Contemplating God’s glory through photography–the Ignatian way

The Mirador Jesuit Villa Retreat House was founded in 1907 in Baguio City, Philippines. Damaged severely in World War II and rebuilt in the 1950s, today it continues to be a centre for spirituality for many Filipino Catholics. Over the decades, thousands of faithful pilgrims have climbed the stairs of the Lourdes Grotto situated on Mirador Hill, which was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines. (The popular Marian Shrine, constructed in 1913, is an important spiritual and cultural landmark of the area.)

With recently completed renovations, Mirador Jesuit Villa is even more conducive for reflection and prayer. Mirador opened its Heritage & Eco-Spirituality Park, featuring a massive limestone rock formation, a bamboo grove, Ignatian and Biblical-themed gardens landscaped with Philippine plants (many endemic to Baguio), a number of Cordilleran motif gardens, and two Memorial Monuments: one commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the other marking the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic–or perhaps because of it–people continue to visit Mirador.

“It hit a need,” shares Fr Jose Quilonquilong SJ of the Philippine Province, who spearheaded the renovation project. “People need to go out in nature, especially for their mental health,” he says. He found ways to engage indigenous labourers who found themselves out of work because of the pandemic. “There were around 30 workers who could make the riprap walls, and we had benefactors who supported the project. Truly a win-win situation for all,” he says. Small donations from thousands of visitors kept the loyal Mirador staff going throughout the long lockdown, as they had to shift their duties from house keeping to working on the grounds. Their efforts continued throughout the pandemic, and aside from the outdoor features, a food outlet called Café Iñigo was also completed and opened.

A special Ignatian Year offering from Mirador Jesuit Villa is a spiritual retreat, dubbed, “Mirar: Contemplating God’s Glory through Photography”.  The original dates were postponed because of the lockdown, but the retreat has currently evolved into a yearlong engagement with Baguio-based photographers, who use photography as a “pathway to contemplating God’s Glory in creation”. Mirador is the perfect setting for this, with its 360-degree panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains. But this contemplation through photography goes beyond merely capturing scenery or an object–it follows the Ignatian tradition of prayer that employs all the senses, the use of time and light, and the human capacity to observe things from the micro to macro levels of reality.  Indeed, Mirador’s photography project is a creative way to celebrate the Ignatian Year–using fresh eyes “to see all things new in Christ”, whether in the mountains or the stars, in the handiwork, and prayers of all the people who visit such a special place.

 

Photos courtesy of the Mirador Jesuit Villa Retreat House