Summary of posts about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

I have blogging about my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela on this blog, so I thought that I would summarize the entries that I made about the pilgrimage since I returned on May 5.  Pilgrims get a calling to go on a spiritual journey.  It is a calling and a long to go out of the box and go on a journey that will touch the soul.  Going on pilgrimage is not about being the fastest or walking the most miles or arriving before the other pilgrims.  Pilgrimage is about being transformed and finding out how God is speaking to your soul through your experiences on your journey.  I was transformed by the 325 miles I walked to Santiago de Compostela to the tomb of St James the Greater.  I was transformed by walking with Lyons, Claudia, Celia, and Hallie, by experiencing the Camino through their eyes.  

There is a saying amongst pilgrims: "You get the Camino you need, not the Camino you want."  In light of the weather we had, I wonder what God was trying to tell me.  I am a very cold natured person. I the middle of the Mississippi summers, I sleep without the airconditioning on with three wool blankets, a quilt, and four small blankets that I wrap around me.  We saw the forecast where we were going in March, and the weather was sunny, in the 60s and 70s.  When we arrived in April, the cold, wet weather arrived as well.  We rarely saw the sun.  We walked in rain, sleet, and even snow flurries.  Yet, the minute I came back from the Camino, I was pondering when I would be able to go again.  I had a respiratory infection on the first week, and even after antibiotics, it never really went away.  As cold natured as I am, you can imagine how much I froze on this pilgrimage to Spain. 

I have a strong identity as a pilgrim.  I see the world through the eyes of a pilgrim.  The documents of Vatican II tell us that we are a pilgrim Church, we are a pilgrim people.  Pilgrimage very much relates to our journey through life. 

Here is a summary of my posts regarding my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela: You may search from them based on month and date in the righthand column in the BLOG ARCHIVE: 

4/8/12 - Happy Easter Everyone - Tomorrow I go on pilgrimage in Spain 

4/20/12 - Finished first week in Spain

4/22/12 - Sunday, April 22

4/25/12 - Wednesday, April 25

4/28/12 - From the city of Sarria in Galicia 

5/2/12 - Wednesday - one day from arriving in Santiago 

5/7/12 - Back in the United States 

5/7/12 - Arrows always pointing the way 

5/7/12 - Pilgrims' shoes

5/7/12 - Pilgrims' feet at the end of a long day of walking 

5/7/12 - Photos from the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela - one step at a time

5/7/12 - Scenes from a pilgrimage

5/8/12 - Scallop shells 

5/8/12 - Cross in the forest 

5/8/12 - A monument to the fallen of the Spanish Civil War 

5/9/12 - Message on a tree 

5/9/12 - Beautiful sunrise on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela 

5/9/12 - Sunset over Santo Domingo de la Calzada

5/10/12 - An historic church along the Way to St James 

5/10/12 - Meeting St Roche on the Camino 

5/11/12 - A view from a window on the Camino - 

5/11/12 - Benedictine crucifix 

5/13/12 - Scenes from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela 

5/13/12 - A flowering almond tree on the road to Santiago

5/16/12 - Photos from a day on the Camino 

5/21/12 - Pilgrims on a journey - photo

5/21/12 - Churros and chocolate. 

6/21/12 - Poem written about the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.