A Collection of 15 Stations of the Cross paintings and Meditations. The Lenten season is upon us in just a few days. Sacred Art is more than biblical story telling. Rituals like the Stations of the …More
A Collection of 15 Stations of the Cross paintings and Meditations.
The Lenten season is upon us in just a few days.
Sacred Art is more than biblical story telling. Rituals like the Stations of the cross were designed as a visual tool for the community. They help us navigate through a prescribed set of messages and motif and are no longer limited to only church. While the traditional form retains the rich connotations of the underlying message, there is room for reinterpretations that traverse boundaries and expand the possibility of transforming our normal life. The 15 Stations of the Cross allow the inquiry for why do we have to suffer including the social, political, and metaphysical ways as well.
My small collection strips the elements in the story to faces, hands and the cross to underscore our human commonality. Lent and Stations of the Cross exalt unjust suffering, particularly those individuals struggling against authority. Parts of each one of us are seen, touched and crucified everyday.
Station 1 – Jesus is Condemned to Death
Haven’t we all known betrayal, when we want a certain outcome and what we find is something other. Jesus is betrayed by the people in authority. He stands before Pilot as a spiritual warrior, vulnerable in the face of evil force, dominance and power. The intellectual stamina needed to not resist at times like this is enormous, to allow the injustice, accept the condemnation without opposition. He has said “yes” to God and placed his life in God’s hands reminding Pilot,”You have nothing in your hands”.
We follow Jesus with reverence for our own hope to surrender and trust that there is a plan unfolding and our job is to submit willingly without fear. We cannot resist because it is out of our control, because it is ignorance and fear we are faced with. We like Jesus must walk in the direction someone else has chosen, we cannot argue or resist. It would only add to the injustice.
Station 2 – Jesus Takes Up the Cross
He is handed the heavy rough wood to be crucified upon. He took the weight of injustice upon his shoulders! The wood symbolizes the connection to earth and to humanity, that Jesus has had while living and walking among us. With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience and teaches us to not turn away from injustice but to stare at it without flinching. He accepts the path of human misery and suffering that is part of our human life and shows us how to say yes. He accepts carrying the cross he will be crucified on.
Each and every one of us has a cross to carry. Whether illness, emotional turmoil, physical deformity etc. each of us must carry on with what we have been given, no one can walk for us, there will be no short cuts, or payback.
The entire meditation is Available as a FREE PDF for you to down load.
Contact Mary Jane Miller, milericons@gmail.com
The Lenten season is upon us in just a few days.
Sacred Art is more than biblical story telling. Rituals like the Stations of the cross were designed as a visual tool for the community. They help us navigate through a prescribed set of messages and motif and are no longer limited to only church. While the traditional form retains the rich connotations of the underlying message, there is room for reinterpretations that traverse boundaries and expand the possibility of transforming our normal life. The 15 Stations of the Cross allow the inquiry for why do we have to suffer including the social, political, and metaphysical ways as well.
My small collection strips the elements in the story to faces, hands and the cross to underscore our human commonality. Lent and Stations of the Cross exalt unjust suffering, particularly those individuals struggling against authority. Parts of each one of us are seen, touched and crucified everyday.
Station 1 – Jesus is Condemned to Death
Haven’t we all known betrayal, when we want a certain outcome and what we find is something other. Jesus is betrayed by the people in authority. He stands before Pilot as a spiritual warrior, vulnerable in the face of evil force, dominance and power. The intellectual stamina needed to not resist at times like this is enormous, to allow the injustice, accept the condemnation without opposition. He has said “yes” to God and placed his life in God’s hands reminding Pilot,”You have nothing in your hands”.
We follow Jesus with reverence for our own hope to surrender and trust that there is a plan unfolding and our job is to submit willingly without fear. We cannot resist because it is out of our control, because it is ignorance and fear we are faced with. We like Jesus must walk in the direction someone else has chosen, we cannot argue or resist. It would only add to the injustice.
Station 2 – Jesus Takes Up the Cross
He is handed the heavy rough wood to be crucified upon. He took the weight of injustice upon his shoulders! The wood symbolizes the connection to earth and to humanity, that Jesus has had while living and walking among us. With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience and teaches us to not turn away from injustice but to stare at it without flinching. He accepts the path of human misery and suffering that is part of our human life and shows us how to say yes. He accepts carrying the cross he will be crucified on.
Each and every one of us has a cross to carry. Whether illness, emotional turmoil, physical deformity etc. each of us must carry on with what we have been given, no one can walk for us, there will be no short cuts, or payback.
The entire meditation is Available as a FREE PDF for you to down load.
Contact Mary Jane Miller, milericons@gmail.com