Becoming a 'pilgrim'

What does it really mean to be a pilgrim?  To be heading to a place of religious significance is one answer. It might be Mecca, Jerusalem, Lourdes, Walsingham.  Part of it is the actual doing of the journey, whether walking or by other means.  But, as in life, what we do and why we do it are intertwined. On one level our reason is raising prayers, awareness and funds for Project Bakhita.  But there is an inner journey which mirrors the journey of life.  Ignatius' own camino through these villages, towns, countryside, getting closer and closer to Montserrat and Manresa, was a mirror of an inner journey which led him to reflect on his personal freedom, his detachment from worldly concerns and desires, and ultimately his indifference to what life would turn out to be for him in Gods plan.  And so it wAs at this town of Igualada, not named in his autobiography but most probably the 'large village not far from Montserrat' that he symbolically and actually shed his clothes to put on pilgrim garb.  Ignatius' journey appears to most of us to be very dramatic.  It is of his time.  But it's inviting us to reflect here on the trajectory of our own lives.  What is the equivalent of a pilgrim's sackcloth and sandals?  What do I need to let go of?  What do I at least desire to desire to let go of?  I like to think Ignatius was thinking and praying about this over this long journey along the same road we are walking towards Montserrat, perhaps talking as he did to the Lord's mother before whom he would lay down his sword.  And, like all of us, it was a struggle relying on grace and not so dramatic as all that but all part of the desire for the 'magis', for what gives greater glory to God and his creation, that is the call planted in our hearts as Christians.  So it was a great grace to walk these 26 kilometres today along that same road to Igualada and to celebrate Mass together at the 12th century hermitage chapel of St James where Ignatius surely prayed on the way.  In the Mass Fr Trieu reminded us of the popularity today of praying to angels as intermediaries as we celebrated the Feast of Michael, Gabriel and Raphael.  I suppose that speaks of how, however 'secular' our culture is portrayed to be, in our own time so removed from Ignatius', many recognise our lives are in ways we cannot understand not entirely in our hands.  Rather there is a journey all of us are on which requires us to ask why we do what we do, why we were made with our gifts, our circumstances, our vulnerabilities, and to discern how we live the life we are destined to live.  Maybe there's more to Ignatius 'the pilgrim' than at first meets the eye...

Before Mass: hermitage of Sant Jaume de Sesoliveres

Rest at Jorba

Day 3 - on the road

Day 2 Long and winding road!

This morning we departed a wee bit later & the sky was blue & the sun was shining. We prayed Midday Prayer sitting by the well of St Francis opposite the church of San Salvador praying for the people of San Salvador & giving thanks for Oscar Romero and all the martyrs for their inspiration.

As we meandered on our journey to Pandella on the this increasingly LONG and WINDING ROAD we were glad to avail of the odd water font as the sun got stronger and stronger.

Spontaneous singing  and praising God evolved in the group from " Walk with me o my Lord " where certain  lyrics seemed very apt.....e.g. ' stones often bar my path ' and ' sometimes the road seems long my energy is spent' and we still had another hour to go to cover exactly the same distance as yesterday in temperature of early 30's , We also tried a bit of harmonising with Taize chants and thankfully we didn't encounter too many locals as it was a public holiday in the region!

Marie B.Wilson

Respite at St Peter's well

Melting on the road!

On the road

Setting off on day 2

Not a sleepy Sunday!

Sleepy  Sunday mornings don't come too often in parish ministry so it was good to encounter at least the beginnings of one here in rural Catalunya. No, we didn't take the morning off the walk you'll be pleased to hear. But when we arrived in Verdu you got the sense nothing was stirring. Not for long though.  Plenty of action in one part of the village in fact, the polling booth for regional elections, very important and contentious as they will give a steer on the call for Catalan independence.  But our job was to visit and pray at the Shrine of St Peter Claver, the slave to the slaves.  As you'll see in the photo we spent some time there, in the chapel, going around the museum ably guided by Francesca, and stamping our Camino passport. Our general guide was Veronica, who is pictured with us outside the shrine building.  Veronica has lived in Verdu for just six years, coming from Romania, but in that time has learnt Catalan, Spanish and is hoping to transfer her qualifications as a vet to the Spanish system. Working as a volunteer at the shrine, she meets lots of groups including of Jesuit novices, so speaks English well too and is incredibly knowledgeable about St Peter Claver. Veronica and Francesca were interested to hear about Project Bakhita and how the mission of Peter Claver was being continued through other means to combat modern slavery today.  

