Walking the Camino of Life

By Ascension Mena

All the events in my life, both good and bad, seem to have coalesced into a very long complicated math equation at this point in my life. Holy Trinity Retreat Center and the Camino de Santiago seem to symbolize the answer to this very complicated equation. All the roads have led me here and I would not change a thing. Holy Trinity Retreat Center was my hardest test because there were so many stories within stories. The Lord called me to build this Holy place and I am humbled that I was chosen. The I includes my wonderful wife and kids, and without them, I wouldn't have completed the task. Amazingly, my wife's illness gave us all strength, her hope gave us hope, strength, and faith. If we have done good in this world, and if we have made this a better world, we may be content that we have lived the Gospel and we may pray that the Lord will recognize us when we meet Him. Did we feed and clothe the poor? Did we give all that we could give and then some? The only reason and the main reason I wrote this book is to glorify God, to testify that I was a witness to the power of the Lord. That is what I found and that is all I need to know.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781098002022

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Walking the Camino of Life

Ascension Mena

Copyright © 2019 by Ascension Mena

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

El Camino de Dios

El Camino de Dios

I learned about El Camino de Santiago in 2012 when I saw the movie The Way, starring Martin Sheen and his son, Emilio Estevez. I was touched by the spirituality of the events in the movie, and it sparked an interest that culminated into a pivotal phase of my faith life. At that time, I was very deep into my faith journey, and I was discovering a very powerful spirituality that was transforming me into a fisher of men. It was another ingredient that I needed to make me whole. Peregrinos or Pilgrims have been walking this Pilgrimage Walk for centuries in Europe, mainly in northern Spain. It officially starts at St. Jean Pied du Port in France, goes over the Pyrenees Mountains to Roncesvalles, Spain, and continues across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela, circa 480 miles. Since then, I have walked the Camino a total of seven times. I have been on the Camino by myself twice, with my brothers Roberto Truax, Johnny Casarez, Jorge Valenzuela, Jesse Marrufo, and Elias Torrez on my other Walks. My wife, Mimi, my daughter, Gaby, and my son, Angel Edward, have also completed the Walk with me. The Walk allows you to see time in a whole new dimension, distance as a variable of how you see time and self-awareness of feelings that you hold deep in your being.

On the Camino with my Acts Brother and neighbor Elias

On the Camino with my brothers, Roberto and Jorge

Jesse, Roberto, Johnny. Great company on the Camino