The ‘Way Of The Cross’ LIVE for the FIRST Time held by St Anthony’s Ashram-Jeppu in City

The ‘Way Of The Cross’ LIVE for the FIRST Time held by St Anthony’s Ashram-Jeppu in City

 “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk 9:23) – The ‘Way Of The Cross’ LIVE for the FIRST Time held by St Anthony’s Ashram-Jeppu in Mangaluru on Sunday, 15 March 2020 from 5 pm. ” O Jesus, our adorable Saviour, we now contemplate Your sacred passion. Help us to understand that the sufferings of our life are the continuation of Your passion. We ask for strength of our souls to go through our passion, in the spirit with which You went through Yours. Amen”.

Mangaluru: Following the introduction and Opening Prayer by Fr Onil D’souza- Director of St Anthony’s Ashram/St Anthony’s Charitable Institutions, Mangaluru, the Ashram for the FIRST time in history of Mangaluru Diocese held the devotion of the “Way of the Cross” LIVE on Sunday, 15th March at 5 p.m. at its campus. T Singing and narration was undertaken by Prem Kumar and his team, and the acting out of the stations was done by the renowned actors of the city directed by Vincent Fernandes of ‘Mogachi Lahran’ fame. The devotion consists of meditating on 14 events which form the 14 stations of the cross. The purpose of this devotion is to focus on the Passion of Jesus Christ. The Live ‘Way of the Cross’ at the St Anthony’s Ashram comprised of 14 Stations :

FIRST STATION: Jesus is condemned to death; SECOND STATION: Jesus takes up his cross; THIRD STATION: Jesus falls for the first time; FOURTH STATION: Jesus meets his mother; FIFTH STATION: Jesus is helped to carry his cross by Simon of Cyrene; SIXTH STATION: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus; SEVENTH STATION: Jesus falls for the second time; EIGHTH STATION: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, who weep for him; NINTH STATION: Jesus falls for the third time; TENTH STATION: Jesus is stripped of his garments; ELEVENTH STATION: Jesus is nailed to the cross; TWELFTH STATION: Jesus dies on the cross; THIRTEENTH STATION: Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother; and FOURTEENTH STATION: Jesus is placed in the tomb

Around 2000 plus faithful participate in the ‘Way of the Cross’ which was being enacted in memory of the sufferings and death Jesus endured on Good Friday for the redemption of humanity from sin. The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make in spirit, as it were, a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ’s sufferings and death, and this has become one of the most popular of Catholic devotions. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. It is very usual, when the devotion is performed publicly, to sing a stanza of the “Stabat Mater” while passing from one Station to the next.

Witnessing this live ‘Way of the Cross’ at St Anthony’s Ashram, brought back memories when I had participated in the “Passion Play of Iztapalapa” an annual event during Holy Week in the Iztapalapa Borough of Mexico City, Mexico-and that was in the year 2010, when I had gone on a vacation from Chicago, USA. It is one of the oldest and most elaborate passion plays in Mexico as well as the best known, covered media both in Mexico and abroad. Sources reveal that Today, the play includes not only hundreds of actors, but also thousands of men called “Nazarenes” who carry their own crosses to follow the actor chosen to play Jesus to the site where the crucifixion is reenacted. While the event is still primarily religious, it has also become a rite of identity for Iztapalapa (only residents of certain communities may participate) as well as a major tourism attraction for both the Borough and the city. This passion play is world famous, and is witnesses by thousands of visitors from all over the world

Fr Trishan, the assistant director at the Ashram in his Homily said, “The most important reason for reviving the practice of making the Stations of the Cross is that it is a powerful way to contemplate, and enter into, the mystery of Jesus’ gift of himself to us. The Stations of the Cross are representations of the path Jesus bore on his way to the crucifixion. They involve Jesus enduring suffering, insults, moments of support, and relay the intense sacrifice that Christians believe Jesus undertook for human salvation. The Stations of the Cross provide a type of meditation or reflection about individuals and the configuration that governs human beings”.

“It takes the reflection on the passion out of our head, and makes it an imaginative exercise. It involves our senses, our experiences and our emotions. To the extent we come to experience the love of Jesus for us to that extent the gratitude we feel will be deep. Deep gratitude leads to real generosity and a desire to love as we have been loved. It is through the acknowledging that the Stations of the Cross provides a needed element in the path to spiritual paradise for Christians” said Fr Trishan..

The cast of the Live ‘Way of the Cross’ comprised of – Jesus: Stany Machado; Mother Mary: Ms Caroline D’Souza; Pilate: Dolphy Pinto; Simon of Cyrene: Ronald Machado; Veronica: Ms Judith D’Souza; Soldiers: Roshan Kamath, Ashok Joel, Antony, Stany D’Souza; Disciple John: Melroy Monteiro; Women of Jerusalem: Ms Philomena Machado, Ms Letitia D’Souza, Ms Anisha Preema D’Souza, Ms Ashel Rodrigues, and Ms Sushmitha Monteiro.;Mary of Magdala: Ms Jennifer Saldanha; Joseph of Arimathea: Abel; Nicodemus: Alwyn; and Thief: Vincent Rodrigues,

The Settings were done Melwyn of Weldone decorators; Sound and Light: Lawrence D’Souza of Souza Electricals; Direction : Vincent Fernandes, Cascia; and the melodious choir/Singing: Prem Kumar and his 12 member team. The make-up of the cast was done by Karnataka State Award Winner Giriappa from Iddiya, near Surathkal. And the end of the live ‘Way of the Cross’, everyone joined in prayers for the coronavirus pandemic and those affected with this disease.

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