You are almost to Santiago and almost to Rome and almost done with your European romp! Keep walking, but also soak in the last drops of being on the Camino. Soon, change is coming and you'll be back here getting ready for NET. Before that, though, you'll get to see this gem:
And then, the even bigger magic:
One of my favorite parts is that on the floor, they mark the size of the other major churches in the world, so as you approach the altar, you'll see a line entitled "La Giralda" and "Santiago de Compostela" that indicate how much smaller their area is. St. Peter's Basilica is actually massive (the biggest in the world), but it's designed to not look too overwhelming, so it's built to look smaller than it is. My iconic Rome moment is the first time I stood in that square at nighttime. They light it up and seagulls are circling around the top of the church, as if to remind you that "the world's thy ship, not thy home" - St. Therese. Our chaplain walked us into the square, pointed to the obelisk and said that that pillar-looking thing is probably the last thing St. Peter saw before he saw the Lord. It was sitting just in front of his upside down crucifixion. Then, he walked us over to the spot, marked with a plaque, where JPII was shot, and pointed up to an image of Mary. JPII had it put in so that if anyone ever got shot there again, they would see Mary looking down at them and hope. Then, when you look up, you see statues of hundreds of saints looking down at you from the colonnade arms, which open to embrace pilgrims into the square. Fr. Justin reminded us how many holy people throughout history had walked into that square and stood exactly where we were standing, and now it was our turn. Now, we were the holy potential, and one day, when someone is writing the biography of our saintly lives, they'll mention that moment when we walked into St. Peter's and stood in the heart of the church.
There's so many more things I could say, but I want you to experience it for yourself. I can't wait to hear what you think. Wow. How many incredible things you are going to see in the next couple days. I hope that they are exactly what you need, and exactly what He wants for you. I'm praying, and I love you.
Ponder love today.
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