The Journey

Camino de Santiago

The Journey

(Camino de Santiago)

By: Joel Wisniewski

A journey starts long before the first step. It begins with the decision to begin the journey. That became very evident when I spoke to my friend Rick in the early months of 2024. He was excited when he announced, “I am going to walk the Camino.”

As most may have, when I received this news, I quickly responded with an intelligent question: “The what?”

Years earlier, Rick had a similar surprise announcement, “I am going to become Catholic.”

My response was similar in brevity, “What?” This first decision was revealed when I had known Rick for about three years in Medical Device sales. As co-workers, we enjoyed great success that others could only dream of. Twelve months earlier, we were at a National Sales Meeting. Awards were being announced, and as people walked across the stage, we looked at each other and simultaneously said, “We are going to be number one next year.” The decision was made. The journey began. The first step was taken. Twelve months later, we and our teammates walked across the stage with awards in hand. We were number one in the entire country. So when Rick announced that he was going to become a Catholic, I should not have been surprised that months after that faith decision, he did indeed become Catholic.

As a cradle Catholic, I announced my faith journey to know one. As a baby, I couldn’t. So when Rick announced that he was becoming Catholic, I was rather envious. As cradle Catholics, we are, well, Catholic. As a self-determined, liberty-loving American, I was not happy with that. I wanted to decide. But I could not decide until I understood. So, before meeting Rick for the first time, I spent years studying other denominations. And faiths. I even remember conversing seriously with a Hindu gentleman at a bookstore. My mind was challenged, and I had few words when he said, “Why couldn’t God be an elephant?” That may have been when I first used my go-to response to the surprising declaration, “What?”

All this studying and reading, this journey of the mind, was fruitful in providing answers but did not fill the space in my heart. Something was always missing. Filling that space only occurred when I turned my study back to what I already had: Catholicism. That was my journey and mine alone. Your journey is different, and the outcome may be different.

After Rick announced that he would walk the Camino, he politely responded to my original question of ‘What?’ with, “The Camino de Santiago.” When I didn’t respond quickly with my usual wit, he quickly clarified, “The Way of Saint James. Pilgrims walk to specified destinations and conclude the walk at the shrine of Saint James in the Cathedral Santiago de Compostela.”

It took restraint not to say what John Wayne’s movie scene played in my mind; “Out of my way, pilgrim.” I asked, “Where’s that?”

“It’s in Northwest Spain.”

Months passed, and Rick and I spoke again. It was summer. Rick announced, “I’m leaving in two weeks. I have so much to do. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Send some pictures, ok?”

“I will.”

And he did. The architecture, the fields, the hills, and the Gothic Churches were so beautiful. The images reached my phone, and I was happy for him. It was the trip of a lifetime. A little more than a month later, he called me. He was back home, and his journey was complete. We spoke longer this time. He was very involved with his church. Mass, for him, now took on a whole new meaning.

Rick had walked 484 miles in 35 days. The journey began with a decision. That first step lead to miles. Day after day, a decision was made. Each day, that first step was taken. He did not say it, but there is no doubt in my mind that some days were a battle. Doubt crept in. The Way of Saint James is more than a walk; it is the physical form of a prayer. Sometimes, for all of us, prayer is a battle. Because it is a battle, we must decide and take that first step every day.

When I first saw the number of miles, 484, I had to make it real. This example will help you imagine the actual walk. Imagine walking from Detroit, in the lower peninsula of Michigan, to the city of Marquette, in the upper peninsula of Michigan. When you arrive in Marquette, you must walk an additional 30 miles to equal 484.

Reading about pilgrims’ experiences on the Camino usually includes a God experience. These experiences may have occurred in a church before a tomb or while purposefully praying. These God experiences fill the person with awe and joy beyond explanation. They can occur at the end of a long day when they are about to give up or while walking in pouring rain and observing a distant hill. They can also occur unexpectedly on the path, in mid-step, when they suddenly realize they are crying for no apparent reason.

I wanted to do something for Rick that would recognize his accomplishment. He had sent a video that collated photos taken along the way. I chose to do a watercolor, which I have attached. The scene depicts Rick arriving at one of the destinations, Santa Maria de Los Arcos, in Spain. In the watercolor painting, he wears his usual walking clothes, khaki pants, and a grey long-sleeved cotton polo. He faces the church, and his head, adorned with a white floppy hat, looks up at the distant bell tower. Walking sticks are a must on this long journey. A scallop shell is attached to his black backpack. Many meanings are attached to the scallop shell. The most practical meaning is that of identification. Locals can identify the individual as a pilgrim, and pilgrims can identify fellow pilgrims along the way. The greater meaning is that the journey is more important than the destination. Recently, Rick announced another decision, another journey. I cannot share it now, but I do not doubt its successful conclusion.

All of us travel many journeys in our lifetime. Most are not external journeys like a Camino walk but internal ones. The journey of a new child, those who are ill, a caregiver or an end-of-life journey can elicit a God experience. We choose some journeys, and some are chosen for us. Each journey begins with a first step. Another step follows until the steps become miles. Those miles become days, and days turn into years. The journey of a true friendship can last a lifetime.