THE WAY CHOOSES US

[Michael P. Barham]

To address John and all of us. . .


Some people question why a non Christian would want to walk the way.  Here
is one (of many) Christian perspectives, and I believe some of the priests
and monastics along the way would say this is why they offer hospitality to
non-Christians. . . .

God places the call to be a pilgrim within us, it is not something we
choose, but IT CHOOSES US.  Therefore, I overheard some of the priests and
monastics referring to the belief that Christian or not, the people who
walked the way were there because something within them moved them to be
there.  Those nuns and brothers and priests would say that something is the
divine.  In fact, I heard them say that.  And their hope is that the
hospitality they offer will in some way give a voice or vocabulary to the
individual to understand or define that something.

As I began to answer the question - and you know if you have walked that you
get the question once a day for every person you pass . . . Why am I going
to Santiago . . . the more I asked that question, the more I realized how
far back the spark occured within me to be a pilgrim.  So far I have gone
back ten years to something I completely forgot I read until I was walking
and thought about it.  Ten years before!  I have to believe that Santiago
chose me, and not the other way around.

If a non-Christian, OR a Christian is feeling the pull to do it, they won't
have the choice but to do it, and the won't be satisfied until they do.

Have others had the same sensations?





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