vrijdag 24 april 2015

Nature's Hand


(photography : paul)
Walking towards a wishful dream,
By your side a crooked stream,
Above, the clouds are fluffy cream,
No longer do you want to scream.

The air it smells so sweet.
The birds go, twitter tweet.
Soft grass to place your feet.
You groove with nature's beat.

Out here, there are no cars.
Out here, there are no bars.
Nighttime brings you Venus, Mars;
Uncountable amounts of stars.

Take it all in friendly stride,
Don't ever feel you have to hide.
This is where you reach inside,
And spread your wings; feel them glide.

Your life is yours, not theirs to take.
Light a fire by the lake.
Always love, with whom you wake,
Never let your friendships break.

Always live without regret.
Don't give up, not now, not yet.
Know the future isn't set.
Appreciate what love you get.

I know that nature's trees are tall,
There's some you cannot climb at all-
Full in Spring 'til Autumn's Fall,
Covered in a winter shawl.

And as the seasons come and go,
You'll see the stream begin to grow.
Filled by your whole life you know,
Carried in the winds that blow.

Listen to the song it sings-
Love and peace is what it brings.
Sharing all the little things,
Smoothing over dents and dings.

That what living's all about.
Never fill it up with doubt.
Look real close to find this out-
Always seek the kinder route.

And you will see, my oldest friend,
This dreamy life, it has no end.
There's always more beyond the bend,

Nature's hand, a limb, to lend.

Carol Lafreniere

zaterdag 18 april 2015

Another virtual pilgrimage to the Holy Land

A few weeks ago I reported on mental pilgrimage. Today I'm adding a virtual pilgrimage.
From April 19 until the 25st the Jesuit priest James Martin visits The Holy Land and asks you to join his group, virtually.


(Source: America Media)
Youtube introduction:



Everyday a new video will be introduced following a journey to the places of Jesus's birth, life and resurrection.


(Source: America Media)

Read reflections and send in prayer requests.

maandag 13 april 2015

La Santa Compaña and O Apõstolo

I happen to live in the Netherlands. It happens to be a month where the animation movie O Apõstolo enters cinema's and theaters overhere.
So, this entry is about the Santa Compaña, the Holy Company. The pilgrimage of the dead.


(Source Wikimedia Lameiro)

This is the Santa Compaña, a procession of dead or lost souls wandering around the paths of a parish.
It's mission: to visit people who are going to die soon and claim their souls.

Santa Compaña is a mythical belief in parts of Spain, mainly in Galicia and Asturia. A living person leads the procession and it is often seen at crossroads.
Pilgrims, remember the howling dogs along the way? They herald the coming!

More info in the weblog My Galician garden.
More on Youtube in The Holy Company by Rafael Veiga Cid. (text like My Galician Garden!)

Also in the Youtube video Spooky camino of CaminoWays.com
Spanish spoken 
MISTERIO TV: La Santa Compaña

Now, towards O Apõstolo.


(Source: Artifilm)

This Spanish animation (stopmotion, 2012) is directed by Fernando Cortizo. The production took seven years, music composed by Philip Glass.

Ramón escapes prison and is heading for a small mountain village to find a buried treasure. he follows the Camino de Santiago and disguises himself as a pilgrim. The village is populated by just a few older people.
During the night he finds out there is a curse on the village: the 
Santa Compaña
The elderly are looking for new people to lead the procession of the ghosts, ghosts in eternal pain. Pilgrims passing by are a defenseless victims.
Together with the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela
Ramón discovers the secret of Santa Compaña. Will they escape alive? 
(my translation of dutch synopsis)

Original trailer (Latin, Spanish):



Dutch subtitled trailer:




Official site here
Dutch site here
IMDB info here


See also: Elisardo Becoña Iglesias, La Santa Compaña, El Urco y Los Muertos

dinsdag 7 april 2015

Another documentary Life in a Walk

It's not my intention to make this blog a New Video Introduction site!
But as this is what happens...


On the Newport Beach Film Festival (April 25-28) a new documentary on the Camino is introduced: Life in a Walk.

(Source: IMDB)

(Source: Website LiaW)

The plot summary from IMDB:
"Yogi Roth never wanted to say 'I wish I'd spent more time with my Dad.' After realizing he had not dealt with the emotion stemming from his father's battle with prostate cancer, Yogi invites his Dad on a walk along the Camino de Santiago that would change their lives forever."






And this link leads to the Facebook page.
And this one to their website.


The plot reminds me of the plot for the 2010 German movie "Ich trag dich bis ans Ende der Welt" where a woman follows her father on his way on the camino.


(Source: Amazon.de)


vrijdag 3 april 2015

Mental pilgrimage Bright Friday

Today is Bright Friday, easter friday.

Have you ever experienced a mental pilgrimage?
Some late medieval books provide texts and religious questions/exercises to follow a pilgrimage while staying at home. Sometimes these books even report the distances between the different stages.
Live the voyage to the fullest and follow the passion of Christ..

(Click image to see a larger version)


(Hans Memling, Passion of Christ                Source: Wikipedia)

To struggle after mental abstraction whilst bodily walking from place to place is exceedingly toilsome.
Felix Fabri, two time Jerusalem pilgrim, 1484


See also:
Martin Locker, Movement Through Stillness: Imagined Pilgrimage in Medieval Europe, Stasis in the Medieval World EMICS conference: April 2013

Kathryn Rudy, A guide to Mental Pilgrimage: Paris, Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte 63, 2000