“The sea has locked them all. The sea is history.”— Derek Walcott, “The Sea Is History” The Departure The sun was rising as we left Port of Spain.On the way to the airport, I noticed its glowspreading across the morning sky,and received it as the first gift of my pilgrimage. Vincent drove us to PiarcoContinue reading “Sailing in Reverse – Departure, Crossing, & Landing Shaped by Interior Movements”
Author Archives: donalddeanchambers
A Prophetic Song on the Banks of the Douro River
“The cave that we fear entering holds the treasure we seek” – Joseph Campbell We spent a day walking through the hilly city of Porto before the long walk to Santiago began. I thought we were getting to know a city;the city was already asking me to look deep within. At Mercado do Bolhão, aContinue reading “A Prophetic Song on the Banks of the Douro River”
Preparing to Sail
“What is most terrifying in the experience of the deportation of Africans to the Americas * is undoubtedly the unknown, faced without preparation or challenge” (Édouard Glissant, “The Open Boat,” Poetics of Relation) I prepare to “sail” across the Atlantic,travelling in the opposite directionfrom the one forced upon my African ancestors,returning freely over waters they crossed inContinue reading “Preparing to Sail”
My Desire for the Camino
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 ourContinue reading “My Desire for the Camino”
God Clothed Me Again
I came ashore wearing dirty clothes of exhaustion,still carrying the salt and struggle of the deep ocean.I had fallen from the high horse of ministryand no longer felt fully present to myself.The retreat grounds seemed to know my conditionpatches of brown grass, uprooted trees, fallen dry coconuts,and a dry, crooked branch lying before the altar.“CanContinue reading “God Clothed Me Again”
The Gardener Has Not Left the Garden
A Reflection on My Thirty-Fourth Priestly Anniversary – June 28, 2026 On the morning of my thirty-fourth anniversary of priestly ordination, I intended to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. Instead, the Spirit gently drew me elsewhere. Rather than entering the chapel, I found myself sitting quietly in my garden, beside the grassy car park, sensingContinue reading “The Gardener Has Not Left the Garden”
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters
The life and ministry of Sr. Monique Monquette can perhaps best be understood through two timeless songs: “Many Rivers to Cross” by Jimmy Cliff and “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel. Both songs speak about struggle, transition, uncertainty, and the grace of finding someone who walks with us through difficult seasons of life.Continue reading “A Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
Finding Humility in the Vastness of Creation
The chapel occupies only a small space within my home. My home, in turn, occupies only a small corner of the city. The city rests within the country. The country finds its place within the Caribbean basin. The Caribbean belongs to the Western Hemisphere. The hemisphere is but a portion of the Earth. Earth circlesContinue reading “Finding Humility in the Vastness of Creation”
Family of Coconut Trees
I sit in quiet contemplationin the garden of God’s creation,held in aweby a family of coconut trees. Within this family, there are many members,different in size,in height,in age,in colour. Some stand tall and slender,others shorter, weathered by time.Some are heavy with fruit,pregnant with coconuts,while others stand empty, waiting. Some cradle tender, young coconuts,others hold theContinue reading “Family of Coconut Trees”
The Divine Drama of Salvation
The divine drama of salvation unfolds most profoundly in the liturgies of Holy Week.Here, God in Jesus Christ steps onto the stage of human history,entering fully into its mess, its brokenness, its suffering,not to avoid it, but to redeem it. Palm Sunday serves as the curtain-raiser.It introduces the protagonist, Jesus, yet leaves us with aContinue reading “The Divine Drama of Salvation”
