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AUBURN — Students at St. Dominic Academy commemorated Good Friday on March 30 by performing the Living Stations of the Cross at the Auburn campus.
While many Catholic schools were closed on Good Friday, Donald Fournier, president of the academy, said students attended for a half day so they would have the opportunity to attend the Stations of the Cross.
Students from both the Lewiston elementary school campus and the Auburn middle and high school campus attended.
Nearly 40 eighth graders, dressed in period costumes, took fellow students, faculty, staff, and family members on a journey that began with Jesus’ prayers to his father in the garden of Gethsemane, continued with his betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion, and concluded with the placing of his body in the tomb.
The students played the parts of Jesus, St. Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate, the blessed mother Mary, Simon of Cyrene, St. Joseph of Arimathea and Roman soldiers, among other roles.
“It’s important to show the love that Jesus had for us and put his passion into performance so that people will know that love,” said Patrick Manson, who played Jesus.
As each station was re-enacted, students shared reflections and led prayers. They began by praying to “help us see that, for you, it is a journey of love,” praying, “May we learn from this walk and follow you more closely and accept the love that you have for us.”
The Rev. Seamus Griesbach, school chaplain, also encouraged both the performers and those in the audience to pray during the reenactment for someone they know who is carrying a cross of their own. He also told the students that, despite its somber tone, Good Friday is a day of celebration for Catholics because of the promise of new life it brings.
“It’s an important day for us to think about Jesus in a different way than we usually do.”
The Stations of the Cross is a devotion that dates back to the early days of the Catholic Church. They are prayed throughout Lent, but particularly on Good Friday because it is the day Christians recall Christ’s passion and death. It is the only day of the year on which Mass is not celebrated.
PHOTO: Patrick Mason, as Jesus, and other students perform the Living Stations of the Cross. (Submitted photo)
