Living Stations

Our parochial school is blessed with faithful disciples who also happen to be excellent educators and care deeply about our children. The fifth grade at St. Pat’s is traditionally responsible for the “Living” Stations of the Cross each Lent. Months ago, my wife and I received an email from our fifth grader’s teachers, sharing that our son had expressed interest in playing Jesus. The reenactment is taxing for any student but especially for Peter, who, because of his brain tumor and treatment, can have a hard time with “high pressure” situations and physical exhaustion. I was grateful for their thoughtfulness and told them I would have a conversation with my son. When I asked him, I got a classic Peter response: “Dad, I had cancer. If anyone can do it, I can. Plus, Jesus probably didn’t want to do it either.” When I explored his challenges with balance in carrying something heavy, he didn’t skip a beat. “If I fall, isn’t that part of the story?” I told his teachers that if he drew the lucky straw, he would have our blessing.

Peter did some serious preparation to be Jesus, including even pumping some iron with his old man. When the big day arrived, it was clear to everyone in the church that Peter was ready. It was also clear that his old man was nowhere close to ready. I was in tears from the moment he first picked up his cross until “resurrected Peter” walked back down the center aisle with a smile and tears in his own eyes. In all my worry about helping Peter prepare, I hadn’t prepared my own heart for layers of emotions. From remembering the cross he’s already carried, to being surrounded by his classmates, their parents, and the school leaders that have walked with us so faithfully on that journey for four years, the significance for most people in that church was palpable.

However, there was one more layer that went even deeper. As a father, watching my son simply reenacting the crucifixion, knowing what he’s been through, moved me so much. I couldn’t breathe thinking about God, the Father, watching God, the Son, suffer such brutality. I don’t profess to understand God, but in that moment, I had the deepest gratitude for Christ’s salvific sacrifice that I’ve ever had in my entire life.

As we enter Holy Week, how does His Way of the Cross intersect with our way of life? How are the stations living in our hearts? Will it be a story we hear around this time of year, or will we hear it as our story? Will we proclaim how we are alive today and how we can live for eternity?

I’m always grateful for how our Catholic school helps the faith come alive in our kids, but this Lent, I’m grateful for how they continue to teach this adult student that we can never learn enough about the goodness of God. Prayers for this Holy Week to enrich your life in Christ.