Written by Barb Spies, OFS, Director of Mission Services and Pastoral Care

We hear about “mountaintop experiences” where an individual climbs to the peak of whatever the situation is and is able to survey everything, having achieved the pinnacle. I have been thinking about how aiming for the highest point is not the only way to climb a mountain. I am not even sure I want to climb to the summit, which may have more to do with my stamina and fear of heights! But, either way, I perceive working to get to the peak as leading to the possibility of missing what is along the way. What would it be like, instead, to go out into the hills aimlessly, to simply wander? It’s like a pilgrimage that looks around at what is before us, rather than only focusing on a specific site.

I know some people who have gone on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. It intrigues me because it is a pilgrimage that can be picked up at any point along the path. One does not have to do the entire pilgrimage to engage in the experience. You could start in France and walk all the way to the west coast of Spain to Santiago de Compostela. You could start in Portugal and go north to Spain. You could start on the southeast coast of Spain, the northeast coast of Spain, or anywhere along any of those pathways. There is not necessarily one way to participate in the pilgrimage. The pilgrim becomes content with their inner mystery, the beauty along the path, the sharing with other pilgrims, rather than expecting to achieve total knowledge.

As we go along our journey, especially as we travel through Lent, we can treat our pilgrimage not as one that seeks a mountaintop experience, but rather a survey of the hills and pathways around us. Our ability to maintain contentment with what we can do, rather than expecting to achieve the summit allows us to find our way along the pilgrimage. Blessed Mary Angela focused on the needs of those right around her, rather than seeking some mystical communion in a different site. When we go along our Lenten road, may we find God along all of our pathways, through the meandering of our days, through the experiencing of what is around us.

Blessed Angela: “Do not stop praying nor become weary in your practice of spiritual life.”