10/5/2019, 19:00
Last evening in Logroño we had a most enjoyable time. After Mass at the Cathedral, at which Fr. Tony concelebrated, we had a mini-reunion of our original Camino family. Kate (UK) and Brian (Ireland), who were two days ahead of us, came back to the transportation hub of Logroño to catch a bus on their return home. (Many Europeans travel the Camino in segments two weeks or so at a time.) Kate and Brian made a point of having dinner with us. Although we’ve known each other less than 10 days, it seems as though we are the best of life-long friends and had a memorable farewell dinner (more Camino magic).
10/6/2019, 15:30
“You have everything you need.”
Last night we had an intimate Sunday Vigil Mass (attended by about a dozen pilgrims) celebrated by Fr. Tony in our albergue in Sansol. Fr. Tony, in his homily, told us that, just like St. Paul said to Timothy in the second reading, we have everything we need. As pilgrims, we are carrying, in our backpacks, everything we need for our pilgrimage across Spain and, as Christians, the graces of the Holy Spirit which we received in Baptism and Confirmation are all we need to carry the good news of the Gospel, as Christ commanded us just before his ascension, “to the ends of the earth.”
Jane (UK) and Charlotte (UK) have decided to walk ahead given Jane’s limited time but we may see them again in a few days in Burgos.
In Nájera, we visited the Monasterio Santa Maria la Real which was built in the 11th-century by King Garcia III after a most unusual hunting trip during which he discovered a cave that inexplicably contained a beautiful statue of the Madonna and Child. Next to the statue was a vase of fresh lillies and a burning oil lamp. The king saw this as a sign and built a church around the statue in the cave. A Franciscan monastery occupies the site today. The statue is pictured below:
