Sounds and touch bring Jesus’ passion to life in Wynne

Parishioners say ‘virtual’ Stations of the Cross helped them ‘feel it’ more than just reading

Published: April 7, 2018

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Courtesy Lana Ampueda

St. Peter Church in Wynne CYM member Andrew Mohr, 17, places a “crown of thorns” on youth group volunteer Jacob Hess, 24. Students were practicing the “virtual” Stations of the Cross to present to parishioners.

Courtesy Lana Ampueda

A grapevine wreath, a broom, bamboo sticks and some masonry nails hold little significance on their own. But with these everyday items, mixed with faith and a little imagination, a blindfolded person can walk the path Jesus took toward his crucifixion.

The CYM program at St. Peter Church in Wynne opened up their “virtual” Stations of the Cross exercise to the parish after 9 a.m. Mass Sunday, March 11. Youth minister Lana Ampueda said the script was from the Center for Ministry Development, part of the Youth Ministry Access program that CYM follows.

“We wanted to share it with the rest of the parish if possible,” Ampueda said, adding that she used the script a few years ago, but this year was the first time they opened it up to parishioners.

“I think they got more of a firsthand experience, feeling what Jesus may have felt during that time,” she said.

There are six students in the parish’s CYM program who went through the experience with each other first. Classrooms were set up in the parish hall, with each one including different items that signify Jesus’ Passion. The participant, blindfolded, would be led through a sound and touch version of the Stations of the Cross by a CYM student. Music from the 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ” played softly while another student read Scripture passages, emphasizing parts like the crowd yelling “Crucify him.” Each station came with different props — including a broom or bamboo stick for a cross, a grapevine wreath for the crown of thorns and a tissue for Veronica’s cloth that wiped the face of Jesus.

When Jesus approaches the women weeping, Ampueda said the youth read “it brought a tear to his eye” and used a wet Q-tip to simulate a tear on the person’s face. Logan Hess, 14, who led participants through and handed them props, said “when we wiped the tears on the participant” it was the most impactful for him because “it just made me think about how sorrowful his followers must have been.”

Lauren Hagler, 15, read the shortened version of the stations, while her sister Samantha, 16, helped lead visitors through the experience.

“I tried to read more dramatically, I felt it put more emotion into it,” she said. “It’s so important because Jesus was willing to give up his life for us and understanding what it was like for him … just walking through as if we were making the steps as Jesus Christ, I knew it bothered some people.”

When Hagler went through it herself, holding her hands out like Jesus and gripping the nails “impacted me so much because I thought I was just holding the nails; imagine these being inside of me.”

Parish secretary Louise Hess said she went through the virtual stations to “better feel what Jesus felt.”

“I think the most powerful part for me was the sound of the hammering … the pounding of the nails. It gave me chills,” Hess said. “I think a lot of times we just go through the motions of the Stations of the Cross reading them. When you close your eyes it’s just a whole different experience. You don’t just read it, you actually feel it. You relate more to it.”

Ampueda said about 30 people attended, including PRE students, catechists and a few parishioners.

“At the first one we put a piece of rope around their hands and said how your friends have just betrayed you and now you’re brought in front of a crowd and they’re yelling crucify them,” Ampueda said. “They all have friends — for them to stand in his shoes and know that he was betrayed by his friends and just putting themselves in his place creates a different feeling than just hearing someone read about it.”

After death on the cross, the participant would hear, “The story does not end here. Christ has risen from the dead and brought new life to us,” and their blindfold removed, standing in front of a picture or statue of Jesus.

“The ones who went through it loved it,” Ampueda said. “They seemed to be very, very moved by it and very impressed so I hope that in the future we’d be able to do it again and hopefully get more people to experience it,” she said.