[Gocamino] a serious medieval question or three

Wed Dec 9 07:58:18 PST 2009

The Camino de Santiago has
more than enough natural energy and power -- we do not need the prescribed
instructions to experience the change in our heart and minds.
THANK YOU WILNA---TRUE WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN (ER, WRITTEN)!
> Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 16:44:13 +0100
> From: twoxscotch at gmail.com
> To: johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com
> CC: gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net; gocamino at oakapple.net
> Subject: Re: [Gocamino] a serious medieval question or three
> 
>  Every pilgrim, everyone who writes about the pilgrimage, every person that
> has anything to do with the pilgrimage, adds to the myths and the legends.
> And everyone who reads or hears the different stories, relates to it in a
> different way and takes from it something that has meaning or significance
> for them. If you look at the different pilgrim 'traditions' , they are being
> developed as we speak. (a good example is the 'tradition' of carrying a
> stone with you from your home and placing it on the giant cairn at Cruz de
> Ferro. This stone used to symbolise your sins. Lately, since 'sins' have
> become an archaic notion, the stones symbolise the 'sorrow' we each carry in
> our lives. ‘Sorrow’ is very much an accepted – and an expected – emotion to
> have. Members of the ‘me-generation’ don’t care so much about what wrongs
> they have
> done, but they do very much care about the wrongs that have been done to
> them.
> 
> Just so the handprint in the Tree of Jesse has come to be there as a result
> of hundreds of years of pilgrims' placing their sweaty and oily hands on the
> stone carving. Originally, apparently (according to the popular myth)
> pilgrims wanted to touch the Tree when they entered the cathedral after
> completing their pilgrimage. This 'tradition' has also changed through the
> centuries and been adapted to changing relevance and beliefs. In more recent
> times, pilgrims follow the tradition of 'banging their heads' against the
> bust of Master Mateo --  or Santo dos Croques, Saint Headbanger, as he is
> also lovingly referred to, the architect of the cathedral – in order that
> some of his wisdom may enter their heads. When you bend down to where Master
> Mateo's bust is in order to touch your head against his, you have to balance
> yourself, and where the handprint is on the Tree, is exactly where your hand
> naturally pushes down.
> 
> What Rebekah is saying, is true -- guides as well as pilgrims themselves,
> always seem to feel the need to find a special meaning or significance in
> every little thing pilgrims are 'supposed' to do, the little rituals that
> have developed over many centuries. Whether we like it or not, agree with it
> or not, feel the need for it or not, it will happen. Where there is a 800km
> pathway which hundreds of thousands walk every year -- all searching - and
> finding some personal or  spiritual or religious answer on the way -- you
> will always have certain rituals and customs, many myth and legends develop
> over time. It is only human. The Church has recognised this need and natural
> phenomenon since the beginning of time and it is only natural that they
> would have exploited it -- but -- as we know, this seems often to be exactly
> what some need to  bring them closer to filling the need in their spiritual
> lives.
> 
> I do agree with Rebekah about the 'three spiritual wishes' though. Depending
> on who your guide is or which guidebook your read, everyone has a different
> 'requirement for pilgrims at the various way stations of the pilgrimage. We,
> here in this discussion, could very easily start a new requirement or
> tradition, right here, in this email chat. -- and in no time at all it will
> be written about in guide books and in less than a year pilgrims from all
> over the world would be doing exactly what we decide here and now 'should be
> done' by all pilgrims. So, my point is johnnywalker -- why not just simply
> allow pilgrims to do what comes naturally to them -- they meditate, they
> reflect, they pray. "Making three spiritual wishes as you enter the church"
> has suddenly become -- "making the wishes while touching the tree of Jesse"
> -- and because of the body oils and perspiration of countless pilgrims and
> wanting to save the remarkable stone carving of this sculpture, you now have
> pilgrims who are distraught at not being able to fulfil this 'requirement'
> -- not participate in this ritual. --- Instead of pilgrims simply entering
> the church, admiring the Tree in passing, walking down the isle in awe and
> praying to their own individual Greater-than-us. The Camino de Santiago has
> more than enough natural energy and power -- we do not need the prescribed
> instructions to experience the change in our heart and minds.
