The Camino de Santiago, by Gabriel Ringwald

This life is a journey. We will have many experiences throughout our life, be they good or bad. One thing remains certain: we need to be spiritually in a personal relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ. When I get a chance to hear a talk about something related to our Catholic faith, you’ll see me there trying to learn more and get closer to God. I receive the Lord in the Eucharist into my body to bring me closer to Heaven and give me the graces needed to complete this journey successfully. But all of that being said, would someone go on a pilgrimage that would take a seasoned hiker 30 days to walk, to get closer to God?

The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage that is walked by about 400,000 people every year! Camino means “the way,” which makes it “the way of Santiago”. The Camino de Santiago is a 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the cathedral where the remains of St. James the Apostle is enshrined. St. James, the son of Zebedee, was the elder brother of St. John. St. James was martyred by King Herod in Jerusalem, making him the first apostle to die.

One of the most traveled routes of the Camino is “Camion Frances”. That route starts at the border of France in St. Jean Pied de Port. That means it is about 800 kilometers or about 470 miles to the endpoint, which is the Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica.

Tradition in the Catholic Church is crucial to our faith. Sacred Tradition comes from Christ. It’s the full, living gift of Christ to the Apostles, faithfully handed down through each generation. It is through Tradition that the Holy Spirit makes the Lord present among us, offering us the very same saving Word and Sacraments that he gave to the Apostles. The word “tradition” means handing down something to another person. The tradition of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage was handed down from generation to generation so that we can take the journey of a lifetime to grow closer to God.

The Tantum Ergo, by Emma Bidelspach

The Tantum Ergo is a Latin chant prayer sung before the Benediction during Eucharistic Adoration. Tantum Ergo means “only then”, because only during Adoration and Mass we get to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. The Tantum Ergo was written by St. Thomas Aquinas in 1264. The Tantum Ergo is actually part of a longer hymn, the Pange Lingua, that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote for the feast of Corpus Christi. In 1570, Pope Pius V added the Tantum Ergo to the Roman Missal. This made the Tantum Ergo an official hymn, therefore making it more well known and more commonly sung around the world.

Cope vs. Surplice, by Avery Bidelspach

A cope and a surplice are both vestments worn in the Catholic church for different reasons.

A cope is a full length, cape-like vestment that is made from a large semi-circular piece of cloth. It is fastened in the front by a chain or brooch called a morse. A cope can be white, green, or red depending on the time of the liturgical season. The word cope comes from the Latin word cappa, meaning “hood or cape”. A cope is worn over a surplice or alb by a priest or deacon during the final blessing of Eucharistic Adoration. A cope is also worn during a Eucharistic procession.

A surplice is a white outer vestment that is worn by priests, deacons, choristers, seminarians, and altar servers. A surplice is a mini alb that symbolizes the white garment worn at baptism. The word surplice comes from the medieval Latin word superpellcium. Super means “over” and pellcium means “fur garment”. The surplice was first used in the twelfth century in place of the alb for administering sacraments and blessings. Surplices are ornamented with embroidery or lace on the sleeves and hem.

Copes and surplices can both be used during adoration and many other times throughout the liturgical season.

Daniel the Prophet, by Thomas M. Cabeen

Throughout the Old Testament we hear of many men and women who subjected themselves to God’s will. Daniel was one of these men, a man who let himself be an instrument in God’s divine plan.

Daniel was a youth when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieged Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Once Jerusalem and all of Israel were defeated, it was the king’s wish to have the young, unblemished, handsome, fit, and wise men of Israel brought to his court to be taught the languages and to serve in the king’s court. Daniel and his three fellow Jews, Hananiah, Misha-el, and Azariah, were among these youths. When presented with unclean food from the king’s table, the four men refused the food and ate only vegetables. Even though they ate less rich food then the other youths, through the grace of God they became the healthiest, wisest, and most learned in Babylon, and to Daniel God gave the gift of interpreting visions and dreams. The king was very impressed with the four men and made them his chief advisers.

In his second year as king, Nebuchadnezzar had disturbing dreams. He commanded that all the wise men and magicians in Babylon tell him his dream and interpret it. None could.

