How did St Francis Xavier reveal himself to me?
It happened during my first Camino in June 2000 ... my second day of walking in Spain. It's important to remember that I have no itinerary and almost no information about the Camino Santiago. I met a man in Jaca ... where I arrived on my first day in Spain. He was like an 'angel' ... he shared his meal and some wine with me ... he left me the Spanish word 'ultreya' ... he helped me find some medicine for my blisters ... and finally he showed me a pamphlet in Spanish that would lead to where I would stay the next night.
The next day ... walking along with my blisters was very difficult ... I was so happy to find this place my friend in Jaca told me about ... I think he was trying to tell me it would be a good place to rest. Little did I know what a pleasant surprise would happen as a result of his kindness. I should mention I never saw this man again.
I am sitting in the restaurant at the hotel trying to order a glass of water ... using international body language. The waiter eventually brings me a large glass of beer ... seems he understood my body's needs better than I did ... I thoroughly enjoyed the beer. :-) A few sips of beer later a gentleman sitting not far from me says something to me in English ... now why didn't he help me with my efforts to get a glass of water? Not important ... he would turn out to be a tremendous help.
His name was Brother Joe of Holy Cross Family Ministries ... at the time he was living in Los Angeles and he was vacationing in Spain ... he would move to a town near Boston a few years later. First a few words about the word "Ultreya" and it's connection to Brother Joe. The word 'Ultreya' has become one of my mantras ... I have three ...
1) Ultreya ... keep going
2) Morning has Broken ... a new day has dawned and the City fo God is just around the corner.
3) Seek comfort in nothingness
My 'angel' in Jaca introduced the word 'Ultreya' to me ... I would see the same word painted on stones ... written on bulletin boards at refugios etc all along the Camino Santiago. Several times I asked some Spanish people who spoke English what the word meant. I had the feeling this word was important. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I would learn the meaning of the word ... in ... near Boston. I was visiting Brother Joe and one of his fellow Brothers explained to me that it basically means ... "keep going ... don't give up". Oh ... how appropriate eh!! At the same time Psalm 139 would be firmly planted in my memory ... the same Brother who explained the meaning of ultreya sang his version of the Psalm at a prayer meeting. Psalm 139 deals with the notion of predestination. All of this thanks to Brother Joe. Hmmm!
Back to my conversation with Brother Joe at the restaurant ... he invited me to join him the next day for a visit to Pamplona for the famous 'running of the bulls' feast. I declined his generous offer ... thinking that I am on a pilgrimage ... not a vacation. Joe, was doing something that didn't appeal to me at theat time ... solitude was my friend those days. Although sometimes on the trail I wonder why I couldn't simply "stop" and "be still" ... always moving on!!
So why did I leave the hotel at Puente La Reina de Jaca the next morning? The pain from the blister on my right foot woke me up in the middle of the night ... I knew it was infected or something! The lady at the hotel told me there was nothing between Puenta La Reina de Jaca and the next stop, 20 kilometers down the road. No coffee break ... with my feet in this condition? Yikes! It was an unexpected blessing that she advised me to take along a sandwich. After ordering a cheese sandwich I hit the road, limping along in my shower sandals.
After walking several kilometers, realized I was lost and headed back to the hotel … my feet couldn’t take any more. Why did I miss the turn? I was looking right at the road sign ...”Arres 3.3 kilometers”, thinking to myself ... Oh! How I wish I was going that way. I could have a coffee break after the 3.3 kilometers. Then for some strange reason, completely ignoring the impulse, headed in the opposite direction ... the wrong direction.
My mind was off contemplating the wonder of camels ... how they are built to do without water for days and days and how their feet are like slippers. Most other animals like the horse, donkey, cow, deer and pig have hard hooves. So I walk 5 or 6 or 7 kilometers in the wrong direction. Why so far before doubting myself? The same little old yellow car that prompted me to turn around and head back to the hotel was pulling into the hotel at the same time as I arrived ... Hmmm.
