Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
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Searching for Sainthood: El Camino de Santiago
My name is Ruth Saxey-Reese (Ruth Salter); I’m a writer and writing teacher living in Boise, ID, USA. I am preparing to walk the ancient pilgrim route called El Camino de Santiago de Compostela (The Way of St. James), which stretches for 500 miles from southern France, over the Pyrenees, through Basque country, across almost the whole width of Spain. It will take me several weeks this summer to complete the trek, but I'm determined to make it!
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One of my favorite definitions of “saint” is someone who is complete and whole, someone who turns his or her attention outward to help others. These goals can take a lifetime to attain, but the journey is worth every step. The concept of sainthood has permeated my writing lately. I am working on a series of poems about saints, both familiar and obscure, both real and imagined. Over the centuries, the Way of Saint James has been tamped down by the feet of many saints, most anonymous, but some famous, like St. Francis of Assisi. I want to add my footsteps to that legacy, gathering material to enrich my writing and experiences to further my own quest for wholeness.
I’ve heard that the path of El Camino calls to certain people, a siren song that can’t be ignored. Will you help me reach the path of my deepest desire?
No donation is too small. I will send all donors a handwritten original poem from El Camino so that you can share the journey with me. If you are short on money, your good wishes and prayers are very valuable to me as well. Thank you very much for any help you can spare.
"Veni, Columba"
come down, dove
rewrite
my white-feather birth
come down
I will recite
my father, a talon
my mother, the breeze
myself
a moon sliver
nearly consumed
first breath
like drowning
come down
mirror milk
come down
concede
the sainted space
between heart and voice
(“Veni, Columba” by Ruth Saxey-Reese from Tell Me Again: Poetry and Prose from The Healing Art of Writing, c. 2013)
PS I’m already walking the streets and pathways of Boise in preparation for my trek; if you happen to see me, please say, “Buen Camino!”
For more information about El Camino, please check out these resources:
The movie _The Way_, starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez (streaming on NetFlix)
The book _The Pilgrimage_ by Paulo Coehlo
The excellent _A Guidebook to the Camino de Santiago_ by John Brierley
The book _A Million Steps_ by fellow Boisean Kurt Koontz