In the king’s rage he commanded that all wise men and magicians be killed. Daniel and his friends asked if they could attempt to interpret the king’s dream; Daniel succeeded, with God’s help. The king was amazed and promoted Daniel to Ruler of the Province of Babylon. The king had another dream years later, which Daniel also interpreted.

When Nebuchadnezzar died, his son Belshazzar became king and threw a feast. During the feast Belshazzar took vessels stolen from the temple in Jerusalem and defiled them. A hand mysteriously appeared and wrote on the wall words that the king and his wise men could not understand. Daniel was called and he read the inscription which told that the kingdom was at an end. The king had been weighed in the scales and been found wanting, and Babylon would be divided among the Meads and Persians. That night Belshazzar was killed by Darius the Mede. Darius took the throne and became king of Babylon.

Darius knew of Daniel’s wisdom and made him Principal over the kingdom. Because of this, Darius’ advisers were jealous of Daniel and had Daniel, through trickery, thrown into a pit of lions on the pretense that he had refused to worship the king. Daniel survived the night by God’s favor, and Darius had the wicked advisers thrown into the pit.

During all these events Daniel had visions from God which are recorded in the book of Daniel. They tell of ancient beasts, rams, goats, and horns, all which God interpreted for Him. The visions were a consolation for the persecuted Israelites, as well as a warning of the difficult times and the coming of the Messiah. Other stories are told of Daniel: how he saved a Jewish woman named Susanna from evil men who accused her on false charges, how he proved the trickery of the priest of Bel, and of how he slayed a dragon that the Babylonians worshiped. All the stories and accounts of Daniel’s life tell of a man in God’s service who was an instrument of the Lord in His plan for His Chosen People and His Church.

St. James the Greater, by Evelyn Wagner

We don’t know anything about James the Greater’s early life. We do know that he is the son of Zebedee and Salome, and his brother is the apostle John. The title “the Greater" was added to help us tell him apart from the other apostle James. James the Greater was believed to be taller than James the Lesser.

James the Greater first met Jesus when he was fishing with his brother John and his father Zebedee. They were fishing at the Sea of Galilee and had no luck all day, but Jesus came to the shore and told them to dip their nets in the water one more time. You can imagine that they probably thought that Jesus was crazy because they’d been doing it for hours with no luck, but they decided to obey Jesus and put their nets in the water and miraculously, there were tons of fish in the net! So many that they almost sank the boat. After that day, James and John followed Jesus.

Later, James was one out of the three disciples to witness Jesus’s Transfiguration and another time when James and his brother John wanted to call fire upon a Samaritan town, they were both rebuked by Jesus.

Following Christ’s ascension, James traveled across Israel and the Roman kingdom spreading the gospel and sharing the good news. He traveled throughout Spain as well and spread the word of God for nearly 40 years.

One day, as James prayed, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and asked him to build her a church. She didn’t mean a physical church, but she meant for him to build up the Catholic church and spread the word of God.

Later in life, James returned to Jerusalem but was martyred by King Herod who beheaded him for his faith. He died in the year 44 A.D. St. James the Greater is known as the first apostle to die. His remains were taken to Compostela, Spain by some of his followers following his death and they buried him there.

In the ninth century, his remains were discovered and moved to a tomb in Santiago de Compostela. You can go and see his remains at the Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica. Since Santiago de Compostela is the most frequently visited pilgrimage site after Rome and Jerusalem, Pope Leo declared it a shrine.

St. James was beatified in August of 1624 by Pope Urban VII. He was canonized in December of 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is the patron saint of pilgrims and Spain. His feast day is July 25.

Good News Team and Contributors

Editor in Chief: Thomas M. Cabeen

Co-President: Ryan Hanson

Webmaster: Benjamin Wells

Contributors: Avery Bidelspach, Emma Bidelspach, Evelyn Wagner, Benjamin Wells, Alex Hanson, Gabriel Ringwald, Ryan P. Hanson, Mary Catherine Vallejo

Poet: Benjamin Cabeen

Head of Distribution: Benjamin Cabeen

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