As you go forth from this course focused on "responding to the call of
Jesus", we recall the different stories we heard about people learning
to love and become who God has created them to be. Remember the love
stories? Your own mission
statement? The endless articles from Busted Halo? Sister Colleen's story
of becoming a Sister of Saint Joseph? And finally, the stories of
pilgrims along the journey of the Camino? I can't leave out one final
nod to Busted Halo, so please check out this young woman's
story of walking the Camino this past summer. Her closing words of one
post comparing the 'real-life' pilgrimage to the film 'The Way'
reminded me of my hopes for and thoughts of each of you: But the movie
wasn’t created to show exactly what it’s like to walk the Camino.
It was a movie about relationships — the relationships between
families, between strangers, with ourselves. And that part was true to
the real life Camino. Most of us start alone. We all have people we’re
leaving behind to go on this journey. We have our reasons for walking
this ancient path. We meet people along the way. We open up to these
strangers. We share our pasts, our thoughts, our fears, our dreams.
These strangers become like family to us. We share meals, conversations,
and blister remedies. They see us in good moods and bad. They celebrate
with us when we reach our common destination. We part as friends,
knowing that this experience was better having been shared with them.
I hope your life journey is nourishing, enriching and challenging as you
continue to find people to share this life with... focusing on a common
destination and enjoying each step along the way.
As you finish this course, please summarize in 2 paragraphs lessons you
have learned over the last 8 weeks that you will take with you... they
can be specific or general!
