Fr. Emmanuel recalls the pilgrimage he took on The Way of St. James (El Camino) in Spain in the summer of 2013. He tells of the time, in the heat of that journey, he wanted to just rest in a ditch on the side of the road. But he knew if he did that he wouldn’t get up. So he told himself, “Just keep going.” And so he did, one foot in front of the other, and met up with a fellow pilgrim and brother shortly after. Then they arrived at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela together.
The connections between this pilgrimage and the journey of faith are many. For one, it’s important to remember that the best thing to do, when tempted by sin, is to just keep going. If you do fall, get right back up (go to confession), and never give up. “We are pilgrims. Little by little, we will arrive.”
Quote by Pope Francis in this video:
“Walking is an art. If we are always in a hurry, we tire and cannot reach our destination, the destination of our journey. Yet if we stop and do not move, we also fail to reach our destination. Walking is precisely the art of looking to the horizon, thinking about where I want to go, and also coping with the weariness that comes with walking. Moreover, the way is often hard going and is not easy, yet always keep this in your thoughts: do not be afraid of failure, do not be afraid of falling. In the art of walking it is not falling that matters, but not staying fallen. Get up, quickly, immediately, and continue to go on. And this is beautiful. It’s walking every day. It is walking humanly. But also it’s terrible to walk alone, terrible and tedious. Walking in community with friends, with those who love us, this helps us. It helps us to arrive precisely at the destination where we must arrive.”
–Address to the students of the Jesuit Schools of Italy and Albania, Paul VI Audience Hall, June 7, 2013
