300 Years and Beyond: Reflections on our Pilgrimage to Rome

 300 Years and Beyond:  Reflections on our Pilgrimage to Rome

(March 25-30, 2025)

 

To be chosen as a member of the delegation to ROME for the celebration of AR Congregation’s 300^th year is a thanksgiving, a grace-filled journey and a profound spiritual homecoming.  ROME described as the eternal city and as embodiment of timelessness was always part of my dream and aspirations as an Augustinian Recollect Sister. 

Whispers of Fidelity

Joining our Congregation’s delegates and to set foot in the Eternal City, walking the paths where countless pilgrims before us have drawn strength from their faith, felt like an embrace from the Church itself.  Each basilica, shrine, and sacred altar we visited carried the weight of centuries of prayer, devotion, and fidelity to God, and I felt privileged to add my own silent prayers to this living stream of faith.

I carried to every church the intentions of our sisters: young and old, our families and benefactors, acquaintances and friends, and the people we serve in the Philippines and abroad. At every altar, I laid down our collective hopes for fidelity, renewal, and fruitfulness in the years ahead.  Each altar became a meeting place: my small offering of prayer entwined with the great river of faith that has flowed through these holy places for generations.

Rome reminded me that our religious life is not just about preserving a legacy but also about carrying it forward with renewed zeal. The grandeur of the churches spoke not of human glory but of the glory of God, made visible through the faith and sacrifice of countless men and women before us. In the same way, our Congregation’s 300 years are not only a record of endurance but also a testimony of God’s fidelity and a call to remain steadfast in our mission of service and love.

What made this pilgrimage even more significant was the celebration of two milestones close to my heart: the 300th year of our Congregation’s foundation and my 36th year as a religious. To celebrate our Congregation’s jubilee at the very heart of Catholicism reminded me of the countless aspirations, joys, sorrows, and triumphs that have marked our shared history.

 At Rome’s ancient altars:

Personally, this journey became a quiet renewal of my love and commitment to the Congregation and my vocation. The Congregation has nurtured me, and looking back on the past 36 years, I could not help but marvel at the grace that has sustained me in my vocation. Like the ancient stones of the Roman churches, I, too, have been shaped, tested, and sometimes weathered by time—but always held firm by the mercy of God. Walking into each holy place, I felt called again to re-center my life on Christ, to remember the vows I once professed, and to live them with fresh courage and joy. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of this historic moment. More than a journey across Rome, it was a pilgrimage of the heart: a renewal of hope, a reaffirmation of love, and a recommitment to live out, with joy and fidelity, the charism entrusted to us. As I move forward, I carry with me the inspiration of Rome’s sacred spaces and the assurance that God, who has begun this good work in us, will bring it to completion.

A homecoming of the soul

This pilgrimage unfolded as more than a journey of miles; it became a homecoming of my soul. Every basilica we entered seemed to breathe a quiet reminder of God’s fidelity. Standing before those grand facades and kneeling in those silent chapels, I felt my own story held within the larger story of our Congregation—a story carved by sacrifice, watered by tears, and brightened by joy.

Like the ancient stones of Rome, my vocation has weathered seasons—sometimes strong in the light, sometimes shadowed by struggles, yet always held firm by the grace of God. In the silence of those sacred spaces, I felt my “yes” stirred anew, like a flame rekindled after the wind has passed.

This was not only a pilgrimage to holy places but a pilgrimage into the depths of my own calling. And in Rome, amid stones and shrines and centuries of faith, I found again the quiet, steady voice of the One who called me thirty-six years ago—still whispering, still inviting, and forever faithful.

As I return from Rome, I carry no relics, no souvenirs more precious than this: a renewed heart, a heart grateful for the gift of vocation. A heart renewed in its love for the Congregation.

 “Domine, Quo vadis?”

A surge of joy ran through my veins when we reached the  Appian Way, realizing it was the very same road where Peter encountered the risen Christ and asked him: Domine, quo vadis?

Tired of the long journey, I stopped, searched and looked in the direction…would I see him too? Would he let me hear his firm resolve: to be crucified again? Instead, I found myself asking “but where are you my Lord? It was not a question of doubt but a longing to His presence clearly in the journey of our Congregation and my own life. … and slowly in the silence of that road, the answer came not in words but in conviction—the Lord is not absent, He walks with us, he journeys with every member of the Congregation and like Peter I am invited not to flee from the cross, not to turn my back from pain and hardship and toil, but to return with courage and HOPE…

My pilgrimage became my own quo vadis moment: a chance to meet the Lord on the road, to hear his invitation once more, and to renew my “yes’ with renewed hope and courage, carrying within me renewed promise to return to the path God has chosen for me…

SR. MERRIAM, AR (09-04-25), OUR LADY OF CONSOLATION. Pray for us.