A Trip to the Library Turned my Mind Toward Sacred Pilgrimages
Some time last year, I found a book at our local library’s book sale that looked interesting. Sacred Roads: Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail, by Nicholas Shrady is the author’s account of walking six different sacred pilgrimage sites. The pilgrimages include a hike to the source of the river Ganges, a trip to Medjugorje at Christmastime, a visit to the birthplace of the Buddha, a walk along the Way of St. James in Spain, and a journey to Rumi’s tomb in Iran. I kept the book on the shelf for many months until I decided that the time had come to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed the read and it was a perfect fit for my nighttime reading.
Sacred Roads is not devotional literature. It is more of a kind of travelogue that is highly respectful of each of the sacred roads the author travels, yet realistic in its accounts. The chapter titles give the reader a quick understanding of where the author is going:
Chapter One: A Christmas with the Virgin in Bosnia
Chapter Two: Meeting Mother Ganges
Chapter Three: In the Footsteps of the Buddha
Chapter Four: The Way of St. James
Chapter Five: A Sometimes Holy Land
Chapter Six: To Rumi’s Tomb
Before I began the book, I was particularly interested in two chapters listed in the table of contents: “In the Footsteps of the Buddha,” and “To Rumi’s Tomb.” In spite of the personal interests I brought with me to the book, I found that the chapters I enjoyed the most were the one describing the author’s trip down the Ganges (Chapter Two), and the one on The Way of St. James (Chapter Four).
While reading Nicholas Shrady’s account of the temple full of lights at Varanasi, India’s religious capitol, I had to search online for pictures. The same thing happened in my reading about the Way of St. James. I found myself seeking out images of the Cathedral in Leon and the one in Santiago de Compostela where, according to legend, the bones of St. James are interred.
Every chapter was fascinating. Shrady's accounts of his adventures peaked my interest with each journey. I was enthralled by the trek down the Ganges River, and later I was completely engaged in the pilgrimage through Spain along the Way of St. James. These were unexpected joys, which always makes for a memorable reading encounter.
While reading Nicholas Shrady’s account of the temple full of lights at Varanasi, India’s religious capitol, I had to search online for pictures. The same thing happened in my reading about the Way of St. James. I found myself seeking out images of the Cathedral in Leon and the one in Santiago de Compostela where, according to legend, the bones of St. James are interred.
Every chapter was fascinating. Shrady's accounts of his adventures peaked my interest with each journey. I was enthralled by the trek down the Ganges River, and later I was completely engaged in the pilgrimage through Spain along the Way of St. James. These were unexpected joys, which always makes for a memorable reading encounter.
El Camino de Santiago
I had very little previous knowledge of the Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago) prior to reading Shrady's book. In addition to seeking out images online, I recalled having read about the movie, The Way, directed by Emilio Estevez and starring his father, Martin Sheen along with Estevez. I remembered at the time being interested in this father/son cinematic project. After I finished Shrady’s book, I looked for the movie. I happened to find it online on YouTube. It is a Spanish release, so the credits are in Spanish, but the dialogue is in English.
The Way, is about a successful American doctor (played by Martin Sheen) who learns that his son (played by Sheen’s real life son, Emilio Estevez) has died in an accident while hiking in the French Pyrenees Mountains on the first leg of the journey along the Way of St. James.
At the beginning of the movie, we learn through flash backs about the father’s strained relationship with his son. The father, who at first planned only to fly to France in order to bring his son’s body home, decides instead to finish the trip that his son started.
As the movie unfolds, we meet others who are on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. A few of those travelers band together and travel along the pilgrimage route with Martin Sheen’s character. We learn that The Way of St. James has been walked by pilgrims for over a thousand years. We also see some of the reasons that modern day pilgrims make the journey, and we get a glimpse of the local people encountered along the way.
At the beginning of the movie, we learn through flash backs about the father’s strained relationship with his son. The father, who at first planned only to fly to France in order to bring his son’s body home, decides instead to finish the trip that his son started.
As the movie unfolds, we meet others who are on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. A few of those travelers band together and travel along the pilgrimage route with Martin Sheen’s character. We learn that The Way of St. James has been walked by pilgrims for over a thousand years. We also see some of the reasons that modern day pilgrims make the journey, and we get a glimpse of the local people encountered along the way.
The Way, like Sacred Roads, is not intended to be devotional and would not be a “religious” movie, per se, though it is set in the context of a religious pilgrimage. It is, however, a spiritual movie in that we see a man begin to open up to what his son must have been about, and begin to see some important things about life that he has walled himself off from in his life as a successful doctor.
I recommend The Way for its beautiful photography, its explanation to viewers about the Way of St. James, and most important, for its engaging story with several underlying plot lines involving the travelers who have come together in their pilgrimage (one reviewer on Amazon.com called it a delightful modern day Canterbury Tales).
For anyone interested in the idea of religious pilgrimage but not religious propaganda, I can recommend Shrady's book as well as Estevez's movie. Shrady provides us with the fascinating details of pilgrimage in different faith traditions. Estevez shows us the meaningful human drama that takes place when people make connections and open up to themselves and the lives of those around them.
For anyone interested in the idea of religious pilgrimage but not religious propaganda, I can recommend Shrady's book as well as Estevez's movie. Shrady provides us with the fascinating details of pilgrimage in different faith traditions. Estevez shows us the meaningful human drama that takes place when people make connections and open up to themselves and the lives of those around them.
Details:
Sacred Roads: Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail, by Nicholas Shrady
Hardcover, 268 pages
Published April 1st 1999 by HarperOne
ISBN 0060671122 (ISBN13: 9780060671129)
The Way
PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
Release date: October 7, 2011 (USA)
Director: Emilio Estevez
Screenplay: Emilio Estevez
Executive producers: Janet Sheen, Julio Fernández
Producers: Emilio Estevez, David Alexanian, Julio Fernández
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