It has begun. Everything is packed and I have left to begin this time of sabbath rest with the Lord. Soon I will start to remember things I failed to pack or forgot to finish before I left, but it will be too late. Without even getting on the Camino in Spain I am already called to embrace the call to pilgrimage. I recall the many time we told the kids on the March for Life buses to remember they were pilgrims, not tourists. So I begin this holy pilgrimage and entrust to the Lord all that lies behind and all that lies ahead. He is in control of all of these things.

In recent weeks I have often been asked if I will be traveling with a friend or group of friends and I responded that I would be traveling only with the Lord. As I was searching drawers to try to ensure I brought everything necessary, I came across an old friend - shown in the picture below - that I decided was light enough to carry even on the Camino where every ounce counts. I never gave him a name, but will now call him John after the Apostle John, the beloved of the Lord and brother of St. James. I thought it fitting since I will soon journey to the tomb of St. James and because I seek to lay my head upon the Heart of Christ in prayer and grow in love of Him in this time. May Our Lord be my strength, Our Lady watch over me, St. Christopher guide me, and the angels and saints intercede for me to God.

Meet John: