In the Footsteps of Leaders
June 14, 2022
Hotel Sindika, Oñati, Spain
Day 3 of the Following in the Footsteps of Leaders Pilgrimage
It’s 4:03 AM. I can’t sleep. My hotel room is stifling and humid. The sheets are damp with sweat, sticking to my legs. The mattress is uncomfortably warm beneath my body and my head hot on the dense pillow. After tossing, just trying to get comfortable, I decide to get up slowly and, I hope, quietly, so as not to wake my roommate. Tiptoeing across the cold tiled floor, I make my way outside, gently opening the glass door, and escaping to the terrace. The night air is instantly cool against my skin. I walk to the fenced edge, mesmerized by the last glimpse of the moon as it settles behind the mountains. Its glow lingers, lighting the darkness with an exquisite white brightness, sharply outlining the ridges of the Aizkorri mountains, outshining all the stars. Someone has left out a deck chair and I rearrange it westward to face the moonlight, sit comfortably, breathe in deeply, and allow myself to settle into the vastness of the night. God’s presence surrounds me and envelops me. I feel so incredibly small as I consider the splendor of Aranzazu, of all that is before me, above and below me.
I imagine Saint Ignatius of Loyola in these mountains, basking in the moonlight, feeling the intimacy of God cradling and comforting him, his heart bursting with God’s overwhelming love for him. Maybe he spent time too reflecting on his past, thinking about the days ahead, praying as he traversed and explored the mountain, and ultimately, experiencing God’s glory in this holy place.