We could have stayed much longer in the village of St Peter but as Verdu started to come to life we had to be on our way.  14 miles today to ease ourselves into the rhythm.  Our destination Cevera, a medium size town heading west towards Montserrat.  Thankfully the rain of yesterday has cleared and, while the distant thunder was clearly audible around the mountains, we had but a few heavy drops of rain on the route and got to our destination as planned late afternoon.  During our prayer and on the walk the theme has been reflecting still more on our own freedom and how we respond to this gift in our lives, following particular callings, discerning paths to take. A long and windy road Ignatius himself new as he too headed along the Cami Real towards Montserrat.  But grateful for how made in Gods image we are part of his creation and plan God has for us within it.  And Thank God too we have with us not just a nurse and an economist, vital for contingency plans on any intrepid expedition such as this, but a gourmet chef and botanist in the person of Fr Trieu Nguyen SJ. Fr Trieu has already given us so much to reflect on about Gods creation by teaching us about the healing and culinary power of the flowers, fruit and herbs along the hedge ways.  St John's Wort, pomegranate, various berries, thyme, rosemary.  

Tomorrow we head to La Panadella, another 14 miles or so.  Please do keep the Bakhita Project in your prayers as we keep whoever reads this in our prayers and Masses.  And please consider giving if you can.  Details of how to in our first blog.  

Many thanks for your support!

Fr Dominic

Arriving at Cervera

The Shrine of St Peter Claver

Setting out

St Peter Claver and the Farm Street pilgrims

First night

So here we are in the land of Ignatius.   Safely arrived. Not much to say tonight except our first nights prayer is an invitation to reflect on our own personal freedom as we pause to think of the love and grace that God showers on us.  We are created in God s image to love and serve him. And so I am called to reflect on where I sense hope, encouragement, growth.  Where I experience the freedom to flourish as a gift from God. And as we prepare to set off from the Shrine of St Peter Claver tomorrow we remember those who are far from free, who are exploited, trapped, depressed, sick, whom we are called to show the mercy of God to.  Gratitude for our own freedom to live, to contribute to society, to come together on a pilgrimage like this, is our first thought and prayer, and the foundation of our reflect ions in the days to come and our prayers for those trapped in slavery for whom this week aims to raise prayers, awareness and funds.  St Peter Claver, St Josephine Bakhita, St Ignatius, pray for us.   

¡ VAMOS !

        Well, we’re all set to go now, to make our way to Stansted in the early morning autumn cool. Hopefully someone will have remembered what I’ve forgotten… something from the Mass kit, European adaptor, jungle formula spray, passport (probably that). It’s time for our small group to set out once again from Farm Street to walk the Catalan part of the Camino in the steps of St Ignatius of Loyola from Verdù to Manresa. And this year the funds raised go to a very important initiative: Project Bakhita, the anti-human trafficking project of the Westminster Diocese. As we walk we will be praying for the parish and the project and as a group of Jesuits and friends from Farm Street our thoughts will be very much on the Farm Street community, on friends, on supporters back home. I hope you will pray for us too and maybe follow this blog on http://farmstreetcamino.blogspot.co.uk/ and our reports on twitter. There’ll be plenty of snippets from the Ignatian Way as we pass through the villages and towns recalling Ignatius the Pilgrim’s own journey; there’ll be prayers; and hopefully some photos. But you may like to know a little more first about the Ignatian Camino and about Project Bakhita.

          Walking the Ignatian Camino is now being established as an official Apostolic Work of the Society of Jesus. As walking pilgrimages become increasingly popular many treat the Camino as an active kind of retreat, praying and discussing faith and life as they walk together. The trail runs from Basque country Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius, to Manresa, where Ignatius composed the Spiritual Exercises. We will start half-way at Verdù, just over the Aragon border in Catalunya, and walk 100 miles to Manresa, stopping on the way at places associated with Ignatius’ own life’s pilgrimage. On the last two days we make our way from the Monastery of the Black Madonna of Montserrat, where Ignatius laid down his sword and dedicated his life to Jesus, to Manresa. Along the way we will pray over and discuss the themes of Ignatius’ life and message.

But the fundraising focus of this year’s Camino is especially poignant. We start at the Shrine of the 17th century Jesuit St Peter Claver, known as “slave to the slaves”, who was born and baptized in the town of Verdù. Joining the Jesuits and volunteering for the foreign missions in Colombia, Peter Claver was deeply disturbed by the harsh treatment and living conditions of the African slaves. During his 40 years of ministry it is estimated that he personally catechized and baptized 300,000 slaves. But his ministry extended further than sacraments: he would follow up on them to ensure that as Christians they received their civil rights. 

