The Passion of Christ - The Way of the Cross

The climax to the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion is the Way of the Cross, modelled on the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross which you will see in any Catholic Church around the world.

Here we present our memories of the play with meditations on the Stations.

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

At the Cross her vigil keeping, 
Mary stood in sorrow, weeping, 
When her Son was crucified. 

 O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

1. Jesus is sentenced to Death

2. Jesus Takes Up His Cross

1 Jesus is condemned to Death

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

While she waited in her anguish,
Seeing Christ in torment languished,
Bitter sorrow pierced her heart.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

2 Jesus takes up his cross

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

With what pain and desolation,
With what noble resignation,
Mary watched her dying son.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

4. Jesus Meets His Mother

5. Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene

6. Jesus Meets Veronica

7. Jesus Falls the Second Time

8. Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

9. Jesus Falls the Third Time

10. Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

11. Jesus is Placed on the Cross

3 Jesus falls the first time

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Ever patient in her yearning,
Though her tear filled eyes were burning,
Mary gazed upon her Son.

12. Jesus Dies on the Cross

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

13. Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

14. Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

4 Jesus meets his mother 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Who, that sorrow contemplating,
On that Passion meditating,
Would not share the virgin’s grief?

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

5 Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Christ she saw, for our salvation,
Scourged with cruel acclamation,
Bruised and beaten by the rod.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

6 Veronica wipes the face of Jesus 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Christ she saw with life’s blood failing,

All her anguish unavailing,

Saw him breathe his very last.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

7 Jesus falls the second time 

 We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Mary, fount of love’s devotion,

Let me share with true emotion,

All the sorrow you endured.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

8 Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Virgin, ever interceding, 

Hear me in my fervent pleading,

Fire me with your love of Christ.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

9 Jesus falls the third time 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Mother, may this prayer be granted,

That Christ’s love may be implanted,

In the depths of my poor soul.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

10 Jesus is stripped of his garments 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

At the cross, your sorrow sharing,

All your grief and torment bearing,

Let me stand and mourn with you.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

11 Jesus is crucified 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Fairest maid of all creation,

Queen of hope and consolation,

Let me feel your grief sublime.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

12 Jesus dies on the cross 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Virgin, in your love befriend me,

At the Judgement day defend me,

Help my by your constant prayer.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

13 Jesus is taken down from the cross 

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Saviour, when my life shall leave me,

Through your mother’s prayers receive me,

With the fruits of victory.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

14 Jesus is laid in the tomb  

We adore you O Christ and praise you, for by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Let me to your love be taken,

Let my soul in death awaken,

To the joys of Paradise.

O Lord have mercy on us and on the poor souls in Purgatory.

The Passion of Jesus - Part I

Following God's will as the Passion begins

The most challenging role in the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion and the central role to the whole event is that of Jesus Christ.
The only scene in which he does not appear, he is the subject as Judas conspires with Caiaphas and the Chief Priest to have him arrested.
Consider also that this play is a live play. From the start time at 11:00am to the end at around 1:00pm the story proceeds with no break. Jesus confidently walks in at the start to the cries of jubilation and "Hosanna!", knowing all that is to befall him in the coming hours.

Explaining what he has done

The Last Supper

After a healing of Bartimaeus the Blind Beggar, Jesus and his disciples gather at the house for the Last Supper, where He washes the feet of saints John and Peter then explains what he has done and what is to happen shortly. He sadly sees Judas leave to do what must be done, and then performs the first Mass with the consecration of the bread and wine into his body and blood.
In order to prepare himself with prayer he brings his three closest disciples, Peter, James and John, into the Garden of Gethsemane.

Here he prays three times to God the Father, asking that this cup be taken away - but if it is God's will, he is willing.
He wants his closest disciples to stay awake and keep watch with him but they are too tired and fall asleep.
Once Jesus has finished praying and he realises that Judas is close at hand he gathers the disciples and they step forward to meet his betrayer.

Agony in the Garden

Convicted of Blasphemy

Responding to Pontius Pilate

Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss and then the Jewish Guards step forward. They are reluctant, even though Jesus has told them who he is and requests they let his disciples go free. Jesus speaks wth authority causing hesitation.
Peter leaps forward in the first attempt at arrest and cuts off the Jewish Guard Malchus's ear. Jesus heals Malchus and then submits to his arrest. The disciples flee.

Caiaphas then conducts the illicit trial of Jesus, questioning him and allowing a multitude of false accusations to be raised. Jesus is beaten and abused during the trial under the watch of Caiaphas, but none of this gets the evidence needed for a conviction.
Finally Caiaphas then compels Jesus, by the power of the living God, to answer if He is the Christ?
"I am," replies Jesus, using the words used by God when Moses asked who he was in the burning bush.

Scourging

"Blasphemy!" cries a successful Caiaphas and they press forward with their abuse and then take him to Pilate.

"Behold the Man. I find no fault in him."

