Dialogue in Mallorca:
Blessed Ramond Lull and Blessed Junipero Serra Observe the Pilgrimage
“Look, Ramon! Here they come!”
“How many are there?”
“It looks like twenty-six, I think.”
“They already look tired. Except those three. Who are they?”
“Those are the three friars leading the pilgrimage: Fr. Russell Governale, Br. Joseph Schwab, and Fr. Andre Cirino.”
“It never ceases to amaze me, Junipero, how people just drop out of the sky. In our day – well, my day was about 500 years before your day – we traveled by ship, by foot, and, if we were lucky, by horse. Of course, the same for you.”
“Now, look! They’re getting into an air-conditioned bus to go to Randa. And they’ve come all this way to learn about us.”
“Oh, that always worries me. I get embarrassed about my story. I was a passionate man, you know.”
“Your passions, Ramon, were both your weakness and your strength. But you learned how to make them serve you well.”
“You were a bit passionate, too, Junipero. In spite of your success here in Mallorca, you had quite a passion for the missions.”
“Well, the pilgrims will learn our stories over the next eight days.”
“Our stories and more!”
“Ah! They are at Randa!! My beautiful Randa. So close to the stars.”
“It has changed a lot since you lived here, Ramon.”
“Some things never change, Junipero. The views, the land, the stars, the sea, the morning mists. The hand of God never changes. Our Beloved never changes.”
“I can see your passion coming out, Ramon, and your poetry.”
“It looks like a visit to Petra is on the agenda for today, Ramon.”
“Ah, Junipero, your home town. Your image is on every street in Petra and in the central plaza, too. I think you are Petra’s favorite son.”
“Now it’s my turn to be embarrassed. I don’t mind the pilgrims visiting my house and my school, but I always blush when visitors giggle at a model of my baby chair.”
“Think beyond baby chairs, Junipero. They will learn about your early life, your introduction to the Franciscans, and your passion for the missions. The museum has models of all the missions you founded both in Mexico and California. And last night I heard Brother Joe practicing your sermon in Catalan. He’s going to attempt that today. With a last name like Schwab, he didn’t do badly on the Catalan.”
“Now I like that fellow, Br. Joe. He understands ourCalifornia missions, and how our work there, our thoughts and our motives were formed by the teachings of our brother John Duns Scotus.”
“Although we were contemporaries, I never met Scotus on earth, Junipero, but I sure enjoy conversation with him up here. He was a thinker, that man! But now, off we go to Petra!”
“Evenings at Randa! I love evenings at Randa! Tonight, Junipero, Fr. Andre is teaching the pilgrims about St. Francis’ Office of the Passion.”
“There you go with passion again.”
“Well, I think Francis was very passionate about this beautiful little prayer. He composed it from the riches of the psalms and prayed it many times a day. And what a beautiful place to pray to God passionately!”
“Today we’re going to get your story, Ramon. Fr. Russell seems to have all the details.”
“My story is a long one, Junipero. Part of that is because I lived so long. And part of that is because it took me so long to get myself focused on what or Who is important in life.”
“But, Ramon, when the pilgrims visit the museum here in Randa they will see copies of your manuscripts and learn about all the great books you wrote, your travels, and your missionary work.”
“At least they won’t see a copy of mybaby chair!!”
“The pilgrims are excited to go to the big city – Palma! They’re going to have a full day to enjoy everything. They’ll be in the heart of your home town, Ramon. They’ll see Palma’s favorite son keeping guard over the harbor.”
“The beautiful cathedral was just being built in my day, Junipero. Also, the AlmudainaPalace. No doubt they’ll visit the Church of St. Eulalia where I experienced a dramatic, passionate and serious conversion.
“The Basilica of San Francisco wasn’t there when you were in Palma, but I went to school there, and then taught there. Remember, too, I was professor of theology at the LulianaUniversity, named in your honor. Those were wonderful days.
“Maybe, Junipero, some of the pilgrims will take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage through the old section of town that you and I knew so well.”
“And have café and ensaimadas in one of the little plazas.”
“Ramon, did you see those pilgrims go after that paella and sangria! They are turning into real Mallorcans!!”
“Healthy pilgrims with a healthy appetite!!”
“They’re leaving, Junipero. They’re on their way back across the ocean. What will they take with them?”
“Well, Ramon, we know they will take the joy of paella and sangria. Beyond that, we pray that they will take knowledge and passion. A greater knowledge of our Franciscan roots and the contribution our brother John Duns Scotus made to our spirituality, and a passion to share that knowledge with those beyond the seas;
passion to carry their Beloved to those who hunger for more than paella and sangria; the passion of our father Francis for peace, for love, for understanding, for life.”
“I hope they’ve found that gift here, Junipero, to live and to love passionately.”
Mary Esther Stewart
Flagstaff, Arizona
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