Sisters of the Presentation of Mary

Really, Mary Jane , really!! You want me to co-lead a group of women with you to Spain, World Youth Day and do the last 120k of the Camino. Really?? No kids or cell phones allowed! Really! Take 3 and half weeks off from work! Really?

Over the years, I have collected hands, that is, pictures of hands. This collection began as paper pictures of hands and many other items that I found beautiful or intriguing. Recently, I digitalized this collection. It is now stored on 4 CDs, instead of an apple box of files, and much more accessible and useful.

As I reflect on this pilgrimage, this experience of being a pilgrim has imprinted on my heart once again what it means to be a family of Marie Rivier. The accommodations, food, long hours of walking together, blisters on feet, fatigue, extreme heat made us all vulnerable at different points during the pilgrimage. These difficult moments helped us to built trust amongst each other as we helped and loved one another. Little by little as time passed the masks that we wore fell down and authentic relationships were built, as we were all sisters and brothers in Christ. Also, I remarked as time passed that the borders between countries were no longer as prevalent as people mixed with each other and tried to communicate in the different languages.

In my lifetime, I have probably climbed more than a handful of mountains, and in line with my work with indigenous peoples in the hinterlands of Southern Philippines I had also lived in rougher conditions such as difficult access to water and food, not to mention faced with issues of safety and security. What was different and special about the Camino de Santiago, and navigating the streets and subway of Madrid during the World Youth Day, was to place myself in prayer and silence taking to heart the word of God each day while even in the midst of a celebratory crowd, its madness and chaos.

This has been an experience of a lifetime. God chose to be part of this journey and to be part of a very unique community. Throughout the month of August I have been showered with grace from God in many ways! As a group we discussed what our experience / trip would look like if I had to paint it in a picture. I had to think about it hard as many pictures and ideas came rushing into my head. The first idea I shared was an image of rain falling down. I saw this image because rain has the ability to refresh, cleanse our thirst, wash away troubles and be poured out like grace from God.

Hola!

Spain was never on my list of desired destinations, yet I did not hesitate to react positively to the invitation to come here. This 'Yes' to go on a pilgrimage with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary has reaped many blessings. Among these blessings is the gift of building life giving relationships. The experiences shared along the way have been rich with emotion and growth.

Hola! Bonjour! Gruesti! Buen Dyos! Hello!

Before the Camino, the idea of Heaven always seemed distant to me- a theological goal rather than a personal and daily one. Being a "pilgrim" belonged in classical literature like Pilgrim's Progress, to medieval stones like the Crusades or in picture books that depicted women in long dresses with their families trouping along behind donkeys.

S. Mary Jane writes, "Everyone traveling to Saskatoon last night arrived home because we did not have to stay in a hotel in Toronto. It was a miracle because we landed in Toronto when the other plane was supposed to be taking off. The plane waited 1-hour 3o minutes for us to arrive at the gate before it departed. The group of the PA diocese and us made up 80 pilgrims traveling to Saskatoon, so as Bishop Thevenot expressed, 'We were the plane, so they waited.'  However, Stephanie Belanger missed her flight traveling to Edmonton last night so she had to stay in a hotel.  I look forward to hearing from you Stephanie that you have arrived safely back home in Peace River, AB.

We are still not used to the cool weather because many of us had to sleep with extra socks and I had to pull out my sleeping bag because I was also cold last night in my bed. However, we are all happy to be home. Thanks for your warm welcome.

I also wanted to let you know that we will be continuing to blog with each of the Canadians testimonials on each of their pilgrimage experience, so we do invite you to keep following us even though we are in Canada. "

S. Mary Jane writes, "Our flight is delayed 5 hours leaving Madrid, so it is unlikely that we will be able to be home today in Canada as we will miss our connecting flight in Toronto. There are no other flights from Toronto to Saskatoon today so we may have to stay in a hotel tonight in Toronto. We will phone or text our family members and sisters when we arrive in Toronto to let you know more details. We all have travel insurance, so we will be well taken care of by Air Canada and our travel agent, so no worries. The flight delay is why I have time to post another blog... Please keep us in prayers as our pilgrim journey continues on our travels home. We are still at the Sisters residence in Madrid and we had a lovely lunch and many of us are having a siesta right now as I type this blog... We are well and in great spirits.... Look forward to seeing you soon."