When Jesus meets Pilate, he tries to save Pilate with words of truth. Pilate tries three times to avoid sentencing Jesus to death, ending in the command to "Scourge him - but do not kill him".

The soldiers obey the command enthusiastically. When the first lash of the whip strikes Jesus, there was a huge intake of breath by the crowd, "Ohh!"
Eventually, the severely beaten and bruised Jesus is returned to Pilate.

But the crowd still calls for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate, fearful of trouble, gives in and sentences Jesus to death by crucifixion.

Our actor playing Jesus has, at this point, gone through a lot of dialogue, interacting with many of the other actors, been beaten and scourged (although not really physically hurt) and due to the nature of the play one can imagine the stress going through him as he prepares for the next part of the Re-enactment - The Way of the Cross.

Mary, the Mother of God and Mary Magdalene

Watching the trial before the Sanhedrin

We know from Tradition and Scripture that Mary was nearby during this period of the Passion. We also know that Mary Magdalene was supportive and so our play shows Mary, the mother of God and Mary Magdalene present from the trial of Jesus before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin to the end.
Mary Magdalene has some lines when she tells off one of the Jewish Guards at the entrance to the House of Caiaphas, letting everyone know that this trial is illegal under Jewish law as it is being done in secret and at night with not enough people present.
(In the script we had the guard gently push her aside after her little speech and then Mary Magdalene goes to Mary, the mother of God's side. But the guard and Mary Magdalene did some improvising of their own and had Mary dropped roughly to the ground. It was very effective, but during the dress rehearsal we weren't expecting it and everyone told off the Jewish Guard for being too rough. He looked around surprised, "What?" as we looked down at Mary grinning.)

Mary wipes up the spilled blood of Jesus

Jesus meets his Mother with Mary Magdalene in support

From this point onwards, Mary, Mary Magdalene and St John were together, following Jesus from scene to scene.
When Pilate orders in disgust for "someone to have this blood cleaned from my halls", this provides the opportunity for Pilate's wife Claudia to hand over some cloths to Mary, the mother of God who begins to wipe up her son's blood. Mary Magdalene then joins in, the two of them adding tears to the spilled blood.

Longinus monitoring the meeting of Jesus and his mother

Once Jesus is condemned by Pilate, they hurry forward and are able to have a quick meeting with Jesus.
This is the opportunity for the only line Mary has as she asks her son, "My son, what have they done to you?"
Jesus replies with love and care in his voice, "It is the Lord's will my mother, let us rejoice."

Finally they make it to the crucifixion, where Jesus hands over Mary to the care of St John and John to the care of Mary.

Mary at the foot of the cross

A live version of the Pieta scene.

Finally, when the body of Jesus is taken down from the cross, bloodied and beaten, Mary gets to hold him one last time, reminiscent of the famous statue by Michelangelo, the Pieta.

The role of Mary and her loyal supporter Mary Magdalene are very strenuous. There is a lot of emotion going on and physical movement going from scene to scene. The two ladies who have taken on the roles this year have left powerful memories for all that have participated in the re-enactment.

The Blind Beggar and the Two Thieves

What is this commotion?

We have three more characters to explore in our Re-enactment journey. At the beginning of the action, Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, is sitting along the road, begging and calling to the crowd. Our actor this year did some great improvising calling to the crowd for about 30 minutes before Jesus finally came near him and his moment had arrived.
When he heard Jesus he cried out. The crowd told him to be quiet and stop bothering Jesus, but he cried out more.
Jesus heard him and asked James to bring the beggar to him.
"What would you have me do for you?" asks Jesus.
Boldly, Bartimaeus replies, "Lord, give me back my sight."
So Jesus laid his hands on Bartimaeus and his sight was restored. His joy at being healed was so great he bounced around the crowd proclaiming the power of Jesus until the crowd had all finally passed along, following Jesus.

Then the actor quickly went to his next scene where he changed costume to become Gestas, the bad thief. He joined the fellow playing Dysmas, the good thief, after he had arrived after being the Apostle, St Matthew.

Jesus! Heal me!

Hurry up Criminals!

The mission of the two thieves now was to endure the way of the cross leading the procession with all the action with Jesus occurring behind them. The Romans continued to encourage them to move forward and then stop as there was some commotion behind them, and then move again. The little scenes between the thieves and the Romans may have been missed by many, but they did their parts very well.

Finally they were placed on their crosses, one of the left and the other to the right of Jesus.

Gestas soon began to abuse and ridicule Jesus, "Are you not Christ? Then save yourself and save us too!"
But Dysmas spoke up, defending Jesus with his famous lines, "Have you no fear of God? It is true we were sentenced as we deserved and are paying for what we have done, but this man has done nothing wrong. Oh Jesus, please remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Then Jesus gave Dysmas the answer to his request, giving hope for us all, "Truly I promise you, this day you will be with me in paradise."

Hey Jesus! Call on Elijah to save you!

