17 April 2024 · 2024-04 newsletter
Every year our parish, St Francis Xavier in Armadale, WA invites the parishioners to walk the Way of the Cross at our Schoenstatt Centre. At the same time, the parish offers the possibility to walk with Jesus his Way of the Cross in the Parish Church as well as in St Kevin’s, Serpentine. We are truly grateful to our parish priest Fr. Mark and Deacon Patrick for making it possible that the Stations of the Cross can also be prayed at our centre.
It is a rugged and dusty path up the hill to the 12th station, to Golgotha, where Jesus died. A symbol of our life that can and will be at times rather rugged and tough.
Currently, the hill is bare, devoid of any life in this fifth month of not a drop of rain. Broken branches under the trees, rocks that have made their way from below to the surface, sand appearing where once there was grass, and the sun continues to beat down from blue skies.
Parishioners and friends from the surroundings have gathered already before 10.00 am in front of the shrine to begin their walk together with Jesus, ready to experience “Jesus’ pain which will lead us to a transformation of ourselves and shape in us a new person in Jesus’ likeness” (Introductory Prayer).
There were actors who visualized Jesus’s way of the cross, beginning with the Agony in the Garden and his arrest, the denial of Peter, Jesus’ condemnation to death and carrying his cross to Golgotha. Silence and a prayerful atmosphere accompanied the seriousness of the hour.
Many people braved the burning sun, many searched out the few shady spots. We all must have understood a little more what Jesus took upon himself just for you and me, once and for all.
The last people had just left when a truck pulled in with about 500 chairs to accommodate at least half of the more than 1000 people from the parish of the syro malabar speaking Indians and their friends. They have come to our Centre already for a few years to go the Way of the Cross and to celebrate the Good Friday services.
Cars filled every available spot of the lower part of our property and many parked even along the road. After the services the people received a simple meal, thanked us for the opportunity to pray at our centre and left the place as they found it.
The setting sun cast its golden glow over our centre: a sign of the stillness of the tomb, wrapped in the golden glow of the victory to come
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