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frankfortstation.com life & arts
the frankfort station | September 6, 2018 | 17
A walk through time and space at St. Francis Woods
Cosmic Walk on the
grounds offers space
for quiet meditation,
contemplation
Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor
Nestled not so far away
from the hustle and bustle of
everyday life is the oasis of
St. Francis Woods.
There, the Portiuncula
Center for Prayer sits on the
West side of the campus.
While St. Francis Woods is
home to the Franciscan Sisters
of the Sacred Heart, all
are welcome to visit and enjoy
what they have to offer.
Mary Lou Nugent, director
of the Portiuncula Center,
said people of all religions
feel comfortable visiting and
participating in retreats on
the campus.
“We are for all faiths," she
said. "You don’t have to be
Catholic, it really transcends
a particular religion.”
Baptists and Buddhists
alike use the grounds for
meditative walks on the
wooded trails, in the labyrinth
and at the Cosmic Walk.
While the labyrinth is
geared toward a mostly unguided
meditative walk, the
Cosmic Walk focuses on the
creation and development
of the universe as we have
come to understand it from
science.
“We wanted to do something
really tangible on the
campus to highlight the integration
of science and faith,”
Nugent said, “and so that’s
really what it’s about.”
The Cosmic Walk is meant
to provide reflection for participants,
but each person
may get something different
from the experience.
The representations of
each cosmic and historical
event were created and donated
by artist Corlita Bonnarens.
Each of the stations
correlates with a different
event in time and history.
While integrating science
and faith may be a topic for
debate for many people, Nugent
said the walk is about
“respecting both and not denying
either one.”
Dee Philiph, of New
Lenox, visits the Portiuncula
Center often and said for her
the Cosmic Walk brings everything
into perspective.
“It just makes you really
think and appreciate how
when you look at the trees an
nature and how things have
progressed and evolved,”
Philiph said.
The walk is a reminder of
just how small everything
on this planet really is when
compared to the larger universe,
something she said
everyone could be reminded
of now and then.
“As we progress we need
to open our hearts and minds
more,” she said.
Whatever someone believes,
a walk at one of the
various locations around
St. Francis Woods is bound
to provide an escape from
the everyday. The grounds
are open to the public year
round, and signage points
visitors to the various areas.
“It’s such a complicated
world,” Nugent said. “...The
contrast now between what
people are living outside of
our acreage to what it’s like
on our campus is just greater
and greater and greater.”
A short walking path guides visitors through the Cosmic Walk with numbered stations
featuring artwork by Corlita Bonnarens that correlates to scientific approximations about
the origins of the universe. Photos by Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media
Station 16 of the Cosmic Walk depicts “whales, the largest marine animal.” Artwork by
Corlita Bonnarens is featured throughout the self-guided meditative walk on the grounds
of St. Francis Woods.