Read part two here.
Read part three here.
We always talk about what we received from our Camino experience, but seldom talk of what we left behind. I’m not talking about shirts or shorts or a bar of soap although I am sure most of us pilgrims did forget some items at some point in time. I’m speaking both physically and metaphorically, and most specifically of the Cruz de Ferro. It is suggested that pilgrims bring a small stone, rock or memento from home to leave at the Cruz de Ferro as a symbol of leaving our problems, issues, or challenges at the cross.
A few weeks before my departure for Spain, the local chapter of our Friends of Compostelle group held a celebration send-off meeting for those who were about to undertake their journey. We received our credential from the local bishop and celebrated with a specially dedicated mass and a grand pot luck lunch. I attended this meeting with friends and family, and on our way back from this celebration I decided to stop by my parents’ gravesite to gather, in their memory, two rocks which I would bring with me during my trip. Alas, upon arrival at the cemetery we discovered that the grounds’ gravel roads had been replaced by paved roads.
We looked around the monuments but not a single rock could be found. I felt disheartened as I had set my mind on finding just the right rocks to bring on my journey. We gathered around and silently said a quiet prayer for my parents. At that exact time, a huge gust of wind came about, and twigs, leaves, and various little items rolled past us. When the gust of wind dissipated, on the ground right in front of my parents’ monument were two little plastic flowers. I looked around, trying to find which arrangement they came from, but there was nothing in sight … We looked at each other and didn’t question why those flowers had mysteriously settled right in front of us. Two little pink and white flowers became my honoring stones for my parents. I also carried with me my father’s rosary which was to return home to my sister after the journey.
When I arrived at the cross, I took in the sights – so many stones as well as thousands of various items each carrying special personal stories. I spent more than an hour honoring, remembering, and cherishing my loved ones.
My future blogs will continue with this story, but I can tell you that I never questioned why those two flowers were brought to me in such a special way … and they now are part of the shrine that is the Cruz de Ferro.
To be continued . . .
Buen “magical” Camino journey,
Sylvie
Canada
www.sylviehanes.ca
Completed first Camino in 2011