(Salceda to Lavacolla: 18 km, 6 hours, with 1 hr & 10 min breaks; 26,795 steps, plus 1700 later)

1Peter 2:4-12
v. 6-7a For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious….

Tomorrow is the day we’ve been walking toward for six weeks. We will walk down from the Monte de Gozo, the Mount of Joy, into Santiago, through the streets of the old city, then down and around into the plaza where the cathedral stands, its stone towers soaring into the sky. Up the stairs, through the Portico of Gloria carved over 800 years ago, there is a pilgrim mass twice a day. In a crypt below the main altar is a silver casket containing the relics of Saint James, Santiago. But these ancient stones and beautiful shrines are not where our hope lies. Our salvation is found in Jesus, the “chosen and precious cornerstone,” the living Stone set by the Father as the foundation and head of the church, the One through whom all things were created and in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-20). “The one who trusts in him will never be put to shame,” writes Peter. Dear Jesus, thank you for the beauty of the arts and for the remembrances of the saints that point to you.

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