7. Liesenfelder Jakobusweg / Am Radweg

Excursion: James and the Pilgrims The legends surrounding Saint James do not end with his death; quite the opposite. Numerous legends, especially in Spain, revolve around James. He is said to have been the apostle who preached on the Iberian Peninsula after the ascension of Jesus. According to another legend, fundamental to the cult of James in Santiago de Compostela, his disciples entrusted the apostle's body after his beheading to a ship without a crew, which later landed in Galicia in the northwest of Spain. Helpers then took him further inland. The grave then fell into oblivion. After its rediscovery in the 9th century, a chapel was built over it, later a church, and finally the cathedral, around which the pilgrimage site of Santiago de Compostela developed and to which the Camino de Santiago leads. (Source and further legends and studies on this: wikipedia.de) James is one of the most significant saints worldwide: Numerous cities (including Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de los Caballeros, and many others) as well as hundreds of churches dedicated to James bear his name. In both the Protestant and Catholic churches, the feast day of Saint James is July 25. When this falls on a Sunday, as it did in 2021, Santiago de Compostela celebrates a holy year. James is the patron of pilgrims. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make their way to Santiago de Compostela every year. In recent years, interest in pilgrimage has steadily increased—until Corona came. Liesenfelder Jakobusweg What fascinates people about pilgrimage? Only 11% of those who register at the pilgrimage office in Santiago state 'non-religious' as their motivation. 27% of arrivals are under 30 years old; 54% are between 30 and 60 years old. The proportion of women and men is almost equal. Germany is the nation that ranks third in the number of pilgrims with 8%, behind Italy (9%) and Spain (44%). (Source: https://www.pilgern.ch/jakobsweg/statistik/) From our own experience, we—the preparation team—can say:  Pilgrimage is a break from everyday life.  There is a special atmosphere, a special spirit on the way. Everyone is a pilgrim. There are no differences regarding origin, (professional) status, education, language, or attitude towards faith... everyone is equal.  Everyone walks the same path.  Everyone faces their own difficulties.  One helps the other. Pilgrimage is done in a large community. In our opinion, a special spirit becomes palpable here: the spirit of Jesus. We received this spirit at our baptism. Saint James experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit at the first Pentecost. Liesenfelder Jakobusweg After the death of Jesus, the disciples were initially left without courage. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read the following: The praying early church When they arrived in the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All of them were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 1:13-14 The courage to proclaim the good news came to the disciples only after Pentecost. We read about this in the next chapter of the Acts of the Apostles: The Pentecost event When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4 Impulse The Spirit of God is still at work today in those who are open to him. He can be experienced in good thoughts, ideas, and conversations. He can become palpable when people treat each other well, show interest in one another, journey together, live and believe together. Questions Where do I experience the Spirit of God in my life? This impulse was the last of this path. If you wish, you can return once more to Saint James, about whom you have now learned so much, in the chapel in Liesenfeld.