A this time, I am sitting in an internet cafe in downtown Madrid and writing you this message. I arrived at this cafe on my own by metro and then I plan to do some last minute shopping before taking the plane tomorrow. All the Canadians are proud to say that we have mastered the metro system of Madrid even though we were all very apprehensive about it when we first arrived. The sisters here do not have cars so it is really the way you get around. S. Maria del Mar, S. Rita and S. Catherine were very surprised when we would arrive on time at a meeting place because I think they thought we might arrive in Barcelona instead of the Vocational Pavillion etc. The look on their faces when we would arrive was actually quite funny. I had never figured out the metro system before, but "together" we managed to get around just fine after a couple of days of practice. April and Bonnie were our GPS system which was such a huge help. At WYD, we would attend the catechesis sessions in our own languages and would later meet up with the group throughout the day depending on the crowds, so it was important that we learn it.

It is the tradition of World Youth day that all the pilgrims participate in an evening of Vigil prayer on the Saturday evening with Pope Benedict XVI, followed by a sleeping under the stars with one million people and reaching the pinnacle point of the weekend by celebrating the Eucharist with Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday morning. This experience has marked my life forever...

Greetings and Blessings from Madrid.

Since I left Canada on August 3rd, I am in awe of all that we have seen, experienced, felt, left behind, learned, simplified, tasted, expressed, and conquered. The first few days we spent in Madrid, in Vittoria and then the camino boot camp to Santiago had physically, mentally and spiritually prepared each pilgrim for the World Youth Day. Our days have been very, very, very full. Wow! The Spanish, French and Porteguese people have stamina... especially the Sisters. The Lord has provided for us so abunduntly that it is a truly amazing.

I woke up this morning with a hungry stomach. It was half past 9 and everyone seems to be asleep still. I smiled to myself. No more scrambling to put away everything in our backpacks or eating breakfast in the dark, since we had to be on the camino as early as we can before the Spanish heat intensifies. We are now looking forward to participate in the World Youth Day, which will surely give us more kilometers to walk.

Our second last day of the camino ended gloriously at Monte de Gozo (Mount of Joy), where there is a memorial of John Paul II's pilgramage to Santiago. On top of the hill, we could see the beautiful ancient city of Santiago. All those nights of sleeping in gyms, eating breakfast in the dark, using stinky toilets, and living out of our backpacks were worth it. And what a sweet surprise when we arrived at our accommodations - bunked beds, laundry machines, hamburgers and hot, private showers!

Two more days of walking and we´re still going! Everybody is still alive and growing in so many ways. Literally growing!!! Some of us are growing eleven toes while others having two heels on one foot! (read: blisters). The crucial question we ask ourselves - "To pop or not to pop? That is the question."

Day 5 le 8 aout 2011

Rode the bus for 7 hours to get to our Camino starting point at Sarria in Northeast Spain. We slept in a gym with our sleeping bags and earth mats. I slept good but some other had challenges like jetlag and nightime concerts in various decibels.

Day 3 Greetings from Madrid Spain!! Yesterday we got up bright and early to share the word of God and to check in to see how everyone was doing. After a lovely breakfast of mucho bread and the darkest/tastiest coffee ever, we began packing our backpacks for Victoria, Spain.

As I opened the shutters of my second story bedroom window, a cloudy day greeted me. My second day in Spain promised to be a little cooler than the first! An 8:30 breakfast (desayuno) was a hearty meal of baguette, croissant, pasterie and espresso coffee. "Eat a lot of bread," was the wise recommendation, "Lunch is at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon!"