By Dr. Michael Campos, High School Religion, Theology and Spirituality Faculty
Seminar 3, Day 6: I am Shared
Having reached the final day of the Seminar, we opened the day by returning to the “source” — right at the gates of Sophie’s Farm. If Sr. Lydia opened the week with a reflection on the land, I invited all to re-view and re-trace the same places through “new eyes.” Theologian and Maryknoll sister, Joanne Doi, once wrote of pilgrimage as a re-encounter with trauma in ways that open to new life. Drawing from her own return to Manzanar — the site of her parents’ incarceration during the Japanese internment in World War II — Doi uncovered a process of transformation rooted in one’s journey to the core of trauma and its possibility for conversion.
We traced our way from Lucky’s Vermiculture Center to Sophie’s Pathway — where we remembered the sense of “freedom” that defined Sophie’s life. Similar to the previous pilgrimage, we visited the Pet Cemetery, lighting candles to remember all living things who/that have so enriched our lives. At the top of the Sacred Heart Shrine, we recalled the image of a “mountain” so central to any pilgrimage. In Hebrew grammar, there is a specific verb associated with one’s journey to Jerusalem–the center of the world. One “goes up” — not goes to — the center. One rises from the ordinary to enter the heart of the world. Having thus encountered what is most essential one more time, through new eyes, and with some familiarity with the land, participants returned to the Village “clubhouse” for our last breakfast. Maupay nga aga!
Photos by Dr. Michael Campos, Religion, Theology & Spirituality, Faculty
The final day brought us back into the collective heart of S&S. We gathered in a circle to name moments of pain and thanksgiving. Each participant shared in the language intimate to one’s heart — English, Tagalog, Ninorte Samarnon, even French. It was obvious that each group learned to cultivate ways to care for one another. Members who were more outspoken offered support to those less inclined to speak; participants who were moved to share personal trauma found comfort among friends who created large enough spaces to listen deeply. Natural leaders emerged from each group; a sense that we were part of a bigger “story” became more palpable as personal narratives flowed into the universal story of a common humanity.
At day’s close, we gathered for another feast. Dances and songs punctuated the sharing of food and drink. Staff members and scholars performed traditional dances, but one, in particular, proved especially spectacular — Sr. Digna joined in a Muslim dance featuring a princess being carried along on a pair of bamboos, a veritable pilgrimage! As Sr. Digna gracefully flicked her wrists in an elaborate fan dance, others quietly gathered behind her holding signs of “Thank You” and “We Love You” — mark her final night at Sophie’s Farm. At the beginning of August, Sr. Digna — who previously served as RSCJ canonical leader in the Philippine district — will be moving to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for a new assignment.
Sr. Lydia concluded the evening by leading the community in free dance, culminating in a ritual singing of Pass It On. Having found ourselves at the Center, to what is essential, participants — now, pilgrims — shared the candle’s flame to illuminate a common life. Bathed in light, humanity and God, God and creation, pain and hope, joy and sorrow flow into a momentary oneness, an integration into the possible. Blessed, broken and shared, we were ready to be sent.
Convent & Stuart Hall Travel 