The Lord Will Provide

Recently a friend started out on pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela. He is walking the most popular of three routes called the French way which starts at the bottom of France and finishes in Santiago de Compostela 500 miles later. Although not so well known in England it is a popular pilgrim in Europe with around 300,000 finishing in each year. Although not all of these will be doing the full 500miles. A few years ago, Martin Sheen starred in a film called ‘The Way’ which tracks him making the pilgrimage after his son died at the age of 40.

I walked the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim after finishing university. My friend starting out on his pilgrim has made me reflect on my experience. I remember early on in the pilgrimage a pilgrim I met who had done the pilgrim before said don’t worry ‘the camion will provide’. The person meant that if you need something, be it food, a plaster, or a train ticket, you will somehow find it along the way. One week into the pilgrim I was sceptical. But looking back I can say the camion will be proved or, to be more accurate, the Lord will provide along the way. This provision can be practical, spiritual and emotionally.

I remember for around a week there was nice group of us that would meet in the albergue (albergue’s are like hostels and are just for pilgrims) in the evening. There were two Canadian seminarians, a young French and Swedish lady and a recent graduate from the Netherlands. In the week leading to Santiago de Compostela, we walked at different paces and lost contact. So, I arrived at Compostela with hundreds of others but I knew no one. Then the following morning in the albergue I saw the two Canadian seminarians walk down the corridor and on the flight home I was sitting next to the young Swedish lady I had meet along the way.

In starting out on a pilgrimage with a small rucksack and no map it wasn’t easy to think if the Lord really would provide. But seeing that the Lord did provide, the pilgrimage encouraged me to trust that the Lord will continue to provide as I headed back home to start out on life post university. Pentecost is a reminder that the Lord has not left us to walk the pilgrimage of life alone he has sent us the advocate, the councillor the Holy Spirit to guide us. He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us individually and to guide the Church. Pentecost is therefore a call to remember that we don’t walk alone on the pilgrim of life, we have the Holy Spirit and the Lord will provide.