A few months ago we rented The Way, the story of “a father (Martin Sheen), who goes overseas to recover the body of his estranged son (Emilio Estevez) who died while traveling El Camino de Santiago, and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.” I liked the story, but I loved the cinematography, especially the depiction of the enormous swinging incensor at the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela!
Macro- and micro-pilgrimages intrigue me. When you physically go from point A to point B, and in some cases from point C to point D and on and on, you’re not just sitting there daydreaming; you’re journeying, you’re walking, you’re crawling, you’re moving along a path, a way, which for some symbolizes The Path or The Way.
Are there practical applications? There may well be. Here’s one I’ve considered for years. Clearly, the ecclesiological and mathematical wrinkles would need to be ironed out, but that’s why God made focus groups.
In closing, let’s us reflect upon the words of Dean Martin: “If you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt.”