I met Brother Joe at the same restaurant that evening ... he told me about his adventures in Pamplona and invited me to join him the next day ... he would be visiting some of his ancestral sites. This time I agreed ... and as it turns out ... thank goodness! Seems I was destined to go along with Brother Joe on this particular trip and not on the trip to Pamplona. Brother Joe would bring me to the Javier Castle ... Wow! ... the birthplace of St Francis Xavier. Oh the mysterious ways of God!
I am especially grateful ... well perhaps grateful is not all I’m feeling. I am intrigued that the circumstances and encounter with Brother Joe brought me to Javier. I would never have known that Javier was the birthplace of St Francis Xavier. This experience reminds me of the twists and turns on my trip to London that landed me in Loyola Spain a year ago. Loyola is the hometown of St Ignacio; Francis and Ignacio were classmates at the University of Paris and founded the Order of the Jesuits together. Hmmm again!
Connecting the dots ... or perhaps stretching the imagination :-)
1) In Nevers ... Ste Bernadette ... and Lourdes ... Virgin Mary ... getting 'Drunk on LOVE' ... Divine Love ... Agape Love.
1) The gentleman in Jaca who gave me the word 'Ultreya' and pointed me towards Puente La Reina de Jaca. Puente La Reina means ... ""bridge of the Queen" ... the Virgin Mary ? ... Queen of Heaven.
2) Brother Joe being a member of the Holy Cross Family Ministries ... their principle ministry is the Rosary Ministry ... distributed more than 20 million rosaries since 1991. The founder Father Peyton’s famous phrase, “the family that prays together stays together". Seems to connect so strongly with my understanding of my mission ... help families ... and my passion for the rosary. Hmmm
3)The introduction to St Francis Xavier who is Patron Saint of Missionaries ... Ste Thérèse of Lisieux was declared co-patron of the missions with Francis Xavier in 1927. Yikes!! St Francis died while try
It happened during my first Camino in June 2000 ... my second day of walking in Spain. It's important to remember that I have no itinerary and almost no information about the Camino Santiago. I met a man in Jaca ... where I arrived on my first day in Spain. He was like an 'angel' ... he shared his meal and some wine with me ... he left me the Spanish word 'ultreya' ... he helped me find some medicine for my blisters ... and finally he showed me a pamphlet in Spanish that would lead to where I would stay the next night.
The next day ... walking along with my blisters was very difficult ... I was so happy to find this place my friend in Jaca told me about ... I think he was trying to tell me it would be a good place to rest. Little did I know what a pleasant surprise would happen as a result of his kindness. I should mention I never saw this man again.
I am sitting in the restaurant at the hotel trying to order a glass of water ... using international body language. The waiter eventually brings me a large glass of beer ... seems he understood my body's needs better than I did ... I thoroughly enjoyed the beer. :-) A few sips of beer later a gentleman sitting not far from me says something to me in English ... now why didn't he help me with my efforts to get a glass of water? Not important ... he would turn out to be a tremendous help.
His name was Brother Joe of Holy Cross Family Ministries ... at the time he was living in Los Angeles and he was vacationing in Spain ... he would move to a town near Boston a few years later. First a few words about the word "Ultreya" and it's connection to Brother Joe. The word 'Ultreya' has become one of my mantras ... I have three ...
1) Ultreya ... keep going
2) Morning has Broken ... a new day has dawned and the City fo God is just around the corner.
3) Seek comfort in nothingness
My 'angel' in Jaca introduced the word 'Ultreya' to me ... I would see the same word painted on stones ... written on bulletin boards at refugios etc all along the Camino Santiago. Several times I asked some Spanish people who spoke English what the word meant. I had the feeling this word was important. It wasn't until a couple of years later that I would learn the meaning of the word ... in ... near Boston. I was visiting Brother Joe and one of his fellow Brothers explained to me that it basically means ... "keep going ... don't give up". Oh ... how appropriate eh!! At the same time Psalm 139 would be firmly planted in my memory ... the same Brother who explained the meaning of ultreya sang his version of the Psalm at a prayer meeting. Psalm 139 deals with the notion of predestination. All of this thanks to Brother Joe. Hmmm!
