On the road ...

This experience put to the  test both the body and the spirit!

We publish here some of the enthusiastic testimonies shared by Alessandra and Veronica…

"What was I expecting from this pilgrimage? Nothing! My head was in such a mess that I thought it was impossible to put things right by simply “walking”.

The walking experience makes you aware of your frailty, of your not being invincible; it drives home to you that  there is no point in running away from your fears, you have to face them instead.

After three days’s walk my legs  were shaking from exhaustion and my knees were paining.

A few days later, quite unexpectedly it dawned on me that only God could have put me on the road to Santiago. I got the answer while I was in a little church at Arca, one of the last stages of the Pilgrimage.

When I saw a crucifix and Jesus with bleeding and bruised knees, at that very moment I realized that those were the knees of all of us, even my own knees.

When we look at Jesus on the Cross our eyes are attracted by his feet and his hands: but his knees too have something to say.

These knees know what "fall into the dust” means, they know the meaning of pain and exhaustion. They send us the message that even if the journey of our life is fraught with difficulties and the cross is heavy, we must not give up walking.” (Alessandra)

“This is what I have learnt from the pilgrimage to Santiago: it is  not true that I'm  a good-for-nothing; I can bear the pain, make it grow smaller and smaller  and forget about it; I still can marvel at the little and  extraordinary things around me.

Above all, I have realized  that I am not alone, but I am surrounded by people  who love me exactly as I am, with my weaknesses, my fears and my moodiness. People who supported me all the time, just like the staff that supports and helps the walking pilgrim.

Now I look back at every step I took and I realize that Santiago was not the goal, but just a stage... because my journey, my True Journey, has just begun.” (Veronica)