It was then that I came across the lovely Paroisse de St. Jacques en Saubestre; a lovely Romanesque chapel where I spent more than a few moments in calm of mind and cool of climate … “To encounter the sacred is to be alive at the deepest center of human existence. Sacred places are the […]
I was feeling pretty exhausted by the time I finally entered the city of Arthez de Bearn, and headed straight away into its local church. This was a noticeably larger affair than the many other churches and chapels I had encountered of late, and maybe that is why it lacked much of the aforementioned’s sense […]
Even though I had already found a temporary Residence for the night, it was still early enough to flow a bit through the neighboring sections of town to see what I could See. And very soon thereafter I walked up to the local Maison des Pelerins, where Nadine – the hospitalera on call that night […]
There are two ways for pilgrims (and indeed non-pilgrims as well) to truly & deeply clean their clothes – one is wash them attentively (and preferably let them dry outside overlooking a lovely garden), and the other is to give them away lovingly* … 🙂 “We must Wake Up. If we are going to find […]
I woke super early again this morning and headed back to the town’s church at 5am, where I offered thanks to the place for offering refuge the day prior (even though I stayed elsewhere thereafter) and then dozed a bit sitting on a chair in its peaceful courtyard until it got light enough to walk […]
It soon got light enough to see The Way, and I set out into the calm crisp morning. Both birds and bats swirled and dipped and danced above my head and I was awash in appreciation & gratitude; knowing that I was in no hurry and also knowing that I would not tarry or dawdle […]
The church at Argagnon was closed when I passed by, and yet there was something about it that borough me some solace even though I was not allowed entrance … “The person with a solely secular mentality tends to feel himself to be the center of the Universe. And as such, he is likely to […]
I thereafter made it into and through the town of Maslacq (where the Path unusually flowed away from the local church, not towards or past it) and felt almost compelled to stop and rest on a bench on the village outskirts. A sort of involuntary depression washed over me here – an odd sense of […]
“Pilgrims are adventurers all. They know not when they set out what the results of their day’s walk will be; yet it is a strange experience, is it not, that such bountiful gifts and refreshing fruits always come to them – at the very least an inadvertent mood of tranquil meditation, out of which arises […]
The Path was seemingly smooth thereafter, and I easily flowed down into the lovely village of Sauvelade, where the local church (part of a beautifully restored 12th Century Abby) provided my next dose of what I like to call Seeker’s Solace – the profound peace that comes to those who consciously pause and set aside […]
And it was here in Sauvelade, just past the church itself, that I was blessed to meet Jean Marc; a gentle pilgrim who was inspired to ask about my Walk after having seen my smock, a kind pilgrim who said that he had been looking for fellow pilgrims to serve along The Way, and as […]
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