Following on the successes of the inaugural program in 2007, the Sophia Institute met from Wednesday, June 25th through Sunday, June 29th, 2008, at the Morrill Farm in Sumner, Maine. Joined by 11 students and led by Fr. Paul H. Dumais, Dr. Angela Franks, Dr. J. David Franks, Dr. Michael P. Krom, and Mr. Pierre Dumais, the second annual meeting was both leisurely and enriching.
The program began with a lecture on the duty of Catholics to participate in politics, with an emphasis on the need to center political involvement on a life of prayer. The nine seminars focused on the human desire for happiness, God's revelation as the path to human fulfillment, and the need to integrate faith and reason in one's pursuit of God's merciful love. In addition to daily prayer, mass, and the sacrament of reconciliation, students labored (without too much toil!) on the Perron's farm, enjoyed hiking, swimming, live music, and a barnyard dance. A notable highlight this year was that participants were able to take advantage of the Holy Father's proclamation of the Pauline year by attending Sunday mass on the feasts of Sts. Peter and Paul at the basilica in Lewiston dedicated to these holy apostles. The Holy Father offered a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions for those who attended mass at a basilica dedicated to St. Paul on this day.
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