> 
> Wilna
> 
> 2009/12/9 <johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com>
> 
> > It is called prayer dear Rebekah :)
> > Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Rebekah Scott <rebrites at yahoo.com>
> > Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 05:32:12
> > To: Miriam Martinez<miriam.martinez at pb.com>; <
> > gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net>; Kathy Gower<kathygower at hotmail.com>;
> > oakapple<gocamino at oakapple.net>; <johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Gocamino] a serious medieval question or three
> >
> > "three spiritual wishes?" What the blazes is THAT about? Those tour guides
> > need to tune out the Disney channel for a while!
> >
> >
> > Rebekah Scott
> > www.moratinoslife.blogspot.com
> >
> > "Let us read and dance, and so we will not hurt the rest of the world."
> > --- Voltaire
> >
> >
> > --- On Tue, 12/8/09, johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com <
> > johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > From: johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com <
> > johnniewalker-santiago at hotmail.com>
> > > Subject: Re: [Gocamino] a serious medieval question or three
> > > To: "Miriam Martinez" <miriam.martinez at pb.com>,
> > gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net, "Kathy Gower" <kathygower at hotmail.com>,
> > "oakapple" <gocamino at oakapple.net>
> > > Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 10:02 PM
> > > I suspect the "loft" that was
> > > mentioned is a wide corridor which runs around the entire
> > > cathedral - it is open on one side to the nave and transepts
> > > and on the other has access to the roof at various points.
> > > Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Miriam Martinez <miriam.martinez at pb.com>
> > > Date: Tue, 8 Dec 2009 15:52:01
> > > To: Kathy Gower<kathygower at hotmail.com>;
> > > oakapple<gocamino at oakapple.net>
> > > Subject: Re: [Gocamino] a serious medieval question or
> > > three
> > >
> > > Hi Cathy!
> > > I did hear about the burning of the clothes on the roof and
> > > saw the place where this supposedly happened from the tour
> > > guide of the Cathedral Roof Tour. He also mentioned that the
> > > pilgrims could actually sleep inside the Cathedral. There is
> > > a loft on the way to the roof where the pilgrims could bed
> > > for the night...
> > >
> > > As to the spiritual wishes, I though you made the spiritual
> > > request when placing your hand on the Tree of Jesse. I did,
> > > but next time placing the hand on my heart will have to
> > > do...
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Miriam
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net
> > > [mailto:gocamino-bounces at oakapple.net]
> > > On Behalf Of Kathy Gower
> > > Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 3:27 PM
> > > To: oakapple
> > > Subject: [Gocamino] a serious medieval question or three
> > >
> > > I received this request and wonder if anyone out there
> > > knows the answers...(this isn't a quiz)  I have sent
> > > this to a couple of listserves..."Got a question for you:
> > > our tour guide at the cathedral in Santiago assured us that
> > > in the middle ages pilgrims would burn their clothes in a
> > > large stone tub on the roof (visible when you go out the
> > > north exit and look back at the cathedral) and would be
> > > given "new" (or at least clean) replacement clothes by the
> > > church. I said I'd never heard of that--have you? Also, she
> > > said that the botafumiero wasn't used to make the cathedral
> > > smell better but was used for some combo of disinfecting and
> > > blessing. Again, have you heard this? And third--that when
> > > you enter a church for the first time, you put your hand on
> > > your heart and make 3 spiritual wishes. That's why she
> > > thinks it isn't important that the Tree of Jesse may not be
> > > accessible for pilgrims to touch--after all, the tradition
> > > (??) is to make 3 spiritual wishes.... no need to touch
> > > any!
> > >  thing...."Just wondering. Maybe you can put these
> > > questions out there to others who might know something?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >_______________________________________________
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> > >
> > >
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Wilna Wilkinson SC, FITC
> 
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