Jesus. Remember me when you come into your Kingdom!

Well done gentlemen. You did your parts very well!

Roman Centurion and Optio - a tale of conversion

Centurion Longinus and Optio Marcus watching the arrest

This year we focussed a bit more of the role of the Centurion Longinus and his Optio Marcus (Roman Sergeant).
They are there to do the bidding of Pontius Pilate and enforce the mandate of Rome in Jerusalem, this unforgiving backwater of the Roman Empire. The Re-enactment has the story arc whereby you can see how Longinus and Marcus both react to the events of this 24 hours in differing ways.
In the beginning they are present at the arrest scene, representing the power of Rome while the Jews take care of their own problems. They freely ridicule the difficulties that occur in what should be a simple arrest of another Jewish self proclaimed holy man.

Supervising the scourging

"But don't kill him" was the instruction

Longinus sees the potential for trouble and they go back to tell Pontius of what is coming.
They both assist with the movement of prisoners and Longinus oversees the instructions of Pontius Pilate to scourge Jesus - but not to kill him.
Jesus's reaction not to rant and rave or remonstrate and bear the indignities and violence without complaining affects Longinus as he ponders the man he escorts to his doom.
Marcus meanwhile just concentrates on his job, keeping back the Jewish rabble and wanting for the day to be over.
Longinus is at the front of the Way of the Cross next to Jesus as he meets his Mother, the Women of Jerusalem and Veronica. He "volunteers" a spectator to help Jesus carry the cross and contemplates all he witnesses.
At the end when he is at the foot of the cross and Jesus has died and the earth has shaken he is driven to exclaim, "Truly, this man was the Son of God."

A moment before bring Jesus out to Pilate

Longinus and Marcus holding the two prisoners

Marcus holding the line

Longinus and Marcus doing their duty

St Peter - passionate apostle.

Peter, prepare our room for the Last Supper

I wash your feet Peter

Saint Peter, the man chosen by Jesus to be the leader of his followers, is another important role in the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion. He is a brave, loyal, impetuous and loving devoted follower of Jesus, tried severely on this most important of days as Jesus fulfils His mission.
Whereas St John may not have understood what was happening but just did everything straight away, Saint Peter tried very hard to understand what Jesus said and wanted and desired to do what Jesus asked and more. And, like us, he often did not understand what Jesus was actually doing and went too far in his zeal. When you read the gospels, you can see how Jesus would have that loving smile, pleased with Peter's zeal, but constantly getting him back on track. "Do you not understand, Peter..." and so on are common statements.
In the Re-enactment, Peter is sent with John to prepare for the Last Supper and is there to meet Jesus and his fellow disciples when they arrive.
He then watches in surprise and confusion as Jesus, their leader, washes John's feet!

Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus, the Jewish guard

"Not I!" he loudly proclaims.
"You must," says Jesus.
"Then my head and feet too!" he suggests, going one better.
Jesus just beckons to Peter, who silently agrees and does just what Jesus wants.
Peter is also the one who most vehemently denies that he will abandon Jesus, and is ready to defend Jesus with all his might.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the Jewish Guards move in to arrest Jesus, the question is asked whether it is time to use their swords.
Without waiting for an answer, Peter flies in to the fight and cuts of the ear of Malchus, one of the Jewish Guards.

Simon, This is the time I will be handed over.

I don't know this man Jesus!

Jesus stops the fight, heals Malchus's ear and tries to explain to Peter that now is the time he is to be handed over to the Jews.
Confused, Peter and the rest of the Apostles run.
But Peter and John follow close behind and get into the courtyard of the House of Caiaphas through John's connections to the Sanhedrin. But after he sees Jesus beaten and sentenced as a blasphemer, Peter is once more tried through public accusations.
As predicted, he denied Jesus three times before the cock crew twice.

True to his character and the strength Jesus saw in him, Peter realised his mistake, learned from it and stepped up to be the leader of the Church. He never shied away from his tale of weakness, as many a leader might do, but shared his story in the gospels so all could know that failing isn't the problem, it is despair and refusing to go back which is the problem.

Veronica - the lady of tradition

Veronica approaches Jesus

Veronica Meets Jesus

The station of the cross where Veronica wipes the face of Jesus may not be in scripture, but it is firmly based in the history and tradition of the Church.
You can read more of the history of the Veil here.
Jesus meeting Veronica is an important part of the re-enactment and is sixth out of the fourteen stations of the cross.
Veronica nicely mixes the care for Jesus and the surprise that her kindly act of wiping His face with her veil leaves an indelible image of the face of Jesus.

Look! His face! He is a holy Man!

After her meeting with Jesus, Veronica moves on and joins the weeping Women of Jerusalem and then moves to the crucifixion scene to be part of the Jewish crowd watching the end of Our Lord's passion.

It is a fascinating part of the events of the day and forms an important part of the play.

After Jesus passes by

As part of the weeping Women of Jerusalem