February 25, 2024
As seventh and eighth graders at my parish elementary
school, we waited for it with a mixture of nervous and
excited anticipation each week during Lent. And like
clockwork, it almost always seemed to happen during
Stations of the Cross: a student would pass out sometime
between the sixth and eleventh Station. My classmate
Jimmy McGlinchey would whisper-sing out of the corner
of his mouth to whomever was near him in the pew,
“Another one bites the dust,” and then we’d all try to stifle
the laughter.
Now perhaps it was the result of an empty stomach, a hot
church, or the locking-of-the-knees as we stood and knelt
throughout the prayer service, but whatever the cause,
the Stations were not always kind and gentle for quite a
few of us. When I once complained to my Mom about
having to attend them while in the fifth grade, her
response was simply this: “It was a lot tougher for Jesus,
you know.” (Another great Catholic Mom response!)
And she’s right, of course. Over time, I have come to
love this particular Lenten devotion of the Church (which
can be prayed anytime, not just these next few Fridays).
I appreciate them for the display of supreme love that
never quit out of love for our salvation. I am reminded
that like Veronica and Simon of Cyrene, we too are called
to walk with others on their journeys of suffering. And I
hold onto the sure and lasting hope that is present after
the Burial of Jesus in Station 14: Resurrection will always
come in many different forms along the Christian journey
when we turn to God in faith and trust.
Why not join us on Friday nights at 6:30 p.m. at
Immaculate Conception and pray the Stations of the
Cross with our parish community? I can at the very least
promise, should you get a little woozy or feel faint during
them, that Jimmy McGlinchey will be nowhere in sight to
sing his song.