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Sunday, September 04, 2005
Trailing St. Ignatius
By Ruby Lim
A group of 21 parishioners from Sacred Heart Parish, together with their parish priest and pilgrimage chaplain, Fr. Benjamin Sim, S.J., landed in Rome early morning of July 4 to start their 18-day “Spiritual Journey Following the Footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. Why did we choose this route and what is so special about St. Ignatius? Although we know him as the founder of the Society of Jesus and the author of the renowned ”Spiritual Exercises”, we know little of his life other than that he was a soldier and a worldly man before his conversion.
According to Fr. Joe Quilongquilong, S.J. who accompanied us from Rome, "St. Ignatius was the silent guide who led everyone to encounter the Lord in his diverse ways during the pilgrimage”.
Right after we touched down, Augusto and Beth Go, Lily Ngochua, Norma Uysiuseng, Dyan and Sabas Suarez, Nora Mabasa, Betty Cobonpue, Leilani Chong, and myself accompanied by Fr. Ben and Fr. Joe rushed to see the tomb of Pope John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica before the queue became too long.
Salud Young, Erlinda Omandam, Catherine and Genevieve Hermoso, Grace Gotiong, Patrick and Celina Chua, Lillian Tan, Mona Lee, Naty Castillo and Serge Lim decided to see the Sistine Chapel and other treasures of the Vatican. We also took time to visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major where St. Ignatius celebrated his first Mass at the Chapel of the Manger. That night we were treated to a surprise dinner hosted by our very own ambassador to the Vatican at her apartment.
The weather cooperated all the way: cool in the early morning, warm but never humid at noon and with a tingling cool breeze in the evenings which made strolling along the shoreline in Nice, walking through the ancient town of Sienna, Assisi, Toledo, Madrid and Paris just perfect.
From Rome to Paris, from boutiques to shopping centers, nothing could distract us from the virtue of St. Ignatius. With little effort, Beth, Norma and Lily stayed on track and focused on the daily spiritual reflections and evening examen, constantly amazed by the life of this great Basque saint. This was the first pilgrimage where we were blessed by a spiritual director (Fr. Ben) and an ecclesiastical and cultural guide (Fr. Joe).
The beauty of the shrines and cathedrals always leaves one in awe of the richness of our tradition and our Catholic faith. It was easy to forget Prada, Ferragamo, Gucci on sale and the Spanish Steps when we celebrated our first Mass at the quarters of St. Ignatius in Rome.
From Rome our itinerary took us to the shrines of St. Francis and St. Claire in Assisi stopping in the picturesque town of Sienna to visit the Cathedral of St. Catherine. Then it was onwards to Pisa and the famous Leaning Tower before reaching Monaco and Nice. We walked along the coastline of Nice in the evening topped by champagne and pizza pie in the town square. Then onwards to Barcelona passing through the picturesque town of Sienna. From Barcelona we traveled to Manresa.
It was here in a cave (now a holy site enshrined inside the Church) where St. Ignatius spent 10 months and wrote the fundamentals of “Spiritual Exercises”. And just outside the shrine was the River Cardoner where St. Ignatius experienced a “vision”, an encounter with our Lord that enabled Ignatius to find God in all things. In Montserrat, we were greeted by a breathtaking view of the mountain range (mont) surrounding the Benedictine monastery and Church of the miraculous Black Madonna. This was where St. Ignatius after a night of vigil decided to offer his sword and dagger to Our Lady. However, the sword has been returned to the Jesuits in Barcelona and we were privileged to have been the first group of pilgrims from the Philippines to view the sword at the Church of Belen.
We soaked in the splender of the Basilica of the famous Nuestra Senora del Pillar (patroness of Zamboanga) in Zaragoza and walked through beautiful Toledo, a Heritage Site reflecting a fusion of Christian, Jewish and Moorish cultures and also the home of El Greco. When we reached Burgos, it was time to taste Spain’s famous Jamon Serrano and the group lost no time in buying up the store’s inventory of ham. By this time we already had a heightened sense of St. Ignatius and so when we reached Pamplona where the saint had his first “canonization”, the group excitedly looked for the marker where he got hit by a canonball. Our arrival coincided with a bull-run since it was the Feast of St. Fermin and the townspeople were all dressed in red scarves and white shirts.
We walked through the holy house of St. Ignatius in Loyola, solemnly passing through the castle’s room where he was born. At the Chapel of Conversion we heard Mass. This was where St. Ignatius recuperated after being wounded and experienced a conversion after reading the books (on display in a rack) describing the lives of the saints.
The visit was too short but we had to reach Lourdes before nightfall. After nights in Lourdes which gave us enough time to experience the spring bath and the evening procession we reached Paris where our Ignatian pilgrimage climaxed at Montmarte. Here, St. Ignatius and his first companions including St. Francis Xavier and Peter Faber took their first vows, offering themselves completely to God.
After visiting the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Cathedral and the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal to view the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure we said our goodbyes as we took different routes home. Some of us went to Prague to visit the Shrine of the Infant Jesus (Sto. Nino Shrine). Despite the long travel, we came home not tired but invigorated by our personal experiences of God as we continue as pilgrims on our journey of faith.
(September 4, 2005 issue)
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