A Long Loving Look at the Real
“Contemplation is a long, loving look at the real.”
— Walter J Burghardt SJ
I come to the Camino with a desire,
not simply to reach Santiago,
not to measure the days in kilometres,
but to let each day’s walking become a prayer.
From the Caribbean, we cross the Atlantic,
over waters our ancestors crossed in pain,
from Africa, Asia and Europe,
and I receive with gratitude the freedom
to cross these waters by choice,
as a pilgrim, a seeker and a beloved child of God.
At Porto, where the Douro kisses the ocean
and morning mist rests on the stones,
I will set my feet on the road
and ask for the grace to look,
to take a long, loving look at the real.
Let me look long enough
to see beyond the surface of things:
God hidden in a stranger’s greeting,
in the silence beneath the forest canopy,
in bread shared at a table,
in aching legs and unexpected kindness,
in the yellow arrow that quietly says This way. Keep going.
Let me look lovingly
at whatever the road reveals,
beauty I might otherwise hurry past,
weariness I would rather deny,
memories that rise without invitation,
and the truth about myself
that appears when distractions fall away.
Each morning I will name my desire.
Each footstep will carry it before You.
Each evening I will gather the day:
the moments when my heart opened,
the moments when it closed,
the places where grace moved quietly,
and the places where I failed to notice You.
When the path is gentle, keep me attentive.
When the road climbs, teach me surrender.
When my body grows weary,
give me the resilience of the tides
that have shaped the Portuguese coast.
When I feel alone, remind me
that no pilgrim ever walks alone.
Along the path of Saint James,
strip away what I no longer need.
Make my heart as spacious
as the wide Galician air.
Teach me to find You in everything,
in every person, circumstance and interruption,
in consolation and in desolation,
in the road chosen and the road received.
And when at last I enter Santiago,
beneath the sacred Field of Stars,
may I arrive not merely as the person who left Porto,
but as one who has learned to see:
my senses awakened,
my heart enlarged,
my life made more available to You.
This is my desire for the Camino:
to walk slowly enough to notice,
to look deeply enough to love,
and to become quiet enough
to find You already walking beside me.
Mary, my Pilgrim Guide,
walk with me.
Saint James, companion of the Way,
pray for me.
Amen.
Beloved Reflections 