Students bring Stations of the Cross to life
By Scott Alessi
Staff Writer
MILLTOWN — Students at Our Lady of Lourdes School have seen the death and resurrection of Jesus first hand.
For the third consecutive year, eighth grade students at the school, with help from the sixth and seventh grades, presented a reenactment of the Stations of the Cross March 27. The performance was attended by students in the lower grades at the school and was open to parents and parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes.
School principal Little Servant Sister of the Immaculate Conception Maria Gruszka said that she started the living Stations three years ago as a way to help the eighth graders prepare for confirmation while at the same time teaching children in the younger grades about the meaning of Easter.
“We try to instill the Catholic values and the traditions of Lent in the students, and especially to concentrate their thoughts on the suffering of Jesus,” Sister Maria said. “I hope that they will better understand the Passion of Christ and the reason why Jesus suffered for us.”
During the presentation, two students served as narrators to explain events taking place while their fellow students acted out each Station.
The younger children watching in the audience were also involved in the performance, as they were asked by Sister Maria to sing along with the music in between the Stations. “It serves as a prayer service because the whole school participates,” Sister Maria said.
Father Edward Czarcinski, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, said he felt that the performance of the Stations of the Cross helps to make the suffering and death of Jesus more real for the children than simply hearing it read at Mass or taught in school.
“They actually see somebody being nailed and somebody falling and somebody being up on the cross,” said Father Czarcinski. “Children are visual learners. It’s very, very real for them.” He added that seeing the suffering of Jesus portrayed also helps the students to be more prayerful during Holy Week.
For the eighth grade students taking part in the production, acting out the Stations of the Cross is a way for them to educate the younger students at the school about their faith.
“I want to show the little kids what God did for us,” said Tony Machalany, who played the part of Jesus. “He made a big sacrifice for us and we have to respect that.”
Lauren Duffy stated that she chose to play the role of Mary to convey to those watching the performance the difficulties that Jesus’ mother endured during his crucifixion. “I wanted to show the kids what Mary went through seeing her son die for them,” she said.
Machalany added that his desire to play the role of Jesus was born out of his strong devotion to the Lord. “Jesus is the biggest role model out there,” he said. “I just want to be like him.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law