The hand painted sign leaning against wall simply said: ”Iglesia Abierta/ChurchOpen”. What is unusual about it is that it is right on the camino in the little village of Moratinos half way along the Camino Francés and in this country of closed churches the church was indeed open. More than that at 8.30am there was actually a priest in the church cheerfully welcoming pilgrims, dispensing a sello, chatting and when requested offering confession.
This is Fr Pat from New Zealand. He is on sabbatical and had volunteered through the Camino Chaplaincy to assist pilgrims at the end of his first Camino from Seville on the Via de la Plata. Fr Pat also says a Pilgrims’ Mass every evening at 5.30 pm in neighbouring Terradillos de los Templarios. I joined 35 other pilgrims there a couple of evenings ago. There were pilgrims from Japan and France, Hungary and Scotland, Spain and Portugal, the Czech Republic and Canada, New Zealand and the United States. And maybe more I’ve forgotten. Just as pilgrims communicate on the Camino we communicated at Mass. Some in English, some in Spanish, a Belgian girl who spoke English translated for the French. The bible readings were in English and Spanish. Every one shared their name and nationality and something about their Camino experience. There were believers and searchers. Everyone felt welcome and I’m convinced everyone took something away at the end.
Some things have got to be said about this. First it is a team effort. You can’t have Mass without a priest volunteering, the priest can’t say Mass without the local community agreeing to their church being used, the church can’t be used without someone opening it, putting up posters about the Mass, ringing the bell and welcoming the pilgrims.
In Moratinos and Terradillos de los Templarios this service only exists through the work of Rebekah Scott and Paddy O’Gara of the Peaceable Kingdom in Moratinos. They host the priest, open the church and make it happen. But they do a huge amount more for pilgrims. Rebekah has a heart full of love for pilgrims, for humanity, and she dispenses that love unconditionally in a way I never could. She’s a strong woman, a leader, a fixer, a visionary. She also has the most loveable vulnerability and sensitivity. Grace, we know seeks out the sensitive because those hard of heart can be impervious. Her husband, collaborator and at times, accomplice, is a man of deep thinking who turns his corrosive wit to most subjects making conversation easy and arresting. I love his company. Paddy’s hobby is challenging bigots, ideologues and everyone else who thinks they “have all of the answers”. He challenges with a lot of logic and a huge amount of wit. Tell Paddy he is a good person and he will grumble and list all of his faults and failings. And yet all he does is exude decency. They both do. They are my friends. We’ve argued and disagreed and fought with each other. Mostly we agree. Love and mutual respect are the determining factors.
They are also servants of the Camino. When I visit I’ve taken to staying in the local hotel because I can never tell what might happen next at their house. One pilgrim might come to stay or like the other day 10 might cram in sleeping in every nook and cranny. That is their level of decency and selflessness. The other evening and for some weeks over the summer pilgrims will enjoy their own Pilgrims Mass on the Mesta because of Rebekah and Paddy. All we can do is say Thank You.
This is Fr Pat from New Zealand. He is on sabbatical and had volunteered through the Camino Chaplaincy to assist pilgrims at the end of his first Camino from Seville on the Via de la Plata. Fr Pat also says a Pilgrims’ Mass every evening at 5.30 pm in neighbouring Terradillos de los Templarios. I joined 35 other pilgrims there a couple of evenings ago. There were pilgrims from Japan and France, Hungary and Scotland, Spain and Portugal, the Czech Republic and Canada, New Zealand and the United States. And maybe more I’ve forgotten. Just as pilgrims communicate on the Camino we communicated at Mass. Some in English, some in Spanish, a Belgian girl who spoke English translated for the French. The bible readings were in English and Spanish. Every one shared their name and nationality and something about their Camino experience. There were believers and searchers. Everyone felt welcome and I’m convinced everyone took something away at the end.
Some things have got to be said about this. First it is a team effort. You can’t have Mass without a priest volunteering, the priest can’t say Mass without the local community agreeing to their church being used, the church can’t be used without someone opening it, putting up posters about the Mass, ringing the bell and welcoming the pilgrims.
In Moratinos and Terradillos de los Templarios this service only exists through the work of Rebekah Scott and Paddy O’Gara of the Peaceable Kingdom in Moratinos. They host the priest, open the church and make it happen. But they do a huge amount more for pilgrims. Rebekah has a heart full of love for pilgrims, for humanity, and she dispenses that love unconditionally in a way I never could. She’s a strong woman, a leader, a fixer, a visionary. She also has the most loveable vulnerability and sensitivity. Grace, we know seeks out the sensitive because those hard of heart can be impervious. Her husband, collaborator and at times, accomplice, is a man of deep thinking who turns his corrosive wit to most subjects making conversation easy and arresting. I love his company. Paddy’s hobby is challenging bigots, ideologues and everyone else who thinks they “have all of the answers”. He challenges with a lot of logic and a huge amount of wit. Tell Paddy he is a good person and he will grumble and list all of his faults and failings. And yet all he does is exude decency. They both do. They are my friends. We’ve argued and disagreed and fought with each other. Mostly we agree. Love and mutual respect are the determining factors.
They are also servants of the Camino. When I visit I’ve taken to staying in the local hotel because I can never tell what might happen next at their house. One pilgrim might come to stay or like the other day 10 might cram in sleeping in every nook and cranny. That is their level of decency and selflessness. The other evening and for some weeks over the summer pilgrims will enjoy their own Pilgrims Mass on the Mesta because of Rebekah and Paddy. All we can do is say Thank You.
