25 Oct 2018
In September, MSC Missons Office Director Fr Michael O’Connell MSC walked the Camino de Santiago for the first time. Walking approximately 113 km over five days, Fr Michael undertook the final stage of the Camino Francés, or the French Way. Here, he shares his daily diary with thoughts and reflections from the Way.
Saturday, September 29th
Ribadiso to Pedrouzo
Distance: 22.8 km
“Day 4 of my journey saw me set off once again along ancient paths that have been walked for thousands of years. Along the road, I came to a stop where pilgrims could buy a bottle of beer and write their name on it, and the owners would display it for a year, so anyone who passed could see who had gone before them. It was such a popular idea that it had actually moved premises with the owners, who had to find a new place to set up shop after the rent on their previous premises had become too high. It’s still going from strength to strength today, and it a lovely way to leave a marker, something of yourself, along a path that so many walk.
Pilgrims leaving their mark along the Way.
Pilgrims leaving their mark along the Way.
Pilgrims leaving their mark along the Way.
While walking, I realised how lucky I was to have such good weather on my journey. I could see tide marks on some parts of the path, where the water rises when it rains. I was blessed with sunshine, and avoiding trudging through puddles and floods!
On the road today I came across a signpost, indicating Santiago to the left and Lugo to the right. It struck me as somewhat entertaining that I flew into Santiago Aiport, then took a two-hour bus journey to Lugo, followed by a half-hour bus journey to Sarria. When I finally arrived in Sarria, I promptly set off in the other direction, on foot. Talk about going backwards to go forwards!
At the end of the day, just like the days before, my boots were coated in a thick covering of dust – and my once-black socks were now well and truly grey! On my Camino journey, I became very aware of shaking the dust off my feet. The Gospel speaks about doing just this (Matthew 10:14: ‘And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.’). If you are rejected in a village, if the people there don’t want to hear your message, you should leave – and when you’re leaving, you should shake the dust off your feet. All of the things you accumulate in that village, you give a good shake on the way out, and just go away out of the place leaving all of the negativity behind you.
The Camino experience is similar. You start off with nice clean shoes or boots, and at the end of the day, you see that they’re covered in dust, things that you have picked up during the day without realising it. It’s important to give them a good shake at the end of the day, to shake off the dust and debris you’ve picked up along the road, and start off afresh the following day.
Shaking off the dust: The Camino reminds us of the importance of getting back to basics.
Shaking off the dust: The Camino reminds us of the importance of getting back to basics.
Shaking off the dust: The Camino reminds us of the importance of getting back to basics.
This really came into my conscious as I was travelling. We begin life with an ideal, and then life itself takes over. You begin to accumulate things around your life, and you’ve forgotten that simple ideal, or the ideal you had in your youth. It’s only when you take time out to stop and think that you realise, I’m accumulating too many things here; I need to take time out and go back to the basics, take a step back.
This could take the form of the simplest things. The importance of a day off during the week, for example – the Sabbath experience. You stop your usual day-to-day schedule; you don’t go to work. You shake off the dust of the week. You decide that today is a family day, a day when we do things together. Sometimes, you must say no to life’s demands. You might look at the time you spend with your partner or your family, and say no – we’re going to have a date night or a family night this Friday night. It’s not just going to be a normal busy dinner time, we’re going to turn off the television and light a candle and share a meal. We’re going to go back to basics.
It’s important that we don’t just do this when we go on retreat, or celebrate an anniversary or a special occasion. We must make it a day-to-day occurrence. We must shake off the dust of life and start fresh every day, with a basic appreciation of all that God has given us and the wonders that life has to offer us.
If there’s one thing I stepped back and appreciated about today, it was the massage shower in the hostel at the end of the day’s walk! It really is the simple things…”
Read more of Fr Michael’s Camino diary:
Fr Michael’s Camino Diary Day 1
Fr Michael’s Camino Diary Day 2
Fr Michael’s Camino Diary Day 3