Reflection on St Dominic de la Calzada - A Saint from the Camino of Santiago in Spain

      One of my favorite saints from the Camino of Santiago in Spain is named St Dominic de la Calzada. We celebrated his feast day in the Catholic Church earlier in the week. Born in 1019, more than 1,000 years ago, he was turned down by two different Benedictine monasteries when he applied to become a monk as a young man.  Instead, he lived his life as a young man as a hermit in a cave in northern Spain.  He worked with the newly arrived bishop in the area to combat a plague of locusts.  The bishop was very impressed with young Dominic and he was ordained a priest.  He spent a lot of his priesthood improving the pilgrimage route, building bridges, clearing land, and even building an alternative causeway route on the camino that is now part of the modern route that I have hiked in Spain.  The church he started constructing in the village named after him is now a cathedral. He died in 1109 at the age of 90.  I love the spirit of St Dominic de la Calzada that still calls out to us today.  (The name “Calzada” means “causeway” in Spanish.)  He thought “out of the box” to find a way to serve God, even after being rejected by a religious order.  As a result, he is remembered to this day with great love by the pilgrims on the route of St James in Spain.  I actually saw the baptismal font in which he was baptized and have stayed in the town named after him several times.  
      When we look back at the saints throughout history, we see a lot of creativity and ingenuity.  In our faith, we are called to be creative and resourceful in a time where we are battling the unexpected.  I look to the saints for so many wonderful stories, for so much creativity, for a spirit of living out our Catholic faith to the fullest.  Blessings to all of you this 5th week of the Easter season.  May the spirit of St Dominic de la Calzada inspire us on our own journeys.