People who travel the Camino de Santiago recognize several symbols representing a spiritual journey. These include symbols familiar to anyone who follows Jesus, pilgrim or not, and a one unique to this pilgrimage.

An Open Rucksack

A pilgrim shares with others and receives back. Often receiving is harder than giving, but we all have needs, and we need good people to walk alongside us. Look for opportunities to freely share and receive as you journey. A rucksack can symbolize our heart’s openness to giving and receiving

A Scallop Shell

This shell has long identified pilgrims. It was worn on the chest or hat, and also served as a spoon or a cup. How do we identify ourselves as followers of The Way, The Truth, and The Life today?

The Pilgrim’s Passport

A completed passport, issued only by the church, is necessary to receive your Compostela (completion certificate) in Santiago. You need at least 2 stamps per day to prove you walked at least 100 kilometers. Every kiosk or restaurant or hotel along the Camino stamps passports. It’s important to mark our road through life, and remember those who helped us along the way.

A Stone

Many pilgrims carry a small stone as a symbol of their sorrow, burden, pain or loss. After wrestling with these issues before the Lord, they lay the stone down somewhere along the path. What are you carrying that God might be inviting you to drop from your hand?

In Conclusion

As we begin to walk this week, I think of the words of Jesus when he told a crowd, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).

We face a physical challenge as we walk 70 miles this week, but for most of us our spiritual, emotional and mental burdens sink much deeper. Thankfully, Jesus’s yoke applies here first and foremost. Pull his gentle yoke across your neck and humbly learn from him.

That’s the way of the pilgrim, wherever we might walk.

Camino de Santiago 2023

Photo by Jon Tyson