I’m welcoming 2021 with great enthusiasm. It’s time to turn the page on 2020 and get a fresh start. A lot changed in 2020 and it’s time to keep the new that is good, and discard the bad.

There’s another reason that 2021 is special: It is a Holy Year in Santiago, Spain. Tonight, on December 31, the Holy Door will be opened and remain open for the entire year. This only happens when St. James’ Feast Day (July 25th) falls on Sunday as it will in 2021.

I got to walk the Camino de Santiago in October 2019 and it was a very enlightening experience, with time to meet new friends, and also to learn a lot about myself. I walked the last 100km from Sarria and am very proud of the “Compostela” (certificate) that I have from the Pilgrim’s Reception Office verifying my journey. 

For 2021, the Holy Year, I want to rededicate my life to using the spiritual gifts that I’ve been given including focusing on prayer and intercession, healing, exhortation and wisdom. I’m not quite sure how God will use me this year, but I am ready to say “Yes!”.

This photo is of the Holy Door that I took when we completed our Camino in 2019. The term Holy Door comes from the words of Jesus from the Gospel according to St John 10:9- “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.” 

Walking through the Holy Door of the church means an attitude of welcoming, of gratitude, of asking for forgiveness, of giving thanks and of knowing for sure that we will be blessed.

I hope that I will get to walk again in Spain in 2021 and walk through the open Holy Door on a visit to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Whether I go in person, or continue to visit virtually, I want 2021 to be a year for me of welcoming others, of gratitude, of asking for forgiveness, of giving thanks, and for every day being reminded that I am blessed and loved by God.

This is my prayer for you also, my friend.

Blessings,
Agatha