When my wife and I walked the Camino de Santiago - majority of our waking hours - focused on the trail - where we were - where we wanted to be - the path - the obstacles. Our number one priority - our well being - staying safe in a foreign country - following our guide book - staying on a well marked trail - speaking a foreign language that we were not fluent in. In the large cities - English readily spoken - in the villages - hamlets - no hablo ingles. Walking in the mountains - valleys - through - the backyard of Northern Spain - in between the thousands of steps - our time dotted with - prayer. We prayed so many - Rosaries - Divine Mercy Chaplets - free form prayers - that we lost count. When you have been married to your trekking partner for forty-four years - not a lot to talk about - so prayers flowed like water. Our basic day - from eight o'clock in the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon - eight hours daily - on the trail. At a minimum we spent six hours daily in prayer. In that time as we drew closer to - Jesus - God - we also drew closer to each other. One giant prayer experience that lasted over thirty days.
In Lent - if we are very diligent - most may be able to accumulate some one hundred twenty hours of prayer time - over the course of forty days. On the Camino in ten days less - some eighteen hundred hours. The goal in Lent is to find ways to add more prayer time into our lives. In truth the goal in Lent - more prayer time - not the number of hours spent in prayer. All of us are busy - have obligations that fill the hours of our days - prayer time - a luxury. Adding additional time in prayer - a win - a successful accomplishment. In those prayers - for ourselves - for others - for specific needs - all excellent. In prayer - we immerse our minds - link our thoughts - with God. In those minutes - hours - we connect with the Creator of Life - we make our Lenten experience - meaningful.
Deacon Dale
