“Cruz de Ferro” is a very significant landmark along the Camino de Santiago. Nearing the end of the journey, the pilgrim will come across a simple iron cross set on a tall wooden pole, atop a great mound of stones. For hundreds of years, pilgrims carry a stone with them from their home, and when arriving at this venerated spot, add their stone to the hill alongside those of other pilgrims and read the following prayer:
Oh Lord, may this stone, which I bring to this holy place, be a sign of my efforts on this pilgrimage to Santiago. When I reach my final judgment, tip the balance of my life in favor of my good deeds. I lay down this token, which I carry from my home. Please forgive my sins and help me carry my burdens in life. Amen.
Some pilgrims experience this gesture as symbolic of a burden or sorrow being left behind.
From the Mass reading this very day – 5/14/17:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings, but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…so that you may announce the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:4-9
I came into the Catholic Church in 1992 – 25 years ago. We were a group of twelve who were to be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. We were at our final retreat shortly before our reception of the Sacraments. One of our final activities of the retreat was an outdoor scavenger hunt. Who doesn’t love a scavenger hunt? We started out a group with detailed directions and we moved as a group for awhile, but soon we began to find more individual, “personalized” directions. At each spot we would discover a note with new clues where to search for the next item. In the end, we were split up and scattered all around the vast rural property of the retreat compound.
Following the final clue I had been given, I remember pushing aside a large rock next to a fallen log, and there I found a stone with my name on it. I remember looking around in wonder – thinking, “How did this get here, with MY NAME on it? Someone was expecting ME to find this stone – out here in the middle of nowhere!” It hit me like a ton of bricks. To me this meant that I had been chosen. It was not me that was doing the “choosing.” God had chosen ME! He was waiting for me! I took my stone, returned to my group (with tears of joy, of course) to find the others with their precious stones, likewise, in amazement of the brilliance of this exercise that had been planned for us. The lesson of that day never left me.
This stone has been near me ever since. At times it has been on my night table, other times on our home “shrine,” and as long as I’ve been teaching, it has been in my classroom. It is an important visible reminder of my spiritual journey. When I made the commitment to make this pilgrimage, there was never a question that this would be the stone that I will add to those of other pilgrims along “the Way.”
Will it be difficult to part with this stone? I don’t think so! Without my knowing it, of course, I believe that I kept it close for these past 25 years so that I would have it for this very purpose. It is the very best symbol of my effort on this amazing life journey.