On October 17, 2009, a group of twenty-two people embarked on a journey through the back roads of southern Indiana to the quiet repose of an order of Franciscan Friars called Mount Saint Francis.
Here we were to gather and begin what would be a spiritual journey for all, led by a priest and two members of the Franciscan order. The priest would lead us by his own example, teaching us, that to have true peace and purpose in life, we must let go, let die, that which holds us back, no matter what form of human emotion it takes, whether it be anger, bitterness, or some other emotion, but especially anger. Letting go, letting die that which holds us back would allow us to be reborn once again in the image of God.
After lunch and Mass, we would be sent out among the four hundred acres of what was once a farm owned by the actress Mary Anderson, and donated to the Franciscan’s, to commune with nature, ourselves, and especially with God. We were tasked with bringing back an object which symbolized ourselves or the group and how we felt. Each person brought back something, a flower, a leaf, a burnt stick, and each in turn expressed to the group what it symbolized to them and then placed it at the foot of the cross which adorned the chapel’s altar.
As our time at the Mount was coming to a close, one of the Friar’s spoke to us about the stations of the cross, but not in the traditional way. The stations of the cross, which depict the journey Christ took in the hours before his death, adorn every Catholic church in the world. But the Friar asked us to look at them differently, to put ourselves in the place of Jesus, to look at them as if they were a mirror with each one of us seeing ourselves in that mirror.
The first station has Jesus standing before Pilot and Pilot washing his hands as if to abstain himself of any guilt. We were asked how many times we have washed our hands, so that we too could abstain ourselves from some guilt we felt, the guilt of not helping a friend in need, or standing up for a cause.
The second station has Jesus taking up his cross, the very cross that would eventually carry him to his death. Again we were asked to see ourselves. What cross did each one of us bear, for we all bear a cross, or crosses, of one kind or another.
The third station shows Jesus stumbling, and falling to the ground. No matter how strong you might think you are, your cross will cause you to stumble and fall. It is inevitable, just as it was for Jesus. But Jesus got up to continue his journey. And that is what God wants of each of us, to just get up, get up and continue on, not lie there and bemoan ourselves and our situation.
Station four, Jesus encounters his mother, Mary, the one person who would always be there for him, no matter what. This was her beloved son, and her savior, and she was there to comfort him, to let him know that she was there and would always be there for him on his terrible journey to death. Once again the Friar asked us to see ourselves. Who is your Mary; a best friend, a partner, a family member, who? Who will be there for you no matter what, no matter when?
On to station five, and Simon of Cyrene takes up the cross for Jesus for it has become too much of a burden for Jesus to carry alone. Again we are asked, as we put ourselves in the place of Jesus, who will help carry our cross as we tread life’s path.
Station six and Veronica pushes through the crowd to kneel before Jesus and wipe his face clean of the blood and dirt that covers him and makes him seem inhuman. For this was the way of the Romans, to first dehumanize you, strip away your dignity, your humanity, demoralize you so that all of the fight would go out of you. But Veronica gave Jesus back his humanity. Who will wipe your face, give you back your humanity, which each of us loses, bit by bit, as we let the trials and tribulations of life eat away at us. Anger, frustration, bitterness, all build to demoralize us to the point where we think there is no hope, that life is not worth living, that nothing we do will, or can, make a difference.
Station seven and Jesus falls again. And once again, Jesus gets up. We too will fall, not once, not twice, but many times in the course of our lives. And God will be there to tell us, over and over, get up.
And so it went, that we were asked to place ourselves at each station, at each place, to take up the cross of him who has already tread that path, tread it to its end and his death, that we might have life through his suffering, to take up our crosses each day and reflect on those who would be there for us, stand by us, speak out for us, love us unconditionally, no matter who we are, what we are, or who we love in return. Are you speaking out, standing up for others, or are you standing quietly in the crowd whispering of the injustice, but doing nothing about it.
At last we stand at the last station, the station where Jesus is taken from the cross he bore and died upon, to be laid in the arms of his mother, Mary. We too can be separated from our cross and laid in the loving hands of God, a God who reaches out to touch our hearts, and in doing so sees an image of himself, for we were created in that image, an image that cannot be tarnished.
When this journey began, we were asked to let go, let die, that which holds us back from doing all that we can do. Letting go, letting die, all that which keeps us from enjoying and truly experiencing this precious life we have been given by a God that made us in his image. It is fitting that the stations of the cross begin and end at the altar of the Eucharist, the embodiment of the body and blood of one who first took up our cross, to bear it himself, to die upon the very cross he bore, that we might have life and above all HOPE!
Compassion hopes your journey will one that will be remembered and lived to the fullest!
