From Catholic News Service: True Christian pilgrimages are rooted in silence, the Gospel, pope says

[kelleymac]

I found this interesting food for thought.
I am not very good at silence, but I was glad to be given and to read the Gospel of St Luke that I was given in Le Puy-en-Velay after the morning pilgrim mass there.

“Along the way, be attentive to others, especially those who are struggling the most, those who have fallen, those in need,” the pope said."

True Christian pilgrimages are rooted in silence, the Gospel, pope says - Catholic Review

To have a true Christian pilgrimage experience along the Camino de Santiago -- the popular pilgrimage in northern Spain that leads to the tomb of St. James -- pilgrims must cultivate silence, prayer and charity along their route, Pope Francis said.

catholicreview.org

 

[Rebekah Scott]

OMG, the pope has violated the Big Forbidden of Camino Discussion: What is a true pilgrim? The NERVE!!

 

[TravellingMan22]

I found this interesting food for thought. I am not very good at silence, but I was happy to read the Gospel of St Luke that I was given in Le Puy-en-Velay after the morning pilgrim mass.

“Along the way, be attentive to others, especially those who are struggling the most, those who have fallen, those in need,” the pope said."

True Christian pilgrimages are rooted in silence, the Gospel, pope says - Catholic Review

To have a true Christian pilgrimage experience along the Camino de Santiago -- the popular pilgrimage in northern Spain that leads to the tomb of St. James -- pilgrims must cultivate silence, prayer and charity along their route, Pope Francis said.

catholicreview.org

Gosh what nonsense (him not you)!

 

[henrythedog]

‘Shut up and get on with it’ - might have been addressed to me.

 

[SabsP]

Gosh what nonsense (him not you)!

Well it is the core business of the catholic Church? We can or cannot agree with it but those are the rules of the " club " so here we are.
On a personal level you might find it nonsense but we can at least find a common ground and accept that others walk pilgrim paths in different ways then you and I.

 

[VNwalking]

Gosh what nonsense (him not you)!

You might not like it, but it's true.

 

[kelleymac]

OMG, the pope has violated the Big Forbidden of Camino Discussion: What is a true pilgrim? The NERVE!!

Well.... hmmm. The Pope isn't discussing a "true pilgrim" but rather a "true Christian pilgrim".

 

[Vacajoe]

OMG, the pope has violated the Big Forbidden of Camino Discussion: What is a true pilgrim? The NERVE!!

LOVE this comment, especially from you!!!! Thankfully the pilgrimage will outlive whatever fad says the world needs to be partying along it at this stage in its existence.

 

[David]

The responses above sadden me beyond, well beyond, my ability to respond to what they have written ...

Have modern humans gone so far in lack of humility and awareness of other? Is the modern world so lost and ego-centric that people can go on an ancient Catholic pilgrimage and at the same time denigrate the leader of the Catholic church when he speaks about it?

Are they on holiday? Taking a bucket list hike?

I have said for many years, over twelve years, that to go on pilgrimage as a pilgrim one has to travel alone. To go on pilgrimage one has to switch off all electronic devices; no phones, no tablets, no music from earplugs ...

No demanding, only gratitude ... has everyone truly forgotten? It is a Pilgrimage - and yes, the silence spaces are integral to being able to hear that quiet whisper ....

The modern consumer fetishist egoist reality is unreal and false .. there is a deeper reality ... go for weeks of being a pilgrim and all may, just may, become clear ...

Look, the Pope didn't become the leader of the Roman church because he won a tv reality show, or because he had made millions or billions off other people .. he was chosen as Pope as he is a truly good person who has spent his life being a highly intelligent deep thinker and deep theologian .. before you mock what he says be aware that he has spent his life truly seeing this manifestation of reality that we encounter ... if you wish to disagree .. go elsewhere for your holiday hike, but please, don't belittle the pilgrimage, nor Pope Francis.

 

[falcon269]

As a pre-social media pilgrim, I would yearn for the relative silence of the good old days. Pilgrims talked to each other.

 

[Bradypus]

As a pre-social media pilgrim, I would yearn for the relative silence of the good old days. Pilgrims talked to each other.

True. But that wasn't/isn't always a blessing. I have sometimes added a few km to my day to put some distance between myself and an overly-demanding and intrusive specimen.

 

[Tincatinker]

Ah David. Where is it written “Mock not for thou shall be also…”

I’ve no doubt that Francis is a good and honourable man. Some of his recent interventions support that assumption. But the long history of the Papacy from the Borgias to Pius XII will leave some to doubt the institution if not the individual.

Francis’ advice to those who undertake a catholic pilgrimage to a catholic shrine might even convey a clear message to those groups of chanting and singing youths who seem to have riled the good citizens of Galicia in recent years.

The rest of us? We’ll make our pilgrimage to the bones of one who may have stood with the divine in our own quiet way as we always have

 

[Kathor1]

Well.... hmmm. The Pope isn't discussing a "true pilgrim" but rather a "true Christian pilgrim".

Just for info: The website of the Vatican has articles / press releases about this meeting between the Pope and Italian Saint James pilgrims in various languages. The interesting thing, at least for me, is the fact that these are not translations. They are written by native speakers / reporters and taken together they provide a more complete picture of what the Pope said and meant. The diverse headlines alone provide already a better impression of where the focus of pilgrimage lies for the Pope:

• Spanish version: Vivir el Camino de Santiago como auténticos apóstoles de Jesús
• German version: Papst sieht Hype um Jakobsweg skeptisch
• French version: Le Pape encourage les pèlerins à l’apostolat de l'évangélisation
• English version: Pope: A pilgrimage needs silence, the Gospel, and Matthew 25

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Pope Francis: "Are people who walk the Camino de Santiago making a true pilgrimage? Or is it something else?”

Mostly, I think it's something else. I include myself, alas.
Food for thought. I think it is hard to have a contemplative time on the CF. Maybe on the other routes.

 

[dick bird]

Just be nice to people, it's not that hard.

This thread is bordering on a discussion of religion, by the way.

 

[Pilgrim9]

OMG, the pope has violated the Big Forbidden of Camino Discussion: What is a true pilgrim? The NERVE!!

I will defer to the Pope.

 

[dougfitz]

I find the notion of being able to walk in quiet contemplation quite appealing. It was one of the attractions of walking the Gudbrandsdalsleden when I first walked there over a decade ago after walking the much busier CF in 2010. Finding these moments seems easier on the less travelled routes, which makes those very attractive to me. I expect that there will be a time where I come into SDC along one of the busier routes, and I hope that I will still be able to find quiet time when I do.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

Food for thought. I think it is hard to have a contemplative time on the CF. Maybe on the other routes.

I agree. I'm no monk, but finding windows of quiet and peace, (let alone space) is a struggle on the CF. I will only do the CF in the very late fall/winter, or walk other routes.