On the Camino out of Leon to Villar de Mazarife, this little chapel dedicated to St. James was actually open. Whenever I pass a church I try to stop in and pray. Many times they are locked. But this little chapel that sits about 50 people let me slide in for Daytime Prayer.
The two images on either side of the crucifix provide quite the contrast for prayer/ reflection. On the left is Santiago Matamoros.... the conquering St. James who appeared in battle to inspire the Christians to defeat the Moors. He deals death with a mighty sword. On the right is a pieta.... Mother Mary receiving a crucified Jesus. She grieves for all the sorrow that death brings.
The readings for Mass today provide a similar contrast. In the first reading ( 1 Kings 21:1-16 ), King Ahab and his wife conspire to kill Naboth. They want his vineyard and won't take no for an answer. In the gospel ( Matthew 5: 38-42), Jesus tells us disciples to turn the other cheek, to walk two miles when pressed into service for one mile, to give to the one who asks.
Violence is as rampant now as it was in centuries gone by. People have tried to argue that taking life is something other than awful and wrong. Yet the cry of Jesus to sacrifice for the sake of the other....the cry of the mother for all her children....points to another way to walk in life....to walk with our brothers and sisters... to answer violence with mercy...to answer death with life.
There are no easy answers to the pain, suffering and violence in life. But I think it is worth pondering...
As I was leaving the chapel, I tried to bless myself but the little font by the door was dry. So I took out my water bottle, filled the font, and blessed the water. Then back to walking....and praying on the wonderful grace of life.
Dear Father Kevin:
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this story of two sides of death - from Santiago Matamoros and La Pieta.
Your model of stopping to pray brings life to my day. We are all pilgrims and we step out of bed and might begin with prayers, asking God to help us with our “to do” list. And yet, at any moment on the Camino, you might just be a tired Peregrino, but still you stop at each church honoring the time to be in another dwelling place for Christ in the form of the Eucharist.
What a wonderful model because He is El Camino, la Verdad y la Vida.
Buen Camino, my fellow Peregrino Y Ultra ~ Toni Egan
meant to say Ultreya! It autocorrects to Ultra -- oh well...
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary to you again today!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely chapel! How nice that it was open and that you could go in and pray and provide holy water for those who came after you. God bless you.