Cathedral Closed...Is the Camino still worth it?

[David Tallan]

I would like to see a bit more civility on this thread. People have a tendency on hot topics to let their worst come out in order to shame a person for asking a question. Asking the question is not wrong. It takes courage.

Please remember there are comments that are helpful and comments that are just to make you feel better about yourself.


That's part of her quandry. Any Catholic can stay at home and practice their religion. What they can't get by doing this is the experience they are being called too. Ashley has made the brave decision to move forward. It doesn't help her that the minute she participates in the discussion she created she is slam with scornful comments. As we move closer and closer to yet another page on this thread, there will be those who will not read through the pages of responses and comment with further insult.

So like my mother taught me, if you don't have anything nice, helpful or supportive to say, don't say anything at all. Save your time of typing a snarky response to do some self-examination of your own about your attitudes to others.

If my response came across as slamming, scornful, snarky, or insulting, my apologies, both to Ashley and to all who read it. It was certainly not meant that way.

 

[David Tallan]

For sure it will swing every July 25th, but not until renavations are completed.

Also, on that date you can be part of the celebration on St. James feast. The best opportunity will be on 2021 as it falls on a Sunday and is Jacobean year. So, AshleyF, prepare and GO on 2021, it’s your great chance.

Buen Camino

Certainly one can go on July 25, 2021 and be confident of seeing the botafumiero swing. Make your accommodation reservations well in advance, though, and be prepared for crowds. At other times, even when there is no construction getting in the way, it is not so certain. As I said before, just a few days a year (of which July 25 is one). For most pilgrims it is a lottery. Sometimes they get lucky, other times they do not.

 

[Rpeet1]

Everyone assumes they will complete the Camino but many don't. Even so, it doesn't make the walk any less special of an experience. Don't overthink things.

 

[Bella2017]

Yes I did miss the pilgrims mass in the cathedral when I finished my Camino last week. I did visit the cathedral and attach pictures. I will just have to go again. This time the cathedral looked beautiful from the outside without the scaffolding.

 

[lizlane]

If my response came across as slamming, scornful, snarky, or insulting, my apologies, both to Ashley and to all who read it. It was certainly not meant that way.

It wasn't you!

 

[Peregrino andante]

You cant make that kind of comparison. A big mac costs a third in SA than it does in US. But we pay equally [this is called The Law of One Price - Purchasing Power Parity for the economists here].

The Cost of Living Index of Johannesburg is 109, Pretoria is 106, and Capetown is 91. Washington DC, which is extremely expensive compared to where I live, has a Cost of Living Index of 92. Besides, an international company like an airline does not set its fares based on local costs. Two like flights--length, time, day--are going to priced similarly unless there is significant competition on one of the routes. Getting a RT flight from Johannesburg to Madrid for under $500 is a steal and hardly suggestive of "very high costs" for SAs.

Perhaps word choice in your original post has colored the tone of some of the responses. By introducing yourself as a member of "one of the oldest (acknowledged) Catholic families in my country," you could be seen as thinking of yourself as somehow superior to others on the forum. Then, by suggesting that you will be one of the few Africans on the Camino "presumably due to the very high costs involved for us," you could be seen as placing yourself in an economic class superior to that of others on the forum. Next, by declaring that "finding 5 weeks of leave is very difficult for those of us who have jobs in the 'real' world," you could be seen as holding the rather naive opinion that all the others who walk for 5 weeks are trust fund babies or something similar, but we also have to figure out how to get that much time. Finally, and perhaps most significant is your parenthetical statement near the end of your post: "[I actually feel like having a very serious conversation with our Apostolic Nuncio - the Pope's representative - over what can only be called clumsy handling of this matter by the Archdiocese of Santiago]." You could be seen as declaring yourself powerful and important: you can speak to the Apostolic Nuncio! You could also be seen as extremely condescending by glossing "Apostolic Nuncio" so that the lesser, ignorant humans on the forum would be duly enlightened as to the meaning of the term. Food for thought before your next post.

By the way, the botafumeiro is not part of the mass anyway, as at least one other person has mentioned. Only after the mass has ended does the botafumeiro swing, and it is a chaotic, circus-like ending to what I think is supposed to be a meaningful and spiritual experience.

 

[Tincatinker]

Ah, thats enough. Posts on this thread have mostly avoided breaches of the forums rules but some have had to be deleted and more probably should be. The OP has been provided with enough opinion to enable broad consideration of the presumptions of the opening post. They have assured us that they were not trolling and we have accepted that assurance; nevertheless it was a provocative post that has provoked some vigorous responses.

Its time to move on. This thread is locked for further posts.