When we think of beauty on the Camino, we often imagine grand vistas — rolling hills, Gothic cathedrals, and golden light falling on ancient stones.
And yes, those moments exist.
But more often, beauty comes in small, almost invisible ways.
It’s a flower growing in a crack on the path.
It’s a pilgrim handing you water before you even realize you’re thirsty.
It’s a bowl of soup served without a word, just when you’ve run out of energy.
We begin our pilgrimages — both literal and spiritual — thinking we know what we’re looking for.
Clarity.
Healing.
Peace.
But the Camino has its own lessons.
And one of the first is this:
Grace doesn’t wait for perfect conditions.
It shows up anyway.
Psalm 72 gives us this vision:
“May righteousness flourish, and peace abound, until the moon is no more.”
That’s not a prayer for the spectacular.
It’s a prayer for sustained beauty.
For justice and peace to quietly take root in the everyday moments of our lives.
And maybe that’s the truest miracle of all:
Not that something big and flashy happens…
But that the Spirit keeps showing up in the small things.
So here’s today’s Camino invitation:
Slow down.
Notice.
Let yourself be surprised.
Because the beauty you weren’t looking for?
That might be the grace you actually came for.
Pilgrim’s Prayer: For the Beauty I Didn’t Expect
Holy One,
I came seeking answers,
but you met me with beauty.
In a smile,
in a gesture,
in the silence between steps —
You were there.
Teach me to walk slowly enough
to see the grace that grows in small places.
Open my heart to the unexpected,
and let peace take root in me
until the moon is no more.
Amen.