Back to my conversation with Brother Joe at the restaurant ... he invited me to join him the next day for a visit to Pamplona for the famous 'running of the bulls' feast. I declined his generous offer ... thinking that I am on a pilgrimage ... not a vacation. Joe, was doing something that didn't appeal to me at theat time ... solitude was my friend those days. Although sometimes on the trail I wonder why I couldn't simply "stop" and "be still" ... always moving on!!
So why did I leave the hotel at Puente La Reina de Jaca the next morning? The pain from the blister on my right foot woke me up in the middle of the night ... I knew it was infected or something! The lady at the hotel told me there was nothing between Puenta La Reina de Jaca and the next stop, 20 kilometers down the road. No coffee break ... with my feet in this condition? Yikes! It was an unexpected blessing that she advised me to take along a sandwich. After ordering a cheese sandwich I hit the road, limping along in my shower sandals.
After walking several kilometers, realized I was lost and headed back to the hotel … my feet couldn’t take any more. Why did I miss the turn? I was looking right at the road sign ...”Arres 3.3 kilometers”, thinking to myself ... Oh! How I wish I was going that way. I could have a coffee break after the 3.3 kilometers. Then for some strange reason, completely ignoring the impulse, headed in the opposite direction ... the wrong direction.
My mind was off contemplating the wonder of camels ... how they are built to do without water for days and days and how their feet are like slippers. Most other animals like the horse, donkey, cow, deer and pig have hard hooves. So I walk 5 or 6 or 7 kilometers in the wrong direction. Why so far before doubting myself? The same little old yellow car that prompted me to turn around and head back to the hotel was pulling into the hotel at the same time as I arrived ... Hmmm.
I met Brother Joe at the same restaurant that evening ... he told me about his adventures in Pamplona and invited me to join him the next day ... he would be visiting some of his ancestral sites. This time I agreed ... and as it turns out ... thank goodness! Seems I was destined to go along with Brother Joe on this particular trip and not on the trip to Pamplona. Brother Joe would bring me to the Javier Castle ... Wow! ... the birthplace of St Francis Xavier. Oh the mysterious ways of God!
I am especially grateful ... well perhaps grateful is not all I’m feeling. I am intrigued that the circumstances and encounter with Brother Joe brought me to Javier. I would never have known that Javier was the birthplace of St Francis Xavier. This experience reminds me of the twists and turns on my trip to London that landed me in Loyola Spain a year ago. Loyola is the hometown of St Ignacio; Francis and Ignacio were classmates at the University of Paris and founded the Order of the Jesuits together. Hmmm again!
Connecting the dots ... or perhaps stretching the imagination :-)
1) In Nevers ... Ste Bernadette ... and Lourdes ... Virgin Mary ... getting 'Drunk on LOVE' ... Divine Love ... Agape Love.
1) The gentleman in Jaca who gave me the word 'Ultreya' and pointed me towards Puente La Reina de Jaca. Puente La Reina means ... ""bridge of the Queen" ... the Virgin Mary ? ... Queen of Heaven.
2) Brother Joe being a member of the Holy Cross Family Ministries ... their principle ministry is the Rosary Ministry ... distributed more than 20 million rosaries since 1991. The founder Father Peyton’s famous phrase, “the family that prays together stays together". Seems to connect so strongly with my understanding of my mission ... help families ... and my passion for the rosary. Hmmm
3)The introduction to St Francis Xavier who is Patron Saint of Missionaries ... Ste Thérèse of Lisieux was declared co-patron of the missions with Francis Xavier in 1927. Yikes!! St Francis died while try