Camino Gratitude

An 8 hour, 38 km hike this morning; entering the final, spiritual stage of the Camino de Santiago. 6 am temperature was below freezing and rose to 80 degrees this afternoon in Rabanal – my gear changing from long pants and fleece pullover to shorts and thin shirt.

I felt a Camino high while walking silently from 7 – 9 am as the sun rose over a vast agricultural area with crops, pine trees, and water canals. Beauty and silence everywhere as I contemplated the truth of God’s creation. My favourite book on silence was written by Cardinal Sarah, entitled “The Power of Silence” –

• Silence allows man to be led by God. At the heart of man there is an innate silence, for God abides in the innermost part of every person. God is silence, and this divine silence dwells in man. God carries us, and we live with him at every moment by keeping silence. Nothing will make us discover God better than silence inscribed in the centre of our being.

• Silence is not an absence, but a manifestation of a presence, God is the friend of silence. The most beautiful things in life take place in silence. The humblest, meekest, and most silent of all beings is God. Silence is the only means by which to enter this great mystery of God.
• Nothing in the world is more important than the silence of God, as we are confronted with absolute love. God’s only power is to love silently. He is incapable of any oppressive force. God is love, and love cannot compel, force or oppress in order to be loved in return. Silent love can grow only in humility, silence draws a person into the most profound intimacy of God.