Stations of the Cross

I have never been to a Catholic Mass. I have been to a Catholic funeral, and I remember that it seemed ritualistic, "showy," and artificial. It certainly never inspired me to explore the Catholic faith or traditions more thoroughly. But today I got a glimpse of a Catholic tradition that actually made sense and was moving.

I got to speak to the 8th grade class that my friend teaches at St. Mary's Church and School in Massillon. I spoke about cancer, and then just answered their questions about health. Afterwards, the class went over the the main church building for a service going through the stations of the cross. Apparently, they do this every Friday during Lent.

For those who have never been to a Catholic service, or who are unfamiliar with this tradition, I will briefly explain it as it is manifested at St. Mary's on Friday's during Lent. Everyone gathered in the auditorium, and the priest greeted the kids, and explained a few common Latin and Greek phrases. Today he emphasized "kyrie eleison," which is Greek for "Lord, have mercy." He asked that after each station of the cross, when he said "The Lord Jesus crucified" that the congregation sing with him "kyrie eleison." He taught us the brief chant, and then had some of the kids walk with him around the sanctuary, one of which was carrying a wooden cross. All around the sanctuary were fourteen mosaics depicting fourteen stages of Christ's crucifixion. It starts with his condemnation to death, and ends with his body taken down from the cross. At each "station" the priest (with a microphone) explained the depiction and what can be learned from it. Then, various children would read a prayer at the front of the sanctuary relating to the station. The priest would make his proclamation, and the whole group responded by singing the chant "kyrie eleison." It ended with with the priest sharing some thoughts about the whole process... today he talked about how the stations of the cross were not easy, like walking to school or something like that; rather, it was hard, and the scenes are violent, and hard to see. Some, he said, when they see a crucifix hide their children's eyes, because it is too barbaric, to violent; but, he pointed out, we have to face that to understand what Jesus went through for us.

Overall, I was very moved. Yes, there were things that were entirely and uniquely Catholic; one station has some lady named Veronica (apparently a Catholic saint) offering her head covering to Jesus to wipe the sweat off his brow. And there are three distinct "stumbling" episodes that Jesus endures. But though I know that this is "mere" tradition, the story surrounding each element, even the uniquely Catholic ones, had a powerful message to relay. I can't remember exactly what the priest said at any of the stations. But I can give me interpretation of one station. One of the stations is of Jesus being nailed to the cross. The priest talked about how Jesus willingly put his hand out to be punctured with a large nail when he was commanded to. Though he knew it would hurt, he still offered each limb as requested by the soldiers without fighting. Then the child at the front offered a prayer that we would be more like Jesus, willing to be obedient, even when it hurt, even when we didn't want to. A powerful lesson in one little mosaic-caught moment of the Passion scene.

On a practical level, this tradition makes great sense for an illiterate society, in which these traditions originally developed. But there is something powerful about taking 8 or so Fridays each year and simply walking with Jesus through the last hours of his life. Protestants have much to learn from our Catholic brethren, especially when it comes to spiritual formation.