“It is critical to remember that we are all pilgrims on this earth, and that our respective journeys must be neither arduous nor harrowing to be important. Joyfully engaging each day’s simple-yet-selfless tasks is always enough – like getting up every morning to go to work to support my family or sacrificing personal time in […]
On & on & on I walked and finally made it to the town of Lelin Lapujolle, and somehow felt certain that this is where I would lay my head down for the night. And yet once again my hopes proved disappointing (as hopes are wont to do), as the entire village was closed for […]
And so it was that I walked on & on & on through the ever-later afternoon – all the way to & through the tiny hamlet of Arblade le Bas, where I heard a local resident weed-eating his yard and decided to ask if there was anywhere a mendicant pilgrim could rest for the night. […]
And so it was that I – having already walked more than 40km on that particular day – marched forth with a renewed vigor and refreshed purpose; powerfully flowing 6 kilometers to a recently abandoned pathside donativo refreshment station for pilgrims (where I gratefully refreshed myself with 6.5 small plums that had been graciously left […]
True to form on this Walk, I paused – even if ever so briefly – in Barcelonne du Gers’ local church for a heartfelt reaffirmation of my resolve the spread the message of The Way of Selfless Love, and a heartwarming protestation of gratitude for being able in any way to do the same … […]
Aire sur l’Adour was easy enough to access, and yet it was very late in the afternoon when I arrived, and I was literally at my wits end (with fatigue and primal fear being an especially difficult team to transcend). Fortunately a sweet resident noted my obvious state of more-than-mild distress and helped to orient […]
Walking in the direction of the (ultimately nonexistent) donativo hostel mentioned by the callously dismissive Maison des Pelerins manager, I did come across the offices of the local Catholic services. Frustratingly, they were already closed for the night, and things were really starting to look pretty grim as the day steadily progressed into early evening […]
The warm-hearted Polo ended up driving right back up the first hill I had climbed – right past Allesandro’s not-so-welcoming hostel, and right to the front stairwell of the Chapelle des Ursulines. He told me he couldn’t guarantee my entrance thereto, and that I was on my own from there, and yet our parting of […]
And so it was that I came to spend the night in the most amazing place surrounded by the most amazing people – all of whom proved to be (in one way or another) deeply moved by my Mission and its meanderings. Even Didier (pictured in the forefront of this post’s final attached image) was […]
I woke from a deep (though also a bit sweaty) sleep and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast alone (with the rest of my fellow pilgrims having already eaten quickly in order to start their walking early). Stephane, with whom I had shared a delightful conversation the previous evening, then walked over to me before himself heading […]
“There are all different kinds of voices calling us to all different kinds of work. The challenge is to find out which of them are reflecting the Voice of God rather than the whisperings of society, say, or the inner ego, or our self-interest. The kind of work God ever calls us to is the […]
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