The Beatitudes of the Pilgrim

We crested one steep hill and found ourselves in what appeared to be a private flower garden.  It was a pilgrims’ rest, an ancient chapel tended by a Sister of the Sacred Heart.  

She sent us off with these beatitudes:

  1.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you discover that the Camino opens your eyes to what is not seen.

2.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, if what concerns you most is not to arrive but to arrive with others.

3.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, because you are discovering that the authentic Camino begins when it is completed.

4.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, if your knapsack is emptying of things and your heart does not know where to hang up so many feelings and emotions.

5.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, when you don’t have words to give thanks for everything that surprises you at every twist and turn of the way.

6.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, if on the way you meet yourself and gift yourself with time, without rushing.

These are the same churches pilgrims in the Middle Ages saw...

     7.   Blessed are you, pilgrim, if you discover that the Camino holds a lot of silence; and the silence of prayer; and the prayer of meeting with God who is waiting for you.