“I am about to share here a story about stars that dance. . . . If the very thought of seeing stars dance piques your curiosity at some deep level of your soul, then pay attention to what follow
“I am about to share here a story about stars that dance. . . . If the very thought of seeing stars dance piques your curiosity at some deep level of your soul, then pay attention to what follows, for the walk to the Field of Stars, to Santiago de Compostela, is a journey that has the power to change lives forever.”
-- from the introduction
“Pilgrimage” is a strange notion to our modern, practical minds. How many of us have walked to a distant holy place in order to draw nearer to God? Yet the pilgrimage experience is growing these days in various parts of the world.
Seeking to take stock of his life, Kevin Codd set out in July 2003 on a pilgrimage that would profoundly change his life. To the Field of Stars tells the fascinating story of his unusual spiritual and physical journey on foot across Spain to Santiago de Compostela, the traditional burial place of the apostle James the Greater. Each brief chapter chronicling Codd's thirty-five-day trek is dedicated to one or two days on the road. Codd shares tales of other pilgrims, his own changes of perspective, and his challenges and triumphs along the way -- all told with a disarming candor.
Seen through the eyes of a Catholic priest who honors the religious worldview that originally gave rise to these medieval odysseys, “pilgrimage” comes to life and takes on new meaning in these pages.
Martin Sheen
"In this wonderful book Father Codd brilliantly captures for us the essence of pilgrimage. He is a candid and engaging guide to the physical realities involved — the beauty of nature, the aches and pains of weariness, and other pilgrims along the way. More than that, though, he reveals the interior journey, equally difficult and equally rewarding. It is a spiritual and emotional trek on which pilgrims are confronted with their own broken humanity and come face to face with the God they seek."
Tom Korologos
— Former U.S. Ambassador to Belgium
"Father Kevin Codd's fascinating, thirty-five-day pilgrimage comes to life, step by physical and mental step, in this remarkable book about his 500-mile adventure-filled trek to fulfill a dream. I found myself joining, indeed even pulling for, this limping American pilgrim Catholic priest telling about his challenges and triumphs of body and spirit. I even got sympathy blisters on my feet as I joined him on the twisted road to Santiago. Written in the tradition of a Hemingway. Bravo, Father Codd!"
Commonweal
“Both a pilgrimage journal and a priest’s wonderfully unsentimental meditation on faith.”
Worship
“The fascinating story of the thirty-five days and nights spent traversing the camino. . . .Beautifully written.”
Spirit & Life
“To say that this book is a delightful experience is putting it far too mildly. It is rather a high spiritual adventure as one travels day by day, mile by mile to the famous Spanish shrine of St. James, along with the author and many of the pilgrims he meets and loves along the way. . . . May this inspirational book find a wide readership and bring its message of love and faith to a world sorely in need.”
The Pilgrim (Belgium)
“To the Field of Stars has become a travelogue that disarms by its lack of pretense, and enthralls by its sincerity. “
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