I am now in Bolton in my wife’s sister’s home. I am feeling blessed and well cared for. I have returned from a well planned day trip to near Blackburn. It was a boat cruise along a stretch of the Liverpool to Leeds waterway – a gift from the Blyths. My wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly and we felt blessed for what was a misty, gloomy morning suddenly became a bright, sunny day as we drove 30 minutes along the highway!
Getting ready to board the “Romance”Jenny all excited to get in
The canal used to be the transport arteries for coal, agricultural and industrial products but are now more for leisure and pleasure trips.
The front view of the boatReady for lunch
The slow cruise took three hours and included a tasty three course meal – starters, main meal, and dessert. The service was good, and so was the food and of course the company.
My choice of starters: melon and strawberryMy choice of mains: mushroom pie
My choice of dessert: apple pie with custard creamAlternative starters: shrimp saladAlternative mains: beefAlternate dessert: strawberry with sherry custard and creamSides: potatoes, carrots, green peas
I originally wanted to get a taste of training as a spiritual director but it was not to be since the church leadership felt the last quarter of the year would serve succession better. I was thankful for this in the end, for my spiritual director Lance Ng, of Kingsmead Centre, invited me and my wife to a pilgrimage called Camino Ignaciano with a retreat content. He had gone in 2018 and wanted to see if the pilgrimage could be modified to embed the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises(SE) in the camino. My wife and were the last two to be added to the list of about 16 pilgrims. Lance led the retreat “component” and worked in tandem with Fr Jose who gave historical info and spiritual insights into Ignatius, the man. Great teamwork.
I liked the way Lance explained to us the dynamics of the SE day by day in 30 minutes sessions; the way he reminded us to be fully present to God and to ourselves, and to have a contemplative posture at all times.
I dread cold weather, but Lance Ng lovesFr Jose Lluis Iriberri S.J., the Jesuit priest leading us with his knowledge and patienceLance Ng, and Kae, who provides administrative support for this pilgrimageAudrey handles all the financials involvedThe beautiful pilgrims from Singapore
The other spiritual director is Fr Jose Luis Iriberri S.J., who was assigned the task of establishing this spiritual pilgrimage, quite unlike the better known but now secular camino de Santiago.
Fr Jose has information at his fingertips and showed he had done extensive research and countless caminos before this one. We were privileged and blessed to have him. His homilies were short, sharp and satisfying and his sense of humour pleasantly surprised us as our rapport with him grew.
I will always remember his pleading voice, “Come on pilgrims, you can do it! ….let’s go…etc.”
With these two leaders as our guides the sixteen of us pilgrims have been touched and blessed, informed and inspired, and connected with the Lord and one another, in reflection and prayer, and in faith-sharing and individual direction.
The administrative tasks were divided between Kae and Audrey and all the pilgrims were thankful for their humble hard work. Lots of changes had to be made as pilgrims withdrew, or had to leave midway, or could only join us midway, due to unforseen circumstances. Thank God for these helpers that lighten the load of the spiritual directors.
I am deeply grateful for these guys who made this camino such a meaningful one. May God enrich their lives as they have enriched ours, to the greater glory of God.
Its vineyard country we have entered, following one of the journeys of St Ignatius.
Vineyards all around usThe Jesuit priest leading us eating the fruit of the land
We walked 15km on Saturday and about 14km today. The only difference to me was that the former was quieter and hardly anyone crossed paths with us, while today, many who were walking the Camino Santiago walked past us, including locals exercising on Sunday, a few every seven minutes.
The weather was windy, cool and sunny yesterday, but cloudier and less windy today. In both cases a short sleeve T shirt and long pants sufficed. The jackets we wore earlier in the morning had to be removed by 10am because the day grew warmer.
We walked through the town on SundayWe got our Camino Passport stamped.Our hotel was formerly the medieval palace of a duke whom Ignatius visited
I felt that two blessings were being granted as I relished the long walks in cool weather and lovely scenery. It took my mind and heart off church responsibilities and burdens. This disengagement is such a blessing. Secondly, I also needed to simply rest, eat, exercise and be fully present with the physical world, its sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch. This grounds me in the now, instead of dwelling on the past or the future.
