Miss-Delectable
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Catholic San Francisco
In 2009, I went to France for the annual Eucharistic celebration of the Paris deaf community. Seeking an opportunity to meet American deaf people, some of the community’s French members asked if it would be possible to come back to France with a group.
That trip took place last summer when I returned to France on a pilgrimage with four other members of the deaf Catholic community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The pilgrims were Aidee Papp and Clarebyll Mabanta – members of St. Benedict Parish in San Francisco, where I lead the adult faith development program – and Robert Zunino and his wife Diana Zunino, a deaf couple who attend the Santa Rosa deaf community and are also members of St Benedict.
The great saints of France inspired us in advance. Every second Sunday, the St. Benedict faith development program shows religious movies about the saints, and we reflect on the saints’ examples and lives. The impact of movies about St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Bernadette eagerly empowered us to plan our pilgrimage.
Father Paul Diemert of the deaf apostolate in Paris knew about our visit and welcomed us to his parish. He led us through the deaf school of Paris, where we explored the buildings and flower-filled garden. The group visited the Eiffel Tower for hours the first evening and took many pictures.
In Lourdes, we visited the Marian sanctuary and the Grotto of Masabielle, where we drank the grotto water. We went to the Mass for the sick in the lower chapel, where we saw the painted pictures of many modern saints. We also walked as a group through the Stations of the Cross set on a large stony mountain. Our deaf members would not pass one station by without a picture. We were impressed by everything.
We went to see the chapel where St. Bernadette had been baptized and visited her family’s home and the Fort Castle, where we saw many archaic work tools that belonged to her parents. We went for adoration in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception where we saw the painted picture of an infected foot and the relic of the heart of St. Bernadette.
The Disabled Service Team at Lourdes welcomed us into their building to watch a DVD of events and solemnities of past years at Lourdes. At the end of the meeting, the team members were very grateful for our pilgrimage and especially for our visit to their site. They suggested a common prayer.We stood in a circle. The deaf Americans prayed in American Sign Language and the French deaf people prayed in the French Sign Language. It was the best fraternal moment and event we had that day. Each group appreciated the beauty of the other’s sign language, the beauty of our deaf culture and the beauty of every one of us. There were endless smiles on everyone’s faces. No one could explain; no one could comment. The unique thing we would say was this: “Ahhh, they sign the Virgin Mary in that way; we do it this way. Each reflects her identity.” The signs of the Virgin Mary were the most beautiful.
I am grateful to God for our successful pilgrimage and thankful to every one of the pilgrims. I knew that each of them had a spiritual reason for the trip and it was a way for me to assist them pastorally. I do not know about the blessings God gave me and the graces that the Blessed Virgin and saints bestowed upon me and us, but I am happy that every one of us had a good feeling and good experience. Spiritual pilgrimages are a way to gather the lives, hearts and hopes of our faithful people.
Each member of the group returned home with favorite impressions. Robert was most impressed by the statues of the cross at Lourdes. Aidee was interested in the sufferings of the martyrs and the tools of torture which were used long ago. She wanted to make that visit longer, and she personally went to the front of the altar of the Foreign Mission Chapel of Paris to ask forgiveness for our past faith misunderstanding or mistrust. Diana was aware that the sick people at Lourdes seemed so joyous and hopeful. They prayed and sought interior joy and peace more than physical healing. And Clarebyll clearly understood that the height of the candles at Lourdes was deeply meaningful.
The pilgrimage was a great success and I am thinking about plans for another trip to France and Italy next year. Deaf people appreciate what they see and learn so much by sight.
Father Bazikila, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2008. He ministers to the deaf community in Northern California.
In 2009, I went to France for the annual Eucharistic celebration of the Paris deaf community. Seeking an opportunity to meet American deaf people, some of the community’s French members asked if it would be possible to come back to France with a group.
That trip took place last summer when I returned to France on a pilgrimage with four other members of the deaf Catholic community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The pilgrims were Aidee Papp and Clarebyll Mabanta – members of St. Benedict Parish in San Francisco, where I lead the adult faith development program – and Robert Zunino and his wife Diana Zunino, a deaf couple who attend the Santa Rosa deaf community and are also members of St Benedict.
The great saints of France inspired us in advance. Every second Sunday, the St. Benedict faith development program shows religious movies about the saints, and we reflect on the saints’ examples and lives. The impact of movies about St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Bernadette eagerly empowered us to plan our pilgrimage.
Father Paul Diemert of the deaf apostolate in Paris knew about our visit and welcomed us to his parish. He led us through the deaf school of Paris, where we explored the buildings and flower-filled garden. The group visited the Eiffel Tower for hours the first evening and took many pictures.
In Lourdes, we visited the Marian sanctuary and the Grotto of Masabielle, where we drank the grotto water. We went to the Mass for the sick in the lower chapel, where we saw the painted pictures of many modern saints. We also walked as a group through the Stations of the Cross set on a large stony mountain. Our deaf members would not pass one station by without a picture. We were impressed by everything.
We went to see the chapel where St. Bernadette had been baptized and visited her family’s home and the Fort Castle, where we saw many archaic work tools that belonged to her parents. We went for adoration in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception where we saw the painted picture of an infected foot and the relic of the heart of St. Bernadette.
The Disabled Service Team at Lourdes welcomed us into their building to watch a DVD of events and solemnities of past years at Lourdes. At the end of the meeting, the team members were very grateful for our pilgrimage and especially for our visit to their site. They suggested a common prayer.We stood in a circle. The deaf Americans prayed in American Sign Language and the French deaf people prayed in the French Sign Language. It was the best fraternal moment and event we had that day. Each group appreciated the beauty of the other’s sign language, the beauty of our deaf culture and the beauty of every one of us. There were endless smiles on everyone’s faces. No one could explain; no one could comment. The unique thing we would say was this: “Ahhh, they sign the Virgin Mary in that way; we do it this way. Each reflects her identity.” The signs of the Virgin Mary were the most beautiful.
I am grateful to God for our successful pilgrimage and thankful to every one of the pilgrims. I knew that each of them had a spiritual reason for the trip and it was a way for me to assist them pastorally. I do not know about the blessings God gave me and the graces that the Blessed Virgin and saints bestowed upon me and us, but I am happy that every one of us had a good feeling and good experience. Spiritual pilgrimages are a way to gather the lives, hearts and hopes of our faithful people.
Each member of the group returned home with favorite impressions. Robert was most impressed by the statues of the cross at Lourdes. Aidee was interested in the sufferings of the martyrs and the tools of torture which were used long ago. She wanted to make that visit longer, and she personally went to the front of the altar of the Foreign Mission Chapel of Paris to ask forgiveness for our past faith misunderstanding or mistrust. Diana was aware that the sick people at Lourdes seemed so joyous and hopeful. They prayed and sought interior joy and peace more than physical healing. And Clarebyll clearly understood that the height of the candles at Lourdes was deeply meaningful.
The pilgrimage was a great success and I am thinking about plans for another trip to France and Italy next year. Deaf people appreciate what they see and learn so much by sight.
Father Bazikila, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2008. He ministers to the deaf community in Northern California.