Last Saturday, May 17, Giam Umil gave a short get-together on the Holy Land. Using pictures of her family’s Holy Week pilgrimage to Jordan, Jerusalem, and Egypt, she painted us a picture of the Way of the Cross. She shared a lot of stories about the different places she visited, and many of the insights she gained along the way. Since you don’t hear about the Holy Land every day, many of us in the audience were surprised to know how well these places were preserved, and how many devotees flock there each year. We were very much struck by all her pictures, because they helped us imagine more vividly the scenes of the Passion, and helped us understand the circumstances of Gospel more deeply. For example, it was interesting to know how far Jesus had to walk to Calvary, all the way outside the walls of the city. Giam showed us a picture she took outside the city, where her tour guide showed them the route from Gethsemane to Calvary, all through the winding streets and alleyways of Jerusalem. Jesus’ walk to Caiphas’ house must have been difficult, especially after praying for a whole night in agony – Giam showed us pictures of the stairs and the rough terrain leading there.
Giam’s stories and the sharing of her experiences helped us to be somewhat closer to the Holy Land, though not many of us may get the chance to really go there. It’s good that the get-together helped us keep the Holy Land in mind, as well as Saxum, which is still being constructed.
At the end of her get-together, she showed a short video on the life of soon-to-be Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, one of the inspirations behind Saxum. Her get-together was a mini-Saxum, in that it helped us (as the description of the Saxum Conference Center reads) “enter into the life of Christ so that ‘we can close our eyes and contemplate His life, watching it like a movie.’”
Bianca Maranon
An incoming Freshman at the University of Asia & the Pacific who attends and helps organize activities at Narra Nueva Study Center.
Narra Nueva 