Roncesvalles

Walking Out of the World, holding page: Day 58 Roncesvalles to Pamplona continues after a pause. Catch up with the virtual pilgrimage here.

Day 58 of Walking Out of the World continues after three days with the next day’s walk from Roncesvalles to Pamplona, and this is a temporary holding page for readers catching up with the ‘virtual pilgrimage’.

The blog is now resting in Roncesvalles while I have a number of admin and writing tasks to complete, including writing a piece for Where Peter Is (.com) on the subject of Catholic blogging, in order to add my voice in addressing the phenomenon of so many Catholics who have gone down the rabbit hole into Alice in Trumpland, joining the Antivaxxers, QAnoners, and schismatics who deride the teachings of Pope Francis and the Magisterium, or think Benedict XVI is the real pope (when even he says he isn’t !) Get a grip, people…

Walking Out of the World

There are some following the ‘virtual pilgrimage’ who only started from Worcester recently and are still at various points along the way! Going by the stats, the pattern seems to be that people set out and follow the Walking Out of the World at their own pace. Buen Camino to all!

If you are new to the blog and to Walking Out of the World, please start here on the Virtual Pilgrimage and pick up your free ghost of Robert Sutton, the Worcester Pilgrim, at the cathedral!

Day 1 from Worcester to Tewkesbury

The Vipers of the Pyrenees

In previous episodes of the series I told the story of real experiences in the Communauté des Béatitudes, and before that, the hazards of (so-called ‘traditional’) super-Catholics. I will spend further time considering such themes, as I have experienced them. Pilgrimage is a time for reflection! During the Compostela Holy Year 2021-2022, I hope many pilgrims reflect and pray that the Church community stays obedient and is not led astray by wolves dressed as shepherds.

The Vipers of the Pyrenees Part 1

The Vipers of the Pyrenees Part 2

The Vipers of the Pyrenees Part 3

The ‘Super-Catholics’

Another example of the Church going astray has been addressed here: the Catholics who do not accept Pope Francis as the true pope. In fact this topic has only been introduced so far, and I will return to the theme later on the Camino Francés. Walking with a pilgrim holding these views, and trying to either accommodate them or oppose them, is hard work! Some tips are provided here!

The episodes on this subject started at Labouheyre on Day 51 and continued to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

Menú Peregrino

Walking Out of the World virtual pilgrimage does not shy away from confronting serious issues but humour is part of pilgrimage too!

My short story, Menú Peregrino is set in Manjarín, at the refuge of Tomás el Templario. It is published on the Confraternity of Saint James website as part of their current online Festival of Arts & Crafts and Literature.

Afterword: A reader of this blog, Jabba, tells me that since I was last in Manjarín, Tomás has started to keep wolves! This was completely unknown to me when I wrote the story. There is now an unintended allegory: for in the story I unknowingly take a wounded pilgrim with a fear of wolves to the only Camino refuge… which now contains some wolves! (And I thought I’d made the story as mad as it needed to be!)