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26. Villafranca del Bierzo - Waiting For That Fullness

November 25, 2011


"We trust the holy signature inscribed upon our temples" 
(Magnificat Morning Prayer)


I was up early and had some quiet time wrapped in a blanket down in the living area and managed to get a small fire going. The only other pilgrim apart from the three of us was a Jorge who is from Spain and I think he is in the army.



Mark, Becky and I set off from Molinaseca in the fog, singing every so often along the way, stopping a little while in a church in Ponferrada and later when the sun shone we sat in a park to have a little Thanksgiving picnic. There we shared again on the things we are grateful for. The immediate gratitude in me is that I am here and now living the Camino and all that it entails - the journey itself, the people, the solitude, the pain. I miss my family and close friends and am grateful for them in a huge way, grateful for this sabbatical.


When we got to Villafranca and were settling down in our lovely dormitory - single beds with duvets - Brend, Aelfred and Kathrin arrived to our great surprise and delight with the dramatic telling of their night of simplicity in Manjarin.

They had had a lovely evening there and went to sleep upstairs on their mattresses on the floor. At about 1.00 a.m. it turned into a nightmare - Aelfred jumped up suddenly aware that there were bugs crawling all over him and his belongings. It was the same for the others and when Brend woke and realized the situation he simply said "I am leaving". So all four gathered their belongings and made their escape into the beautiful night, walking until they arrived in Ponferrada in the morning. There they tried unsuccessfully to get into an albergue so they booked into a hotel where they began the process of fumigating everything and liberating themselves from the bugs that were still with them in large quantities. Jacquie stayed behind in Ponferrada.

Sitting up in bed Kathrin called across from the opposite side of the dorm "Eamonn, will you say a prayer for us!" I told her I would and intended doing it in the silence of my heart when she said "I want it now, out loud!" It was not demanding as it might sound. Direct, a clear desire! So I closed my eyes and made a spontaneous prayer for all of us there that the night would bring rest, that the day ahead would be blessed and safe. I was surprised by the request because, I thought at the time that,  though she is baptized a Christian, she was not part of a church and wasn't expecting her to turn to me for prayer. But she loved it! So did I. It drew me out of my shyness.

My prayer for rest didn't work for everyone. Becky couldn't sleep and, while I slept soundly, I snored and Mark had to get out of bed a couple of times to stop me. He said he only had to move my arm and I would stop. But still...

Now Advent is approaching and so is the last week of the Camino. I give myself totally to God, to waiting for that fullness of grace that awaits me. Let it be done!



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