The Camino crosses many boundaries and thus interacts with many languages. In its heart and center it is still what it is—a spiritual odyssey. So to get the linguistics correct the terms are used as following—"buen camino" in Spain, or "bon chemin" in France, or "bom caminho" in Portugal. I am in Portugal so hence my shift.What makes a Bom Caminho...
Archbishop Jason Gordon
Archbishop
Have you ever seen an angel? Today I met one. I was in a difficult part of the journey. Neither GPS or the signs on the road were making much sense and I really did not know where to go. I looked up and saw a woman making a signal to me. I went towards her and she waited on me. I could not speak a word of Portuguese and she's could not speak a...
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On Friday when Jose and I were speaking, he said to me there was so much to be grateful to God for. God had treated him which sub generosity when he had been such a sinner.This is a disposition of someone who has encountered Christ. They move beyond them self to God and recognize what they have received as compared to what they have given. There i...
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Today God passed my way and I was too dimwitted and afraid to recognize Him. Have you ever realized how fear shuts down our capacities? This morning leaving Coimbra, it was as dark as ever. The city, the third largest in Portugal, sprawls a while before rural space emerged. CITIES are amazing. I will speak of the glory of the city an t...
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This morning I awoke as normal 5:25am. I began as usual in absolute darkness. My phone as light and map to guide. My inner Pilgrim was smiling and singing and filled with Joy. Last night I spoke to the husband owner of the Alburgue I stayed in. He explained the stages of the camino Portuguese. From now till Porto there are very few Alburgues. After...
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Last night I met my first pilgrim. Sebastian from Columbia. We were both staying in the same Albergue. He left Fatima, the same time as me, two days ago. He walked past the casa Rural in Caxarias by 2 km. It broke his heart to turn back. So he soldiered forward and slept in a forest that night. He arrived here in Ansiao at 7:30 Pm. ...
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Walking the camino sounds romantic. There is an inner discipline that is required. This inner discipline is a constant reminder of the outer discipline that discipleship requires.I left Fatima two days ago. I have arrived in the town of Ansião. This is 47 Km of walking in two days. Traveling up hill 619 m and down hill 468 m. For example Fort Georg...
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There are many types of camino experiences. The French way is full of people. Over 200 people start every day. You get to know people and meet them over and over. You become friends and sometimes a community.The Portuguese way is much quieter. With much fewer pilgrims there is much less interaction. Most of the pilgrims begin in Porto....
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Some people believe that you do not walk the camino. They think, the camino walks you. Just as you do not choose to walk, the camino chooses you. When I boarded the plane and made my self comfortable, I asked myself, what madness am I doing. I am walking the camino a third time!There must be a reason, I surely do not know. Except this urge to walk ...
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Brothers and sistersThe Holy Father Pope Francis has asked all Catholics to recognize 'World day of the poor' on 19th November 2017, under the theme 'Love, not in word but in deed'.The diocese has invited Gabriel Malzaire, Bishop of Dominica, to speak on the 15th November, 2017 about 'the Eucharist and the poor', the subject of one of his books.I a...
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Brothers and Sisters in Christ,We have had six years together building the Church in Bridgetown. This has been an amazing learning experience for me, one that I will always treasure, for you taught me how to be a bishop. There is much to celebrate about our time together. A lot has been achieved and learnt, but we will have time to reflect on this...
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Crop Over festival takes place over a series of weeks, and comprises a variety of cultural activities produced by the public sector and private entities. The festival includes events such as Pan Fusion, Heritage Walks, Pic of the Crop, Visual Arts Exhibition and Bridgetown Market each of which add a different dimension, and can appeal to different...
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,Easter is about Hope! Death that gives way to life! Despair that gives way to new Joy! This is not always recognized, as the two men on the way to Emmaus realized (Lk 24:13-35). "Their eyes were opened in the breaking of the bread." They were still in despair, recounting all the terrible things that happened, although the...
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The Most Rev.Dr.Charles Jason Gordon delivered the featured address at the July 2016 Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lunch at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre .The topic was ' Solving the Social Challenge'.
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"What do you think about when you walk?"This is a fair question that I was asked. When I walk, I walk. I think about not getting lost, about not missing a yellow arrow, about whether I have enough water and supplies for the journey, whether it will be hot or cold. I think about what time I will reach the Albergue. Walking is a form of meditation. W...
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The Camino is the most physically demanding challenge that I have taken up as an adult. In fact when I finished it yesterday, one of my first thoughts was to wonder what form of madness had gotten into me in the first place to think of doing this!For thirty days I have been walking, with the exception of one day rest in Leon. Each day ...
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Every journey has a beginning, middle, and an end. Today after thirty one days of walking, I arrived in Santiago. It proved to be another day of incredible grace and blessings. I left Pedrouzo at 5:00 this morning in the dark for the walk into the forest. As I was entering, two other pilgrims appeared and we walked together through the darkness and...
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This morning, I made my usual 5:30 a.m. departure and within three minutes of leaving Melide I saw the first sign post - 54 Km to Santiago. In Galicia they have mile posts pointing the way and also indicating how far there is left in the Camino. I walked with a joy in my heart; my body was at its best since beginning the Camino. The blister no long...
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This morning as I departed Ventas de Naron at 5:30 a.m. there was a thick fog.With light in hand I shone it on the side of the road and followed its lead, though I still could not see more than ten feet ahead. It was one of those magical mystical moments that cannot easily be described. As I walked the words of the Poem/Hymn of Blessed John Henry N...
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Two days ago, I arrived at Samos, the Benedictine Monastery and stayed in the Albergue associated with it. As I entered and sat waiting for the person in charge to register me, I began speaking with a young man who was also sitting there. His name was Jacob and he introduced himself as a seminarian. A short time into the conversation, another young...
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