In Sobrado Alone

A tremendous feeling of loss and desolation has come upon me.

Monasteries almost always have this effect on me: they force me to see myself as I really am - with all my strengths and weaknesses -  and not as I wish I was.  They force me to deal with my neediness and brokenness.  They remind me that I desire to be in relation with, and not isolated from, others.  They remind me that the dictum "I think, therefore I am" is utterly false, and that "I relate, therefore I am" gets much closer to the truth.

And yet, when I'm in the chapel, looking at the Crucified One, I find Peace, or maybe, Peace finds me...

I walked around in the afternoon and took some pictures of the monastery.  In my restlessness I also walked around for a long time, until my feet began to hurt.

I love the cross below.  On the right side is Christ, hanging, carrying the sins of the world on his shoulders.  On the left side is Mary, standing, carrying the agony of a mother on her shoulders.

In the following picture are the men I've met here.  Only the one in the middle is a monk (from England).  The rest are men on a spiritual retreat, much like me.  The one on the left is from Valencia (far south of Spain!), the one beside him is from Oviedo, and the one on the very right is from Madrid.  All of them very pleasant, very engaging and hospitable.

The monk said the funniest thing I heard during my stay here: "I love the English, the only problem is, too many Englishmen live there."

In the evening I went to Vespers and Compline again.  Through this liturgy a measure of Peace returns to me.

Tomorrow the Camino continues.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have Mercy on me, a Sinner!