Day 064t: Dancing with the Dogma … (06/17/2019)
Well, the monastery was completely deserted when I finally arrived at its doorstep, and I was about to simply walk onward when a car drove up and two men hooped out – one of them, the passenger, dressed in quite pilgrimesque garb (a simple smock of sorts and sandals, with a small satchel slung over his shoulder). I asked them if this was indeed a pilgrims’ refuge and the car’s driver (Baptiste, the hospitalero in charge of the hostel that night) said that it indeed was, and that I was more than welcome to stay the night … 😀
And what an intriguing night it was! Not only was I provided with a warm shower, a delicious vegan meal, and a soft bed, but during dinner I was both amused and entertained by Baptiste and my fellow pilgrim Antoine (who just happened to be a catholic monk on a “sabbatical” tour of the Camino :O ) – first amused by Antoine’s open dismissal (and even abject denigration) of my Peace Walk (believing as he quite overtly did that such a mission – especially undertaken without money – was not only pointless but even downright wrong :O ), and thereafter entertained by the two of them going on at length over all the reasons why the dogma Catholicism needed to take over the world* … :O :O :O
Now I could have interjected a thing or two from my 15+ years of Bible research at this point – a few theological tidbits that MIGHT have enabled either or both of them to come to a deeper appreciation of The Way of Christ (as opposed to their quite flagrant adoration of the biblical professions of Paul – see the first comment box below for an in-depth examination of this all-important spiritual distinction). And yet it didn’t seem to be either the time or the place for such a discourse, so I simply sat in smiling silence (and thoroughly enjoyed the lovely meal) while they reveled in each other’s company and their shared vision for our global future … 🙂
“How sweet it is that we serve a God who has destinations in mind for us that we can never fully comprehend (no matter how much we pray or study); indeed destinations that we would never choose ourselves. And it is in truth just as sweet that the Divine will never be satisfied with our journey until He has led us – in some cases over & over & over again – to exactly the place &/or exactly the teaching we need to choose our Better Way. Most of us are often satisfied to stay at home, and many of us will keep quitting the journey long before it is completed. And yet the Journey continues nonetheless – even until our dying breath, and throngs of angels (often taking the form of strangers and enemies) never cease reappearing & re-guiding us on our walk through life – even to our final day.” ~ inspired by Paul David Tripp
*NOTE that Baptiste (pictured below) was by no means as “militant” in his beliefs as Antoine. Indeed, it bears mentioning that I actually found him to be quite a gentle and openly kind-hearted fellow from my visit’s start that night to its finish the next morning … 🙂
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