In the psalm today, the psalmist declares: To you O Lord, I lift my soul. We lift our souls in different ways to the Lord: by following God’s will, by living out our vocation, through love of God and love of neighbor.
One of the saints we celebrate today found an interesting way to lift his soul to the Lord. One of my favorite towns on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is San Juan Ortega, named after this saint. It is located on the stage right before the arrival into the city of Burgos, one of the main cities on the Camino. San Juan de Ortega, also known as St John the Hermit, was born in the city of Burgos in 1050. He became a priest at a young age. While traveling back from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ship he was on almost sank into a terrible storm. Juan de Ortega prayed to St Nicholas to save them from the storm and his prayers were answered. He founded a Augustinian monastery in the village now named San Juan Ortega, and a monastery church named in honor of St Nicholas. In fact, he specifically founded this monastery and church in an area that was very dangerous for pilgrims on the Camino, as it was nestled in the mountains and was a prime location for robbers to jump out of their hiding place and to attack them. Juan de Ortega was a good friend of Santo Domingo de Calzada, another great Camino saint. Both of them spent time repairing bridges on the Camino, improving roads, and constructing new chapels and hospitals for the pilgrims. He died in 1143. What is interesting is that this monastery and church were abandoned in the 19th century when the monks left and closed them down. It is only with the renewed interest in the Camino in the last 25 years that the church and monastery are being restored.
I love hearing the stories of the lives of the saints, how they followed the will of God in their lives. May the story of San Juan de Ortega inspire us on our own journeys.
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