"O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen.” Henri Nouwen
The Way of the Cross, also known as The Stations of the Cross, is a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It grew from imitations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is a traditional processional route representing the path Jesus walked from the house of Pontius Pilate to Golgotha, the place of Christ’s crucifixion.
Approximately twenty-five years ago, St. Charles parishioners, under the leadership of Deacon Robert Gate, presented the “Living Stations of the Cross”, tableau format, each Friday during Lent. This continued for several years.
Lorraine Thibert, a parishioner, felt called to revive the Living Stations of the Cross at St. Charles. She stated, “I thought it was so effective and moved so many people I wanted to bring it back”. With COVID-19 restrictions, doing a live performance did not seem advisable, therefore it was decided to do a video to be broadcast on the St. Charles YouTube channel.
Lorraine approached former participants and new parishioners who wished to be involved. The narrative remains the same, however, Lorraine composed new, original music.
All involved are parishioners. Lorraine composed the music, did the photography and edited the video. Celeste Thibert directed. Greg Chase did the lighting and the green screen. The voice talents were Logan Ryner, Ian Michaluk and Kathy Decle. Eleven St. Charles parishioners were actors.
This long, complex process was a true labour of love. After many hours of post-production work, Lorraine has created this forty-five-minute presentation which will be launched on Ash Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Why would these people spend so much time and energy on this project? It is their hope that presenting this video will help Christians to re-discover and appreciate more fully the meaning and scope of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and thus unite their own earthly suffering with His.
The video will be launched on the St. Charles website and on the St. Charles YouTube channel on Ash Wednesday and will be left up until Good Friday. Click link The Ways of the Cross
Members from St. Charles Parish who participated in the making of “The Way of the Cross”.
