Yesterday, both in Katire and in Torit at the House of Mercy, we showed the second half of the new Bakhita film, and in both places the crowd grew from the previous week. There's no publicity like word of mouth.
On the way to Katire, we literally had to pass through fire. The people who live in rural areas have the custom of burning the dead, dry grass from the previous year to make way for new growth. As we approached the village it was clear from the greener vegetation that the village had gotten a little rain in the past week, hopefully a sign and promise for abundant rain in the coming months.
Again, although some details of the story are fictionalized, the film does an excellent job of expressing the essential aspects of Bakhita's life. In the second half two things really stood out for me. The first was the very moving scene of Bakhita's adult baptism. She was radiant, and it was clearly the beginning of a new life for her. The second is related. It was her encounter with Christ and her baptism that give Bakhita the inner freedom and strength to resist the coercion and manipulation of the family to which she "belonged," and to fight for her own dignity and the external freedom to follow the vocation to religious life to which she felt called. St. Paul's words echoed in my mind: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1).
The overflow crowd for the Bakhita film at Mercy House (click to enlarge).
This was the reflection I shared with those present at the end of each film. And as I gazed on those faces, and especially into the wide eyes of the children and little girls, I wondered how many potential St. Bakhita's might be sitting there in the audience.
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