From the Pilgrim's Road: Letter 6
October 2024
My friends,
It’s been two months. How? I do not know. Things were, at times, quite the mess throughout August and into September, although I was home in Denver for much of that time, I was, and remain, in the midst of much change and growth. I’ll get into what that means another time, but for now, we have mission to discuss. It suddenly occurred to me the other day that I haven’t sent out anything since July, and July wasn’t even a true newsletter update, it was just a brief reflection on the Camino. This will be a true newsletter; an actual update on how this mission work which you so generously support, is going.
The month of August was largely spent on the Camino de Santiago: round 2. It’s amazing to me that something I had dreamt of doing for so long is now a regular part of my life (at least more regular than most people). I was supposed to go one more time this year, at the end of October into November, but even though that trip was canceled, two trips in one year is still incredible. Many pilgrims (even the tourist pilgrims) say it’s the most transformative experience of their lives, and I have had the immense privilege of being there for dozens and dozens of moments along The Way. I noticed, occasionally, a kind of disappointment with doing this incredible trip again so soon after my first time (which was everything I wanted it to be), but that’s an invitation. These trips, as much as I benefit from and love them, are not exclusively or even primarily for me. They are, at most, equal parts mine and others. So while it was occasionally disappointing to be re-living so many monumental moments, that disappointment was always relieved by remembering that walking the same roads to the same destination is meant to be shared with those I’m leading. It’s for both of us. In any case, this Camino was full of new and old friends, and while I did not go into or come out of it particularly happy in a personal sense, it was a gift to be there and walk nonetheless.
Later in August and early in September we took one class of high schoolers to the Flat Tops wilderness area in CO, and another down to New Mexico for the Chimayó pilgrimage. The Flat Tops backpacking was awesome. We had taken that same class of kids out camping back in the spring, so it was great to see them again, and we split the girls and guys into separate groups so my half of the trip felt a lot like being back in Boy Scouts, only as an adult leader. There’s something special about a guys’ trip into the wilderness — we almost certainly need it more than normal life affords it. Even on a purely physical level, high school boys have the energy to do basically anything so it was great to be able to push a group hard and really only let up as the sun went down. The best part is they weren’t even tired after a ten-plus mile day with 3000+ feet of pretty extreme elevation change. They’re a good group of kids, and it’s a blessing to be a consistent part of their high school experience.
I sadly do not have any photos to share from the trip to New Mexico because I just shot a roll of film the whole time, only to find out that I actually hadn’t shot any photos at all and the roll was blank when I dropped it off for development. That was pretty frustrating, but oh well, I guess I wasn’t meant to have those photos.
The trip was good though — it was actually a huge blessing for both the kids and us as guides. I’ve often said that our primary role as Creatio missionaries is to impart a truly, authentically religious worldview — and ultimately a Catholic one. I put it this way because yes, while it is absolutely imperative that we get as many people to the sacraments as possible, the reality of our situation in the modern world is that almost no one has the foundational worldview in which any religion makes sense. So, in an effort to start from the very beginning, the great value of a Creatio guide on a Creatio experience is what we might call re-sacralization. We lead people to encounter transcendence and beauty because that is where the religious impulse of man begins. Everything else follows from that beautiful and shining encounter with that which is both truly beyond us and strikingly real — especially in the world of intense immanence and endless abstraction. What the Creatio Experience is really doing is bringing you face-to-face with reality and inviting you to respond. That is something that the average American high school student rarely does (and to a degree they all know it). Despite the fact that these are Catholic school kids (better off than public school but not by much), they are still just like any other teenagers — trapped in a world of disturbing un-reality and an increasingly infantilizing culture. Seeing their response to the pilgrimage, the silence, our talks, and the place itself was incredible. Not all of them got there of course, but the ones who did went home speaking of real, profound, “impactful” encounters with God that they hadn’t had before. One girl said that the pilgrimage finally “made her faith real.”
Trips like this are an important reminder for us, I think. First of all, because most of the people I spend my time with these days are very Catholic and usually well-formed. These kids were neither of those things. There’s an opportunity there though — it tests the whole Creatio project. Can we actually impact people via these pilgrimages? Is our formation enough to respond to the signs, ills, and even joys of the times? How do we contend with other influences that contradict us both on the trail and at home? All of that is front and center when participants come to us with young, shallow, strained, or broken relationships with the Church. It’s a reminder for us missionary guides that our formation is enough to respond to the ever-evolving challenge of evangelization, and what we’re doing does matter.
Now, friends, after about a month at home, it’s finally time to set off on the road again. (I feel like that’s what I always say). I have one last marathon of trips before the season ends, Creatio hosts its fundraising gala in Denver1, and then I can rest for the off-season. First I’ll be headed to the Catskills in NY for the Eddie Adams Workshop; a photojournalism workshop I was supposed to go to last year but deferred on. That should be a good weekend of photo work back in the secular world, making connections (and seeing if I’ve still got it). Then I’ll come back west for two back-to-back trips down to Chimayó before flying east again for ten days in both CT and Syracuse! I’ll be around to visit donors, friends, and family at the beginning of my second year with Creatio, so I’ll see some of you in about a month! In the meantime, pray for me, know of my prayers for you, and I’ll plan to get more updates out as often as I can.
in statu viae
Ryan
It’d be great to see you there on November 15th! Whether you're in Colorado or across the country, check out the page on the link and let me know if you’d like to come celebrate this year of accompaniment with us! You’ve become part of the mission already as you’ve supported me throughout the past year.
Awesome photos, thank you.