        As we set off on our Camino with a Mass at St Peter Claver’s Shrine we will be praying especially for those affected by the evil of modern slavery, many of whom are under our nose not far from us here in central London, often migrants and refugees trapped in forced labour with little or no rights.
         Project Bakhita aims to help those trapped by slavery by providing refuge and professional help to those affected. The initiative has been specifically requested by Cardinal Vincent Nichols and is supported by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police, the Home Office and religious congregations. The main focus of this is Caritas Bakhita House, a house of refuge in London where trafficked women and men can be brought to safety and given the help they need to escape the trap of the modern slave.
          Since the Farm Street appeal began, there have been many initiatives, including the 2015 Charity Ball and other dinners, auctions and collections, and this has meant that the appeal is thank God and thanks to the generosity of so many on target. We invite our blog readers to be generous in helping to keep us on target!
          However, raising funds is only part of the efforts for this initiative. By reading this blog you’re part of it and in particular we invite you to join our prayers for those affected. You might also want to visit Farm Street and pray at our Bakhita Shrine. There you will also find information about the project and the evil of human trafficking. In addition there is plenty of information online: visit: rcdow.org.uk/caritas/human-trafficking. 

To support the Bakhita Appeal, just go to www.jesuit.org.uk and follow the link to the Bakhita fundraising page.  Alternatively, if you wish to give cash or cheques (pay to ‘Farm Street Church’) please place in an envelope and mark ‘Bakhita’ and hand to any of the sacristans or parish clergy. 

          But that’s enough introduction today.  More on Sunday when we start the Ignatian trail at Verdù under the protection of St Peter Claver. 

Fr Dominic

Going the Extra Mile for the Bakhita House Project

Starting from the Spanish village of Verdù in Catalonia on 26 September, Fr Dominic Robinson SJ and Fr Trieu Nguyen SJ will be joined by parishioners Marie Wilson and Sandra McNally as they walk for seven days in the footsteps of St Ignatius on part of the “Ignatian Camino” to raise funds for the Westminster Diocese Bakhita House appeal.

Canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2000, St Josephine Bakhita, who died in 1947, is the patron saint of Sudan and is regarded as the patron of victims of human trafficking. Her long plight as a Sudanese-born former slave who later became a Canossian sister in Italy, gives focus to the ongoing appeal to help those subjected to human trafficking in the UK today, with an estimate of up to 13,000 victims.

The Bakhita Initiative is a collaborative response to this problem aiming to provide refuge and professional help to those affected. The initiative has been specifically requested by Cardinal Vincent Nichols and is supported by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police and religious congregations. Since the Farm Street appeal began, the efforts by many people in the parish, including the 2014 Charity Ball and other dinners, auctions and collections, mean that the appeal is on target, having raised almost one third towards the total of £360,000.

Fr Dominic and Professor Sandra McNally are clearly gluttons for punishment as they are repeating their successful walk last year when they raised funds and increased awareness through prayers, vigils and talks of the plight of refugees in Syria.  This year they hope to do the same for a different cause and will be joined on their challenge by Fr Trieu of the Farm Street Jesuit Community (and one of last year’s ‘Naked Chefs SJ’ fund raisers) and Marie Wilson, who is Spiritual Care Co-ordinator at Ardgowan Hospice in Greenock.

Walking the Ignatian Camino is being established as an official Apostolic Work of the Society of Jesus. The trail runs from Basque country Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius, hundreds of kilometres east to the chapel known as “La Cueva” (the cove) near Manresa, where Ignatius gained many insights about spirituality, and where the group will hopefully celebrate Mass together.

Fr Dominic explains that walking the Ignatian Way is different to other walks or pilgrimages, “walking together in a small group, we take an Ignatian theme for each day and we reflect and talk throughout the day, sharing aspects of our faith and lives”. Dominic adds, “contemplating the theme and enjoying the beautiful natural surroundings and each other’s company allows for deeper conversations and getting to know more about your fellow walkers and about yourself”.

Fr Dominic regards taking time to walk long distances with others, while focusing on spiritual themes, as the “new way of doing a retreat” and he likens it to a modern Canterbury Tales. Sandra McNally said, ‘I am looking forward to another beautiful walk - this time at a cooler time of the year”.

We wish the group health, good weather and good fortune. We also look forward to hearing their tales from along the way and possibly a presentation on their experiences later in the year.

To find out more please visit rcdow.org.uk/caritas/human-trafficking, ignatiancamino.com

To support the parish Bakhita Appeal, go to our Bakhita fundraising page >>>