On my Way...

     Well.... I am about to undertake a new path on the Camino starting in Le Puy, France and ending I don't know where. I decided I wanted to be on the Camino for my one year anniversary of my biking accident on June 12th. I am having a "Buen Camino" party on June 4th and leaving for Paris on June 5th with bike in tow. As some of you know, the accident was serious and while my outward appearance looks good (no snarky comments), I am looking to rejoin life with abandon. As it has been said; I am looking to be healed and not just cured. Healing along with wisdom do not come cheaply. Somewhere between living in regret and being anxious about the future, comes balance. I have found balance a few times in my life and it seems to happen more while on the Camino. Connections with nature and people; having unexpected experiences both good and bad and just letting life happen. Sometimes struggling and cursing your body, the weather and the trail to make the next stage, sometimes pure gratitude for being in a state of grace.

   Follow along as I begin my journey sometime around June 7th from Le Puy en Velay in France. This section is about 500 miles of  the Via Podiensis on GR65 is known as Chemin du St. Jacques (Way of St. James in France) leading to San Jean Pied du Port where it is known as Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James in Spain) and is another 500 miles to Santiago where the relics or bones of St James the apostle are interred in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostella.

A journey can become a sacred thing:
Make sure before you go,
To take the time
To bless your going forth,
To free your heart of ballast
So that the compass of your soul
Might direct you toward
The territories of spirit
Where you will discover
More of your hidden life,
And the urgencies
That deserve to claim you.

John O'Donahue - For the Traveler

  The first recorded Pilgrimage was by the Bishop of Le Puy sometime around 950 AD. The cathedral in Le Puy was build on old pagan ruins around the 5th century and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame du Puy is one of the oldest Marian sanctuaries in Europe, since pilgrims have been coming here since the V century. The Black Virgin is venerated here especially on the 25th. March, the day of the Annunciation, and on the 15th. August, feast of the Assumption, when her statue is carried in procession by local inhabitants through the streets of Le Puy.

The sanctuary is also the starting point of the most popular of the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela, the Via Podiensis. In the morning, after the 7 a.m. Mass, the pilgrims gather round the statue of their patron saint, St. James (which you catch sight of just after you have gone up the « womb stairs [1] »), and they introduce themselves, saying briefly where they come from and how far they think they will be going, if they know! After the blessing, they receive the créanciale, the Pilgrim's Passport, from a nun, and they may accept prayer intentions from another pilgrim or a passing tourist.