Yesterday someone addressed us as "pilgrims," and it is true that we are walking this pilgrimage route. Today, as we walked through the fog with pilgrims from all over the world, I reflected on the ways in which participating in a tradition activates the ideas, values, and images associated with it. We are literally retracing the footsteps of millions of previous pilgrims--including Isabel and Ferdinand, Saint Francis of Assisi, and good number of other saints and popes. We are walking past scores of tiny churches built to mark the Way. We are discussing our journey with the other people we encounter. By making the trip and sharing stories about it, we help to make real the world of the Road of Santiago.
And this world has its consequences. At Foncebadón a few days back, a man from Madrid immediately asked why we were walking the Way. Almost before I could answer, he said with great passion, "I have walked the Road three times, and I do it because the Road gives me life."
Do you remember the person who left charms along The Way in memory of a family member who was killed in the terrorist bombings in Spain? And the chain-smoking woman in front to us who was on pilgrimage for her health after suffering a heart attack a year earlier?
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