was enough suffering on Sunday´s long rainy walk to justify the indulgence.
This morning dawned bright and beautiful, and it was a short walk (12 miles) to our next stop, Villar de Mazarife.
Here is a silhouette of a pilgrim, one of many that we have seen on the way.
It is a new albergue, clean and nice. The owner was born in Bilbao, Spain (he´s a Basque), but lived in Idaho for awhile. He moved here 2 years ago and has been running this place ever since.
Here Colleen and JoAnn are washing out some clothes in the laundry facilities at the albergue (no extra charge for the use of the laundromat!)
Brendan is still walking with us today. He´s the young man (in red) from MA who is going to join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (Fr. Groeschel´s group). We are blessed to have him walking with us.
No chance to get to Mass today. We are finding that while there are many churches along the way, most of them are not open during the day. Seems they have the same situation here that we do back home: one priest to cover many little towns. We are grateful to get to Mass when we can. Speaking of vocations, we spoke last night to Jim O´Sullivan, a man from Ireland. He said that they are also hurting for vocations. In fact, there will only be 3 men ordained this year for the whole country of Ireland! And to think of the many priests they used to export...
Tomorrow we´ll have an "easy" 18 mile walk to Astorga, then we´ll be back into mountainous terrain. A couple from Holland told us that while today is sunny, they are calling for rain for the next 2 days. Are all of you back there praying hard enough for good weather?!?!
We´re not able to upload photos today as the port on the computer is broken, but we try at every stop to do so. We are praying for all of you every day, please continue to pray for us (and pray a little bit harder on that weather thing!)
The Peregrinos.
Last night we stayed at a Benedictine convent in Leon, and it was one of the best places yet. We looked around the Cathedral, which has beautiful stained glass windows. We were blessed to go to the 6 pm Mass, then dinner. For the first time we ate NOT from the pilgrim´s menu, and it was great. We had helado (ice cream) for dessert. I know that doesn´t sound very penitential, but we decided there was enough suffering on Sunday´s long rainy walk to justify the indulgence.
This morning dawned bright and beautiful, and it was a short walk (12 miles) to our next stop, Villar de Mazarife.
Here is a silhouette of a pilgrim, one of many that we have seen on the way.
It is a new albergue, clean and nice. The owner was born in Bilbao, Spain (he´s a Basque), but lived in Idaho for awhile. He moved here 2 years ago and has been running this place ever since.
Here Colleen and JoAnn are washing out some clothes in the laundry facilities at the albergue (no extra charge for the use of the laundromat!)
Brendan is still walking with us today. He´s the young man (in red) from MA who is going to join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (Fr. Groeschel´s group). We are blessed to have him walking with us.
No chance to get to Mass today. We are finding that while there are many churches along the way, most of them are not open during the day. Seems they have the same situation here that we do back home: one priest to cover many little towns. We are grateful to get to Mass when we can. Speaking of vocations, we spoke last night to Jim O´Sullivan, a man from Ireland. He said that they are also hurting for vocations. In fact, there will only be 3 men ordained this year for the whole country of Ireland! And to think of the many priests they used to export...
Tomorrow we´ll have an "easy" 18 mile walk to Astorga, then we´ll be back into mountainous terrain. A couple from Holland told us that while today is sunny, they are calling for rain for the next 2 days. Are all of you back there praying hard enough for good weather?!?!
We´re not able to upload photos today as the port on the computer is broken, but we try at every stop to do so. We are praying for all of you every day, please continue to pray for us (and pray a little bit harder on that weather thing!)
The Peregrinos.
posted by chucko99 | 07:40
5 Comments:
You have no idea how good it is to hear of your daily adventures to us Pilgrims back here! I will join you in having ice cream (helado) today also to maintain solidarity. 12 days to go, you are a great witness of endurance. Are you all keeping a spiritual journal of what the Lord is revealing?
Yeah, you sound like a bunch of slackers to me...you only have to walk 18 miles in muddy, rough terrain with wind and rain and bouncing temperatures with everything you own (in Europe) on your back, and then you eat ice cream! I think God was reminding you of His Fatherly love with that ice cream treat, and if He presents the opportunity again, you wouldn't want to deny Him the pleasure of treating His children. Carry on with your good work, Pilgrims. Our prayers for you continue in earnest.
Connie H.
Dear pilgrim friends, Of course we will pray for good weather as you continue. And we so appreciate the prayers you are saying for all our needs and in thanksgiving for all we have been given. love, julia
We check your blog just about every day. So happy to see your pictures! Like Dick, I want to know about how the Lord is touching you through it all. If there is anything that is not too personal, would you mind sharing on the spiritual side of things? Remember, the whole world is reading this . . . . we love you and miss you all very much.
The Glovers.
We just finished our retreat for project rachel. Thank you for all your prayers. One of our volunteers let me know that she was on our first retreat in 1998. That would be 10 years. Boy, am I getting old. Has Bill been singing about where his tooth brush is. We really miss you guys here in NC. Glory be to Jesus Christ, Love Linda
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