FAITH MATTERS: Transformed by the Way of the Cross
How do you tell a story that is at the very heart of the human condition?
Every year, since 1967, the Diocesan community has gathered during Lent, first at Lochinvar and then from 2007 at Toronto, to walk the Way of the Cross and retell the story of the final moments of Jesus’ earthly life.
These past four years I have had the privilege of helping shape the creative vision for this storytelling. And every year, the story of the cross brings me deeper into my own faith story as I grapple with the meaning of suffering, sacrifice, and ultimately, redemption.
My first experience with reenacting the ‘Stations of the Cross’ was in 2001. Our youth group was looking for a meaningful way to remember Good Friday. We wanted to put on a Passion Play with a difference. We wanted the audience to be a part of the story – to live and feel the events of Good Friday – to recreate the experience. And so, that wet Good Friday morning, we took our parish on a journey around the church grounds following Jesus as he met his Mother, fell on the slippery muddy ground, and was tormented by the guards responsible for his execution. The members of the crowd jostled for a closer look at what was happening as soldiers corralled them along the road to Golgotha. A young dad, ‘Simon of Cyrene,’ was chosen randomly from the assembled crowd and he willingly shouldered the cross beside Jesus. This prayerful reenactment finished with Joseph of Arimathea carrying the lifeless body of Jesus out through the crowd, sharing a look of anguish those courageous to make eye-contact. I still remember the words of the mother of one of the youths chosen to play a soldier. It grieved her to watch her son play the role of an aggressor causing the suffering of another. That year, the Way of the Cross became a personal experience for her.
In recent years, our Diocesan devotion has drawn on people’s personal witness to the cross of Jesus revealed in their own lives. In 2022, we picked up the theme of ‘Church without Walls.’ From across our communities, unique storytellers shared their mission response to this love story – that God would become one of us and give his life for us on the cross so that we, in turn, may pour out our lives in love for God and others.
In 2023, we connected with the World Youth Day theme, ‘Mary arose and went with haste,’ as we invited the community to experience the Way of the Cross through the eyes of Mary as shared by women from across our Diocese and fellow Christian Churches. Each storyteller weaved together her own lived experience of suffering and sorrow, reflecting the heart of Mary and leading us to that ultimate encounter with Jesus on the cross.
For me, there is joy and transformation in this journey of accompaniment with individuals and communities as they enter the mystery of this timeless event. It is a space of privileged learning to come alongside another in this creative process and discover how Jesus has worked through the trials and triumphs of life. It is a sacred thing to be present to another person sharing the faith story that defines his or her journey. It is this sharing of faith, this space of learning together on the journey, that we hope to bring to this year’s Way of the Cross.
Following on from the experience of the Pilgrim’s Walk at our Jubilee Launch in March, The Way of the Cross: A Pilgrimage of Hope invites us to ‘walk and talk’ alongside our companions on the journey, to respond to Pope Francis’ words of hope for the Jubilee, and to share our own story of encounter with Jesus.
Join us at 3pm on Sunday 6 April.
ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, TORONTO
140 Wangi Road, Toronto NSW 2283
ENQUIRIES: mission@mn.catholic.org.au
