The pilgrimage before the pilgrimage

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The pilgrimage before the pilgrimage!  Who knew?  Several months ago I agreed to endeavor to walk the Camino de Santiago or The Way of St. James – a pilgrimage that would take me at least 30 days to complete if I walked 17 miles a day. The idea sounded awesome.  I knew it was going to be a holy experience – one that would certainly allow me to grow closer to God. It was going to be an adventure and one that would give me the opportunity to travel to other parts. 

Never once in all my plans and training did I ever think I’d be tested the way I have been tested these past few months. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always up for a good adventure and that I like seeing new things. So how do I explain the panic, the anxiety and the debilitating fear I experienced up until the day I was to leave?

Just two or three days before my departure I was given the grace to understand that my prep was a pilgrimage before the pilgrimage – a journey all its own. In the midst of it all, I often thought of the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and its fruit. I wondered if I was expected to undergo the agony, the scourging, etc. before I could persevere. I likened my experience to a load of laundry in a washing machine. I felt like I was going through the wash cycle, being tossed about here and there.   It was almost as if I was being purified in order to see the big picture – that God is with me always and there’s no need to fear.  The more I remembered that truth, the more courageous I became.

This pilgrimage is definitely a lesson in patience and endurance, a lesson in letting go and stepping out of my comfort zone with the knowledge that God will lead the way – all one has to do is trust. 

So I continue to trust in God and where He is leading me.  I look forward to persevering in my walking and returning to my life a changed soul. 

God bless you!

He did not come to abolish the law

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After the crucifixion comes the resurrection. Jesus gives us a reason to hope.
Jesus gives us a reason to hope!

In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus tells us that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.  So what does that mean for us? 

One word that came to mind as I thought about it was: difficulty.  Our need to regularly receive the sacrament of Reconciliation is proof of how difficult it is to follow the law. If Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, then it must mean He didn’t come to rid us of difficulty:  whether the difficulty be our inability to follow the law – a form of self-inflicted suffering or whether the difficulty is some other form of suffering like an illness or tragic loss.  Instead, He came to “carry it out” through example.

Yes, Jesus came to save us but in His infinite love and mercy He also came to show us how life is done.  He came to model for us how to see our way THROUGH suffering.  Jesus showed us what it means to accept God’s will and proved to us once and for all that beyond the suffering lies a glorious resurrection.  Jesus gave us a reason to HOPE!

Control?

We all tend to become anxious or disappointed when life doesn’t go according to plan.  Our need to control every aspect of life is probably what causes most of our suffering.  The sooner we accept the reality God is in control, the happier we’ll be.  Jesus actually gave us a prescription for happiness in the Beatitudes!  It’s certainly worth pondering.  

How we deal with suffering determines where we go from there.  Accepting it and surrendering  to God’s will allows us to see there is a light at the end of the tunnel.   We see the lesson, we grow in virtue. In choosing to avoid it at all costs we remain in darkness, constantly reliving the pain and never coming out on the other side.

WWJD?

Jesus prepared for His suffering by slipping away to pray.  When he was tempted, He relied on Scripture.  When He doubted, He trusted.  When He was in pain, He surrendered. We are called to do the same.  So how do you manage your stress, pain and suffering?  How do you prepare for a tough road ahead?  Do you follow Jesus’ example?

I recently read the following excerpt in a daily inspirational journal titled The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo:

Even in the Dark

Seldom seen, growing along the ocean floor, the white plumed anemone is a watery blossom.  It is white lace, opening under tons of black, opening as if bathed in the sun, while so far from the sun.

This is the trick to staying well, isn’t it:  to feel the sun even in the dark.  To not lose the truth of things when they go out of view.  To grow just the same.  To know there is still water even when we are thirsty.  To know there is still love, even when we are lonely.  To know there is still peace, even when we are suffering.

None of this invalidates our pain, but only strengthens our way back into the light.

Imagine the “this” in that last sentence is Jesus.  Jesus strengthens our way back into the light!  Lean on Him, trust in Him, follow Him!