Daily Nourishment for Monday of Holy Week: Stations of the Cross and Stabat Mater
Daily Nourishment Read Time: A few minutes
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15-20 minutes
Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian tradition. SDW Daily Nourishment will provide Pauses, Prompts, and Practices to help readers explore the meaning of this liturgical season and notice personal connections between these specific days and our present realities. All are welcome to engage with the art and ideas below.
“Human beings characteristically see patterns and make connections. Christians ought to celebrate that faculty and receive it as part of how we find our way to God.” - Lauren Winner, “Encountering Art and Encountering God”
Pause.
According to the Episcopal Church, The Way of the Cross or Stations of the Cross are “a devotion to the Passion of Christ which recalls a series of events at the end of Jesus' life from his condemnation to his burial. The Way of the Cross imitates the practice of visiting the places of Jesus' Passion in the Holy Land by early Christian pilgrims. The first stations outside Palestine were built in Bologna in the fifth century. This devotion was encouraged by the Franciscans, and it became common in the fifteenth century. The number of stations for prayer and meditation in the Way of the Cross has varied, but it typically includes fourteen stations. Each station may have a cross and an artistic representation of the scene. The stations may be erected inside a church or outdoors.”
Take slow deep breaths while listening to “Stabat Mater, P.77: I. Duet.Stabet Mater dolorosa and reviewing the list below tbat describes what’s represented by each of the Stations of the Cross.
1) Jesus is condemned to death;
2) Jesus takes up his cross;
3) Jesus falls the first time;
4) Jesus meets his afflicted mother;
5) the cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene;
6) a woman wipes the face of Jesus;
7) Jesus falls a second time;
8) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem;
9) Jesus falls a third time;
10) Jesus is stripped of his garments;
11) Jesus is nailed to the cross;
12) Jesus dies on the cross;
13) the body of Jesus is placed in the arms of his mother;
14) Jesus is laid in the tomb.
Prompt.
“The brush and ink drawings in our Stations of the cross were originally created by Allan Rohan Crite for St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in the city of St. Louis (since closed). They depict Jesus as a black man, walking through an African-American neighborhood. On close examination the newspapers in each drawing give clues as to the station depicted. Holy Communion’s stations are a copy of the originals, made with the gracious permission of the vestry of All Saints and Ascension Episcopal Church, the inheritors of the artwork. The originals are on display in their sanctuary in Northwoods. Holy Communion is thankful for their gift.
Allan Rohan Crite has been described as “artist-reporter of the African American community.” Born in 1910, Crite grew up and continued to live in Boston. As stated by one art historian: “Crite viewed his work as a vehicle of communication, daring to span the gulf between the ordinary and the extraordinary, the secular, and the divine.” His paintings tell a simple story about the quality of one day, a small activity, or an historic holy event. Rohan Crite was a lifelong Episcopalian.”
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Take a few minutes to do a close looking of Station 1 by Allan Rohan Crite below. If you like, take notes about what captures your attention, what makes you curious, what happens in your body, mind, and soul as you look at this art.
Practice.
Set a timer for five minutes and have five minutes of silence and stillness.
After the silence, write three sentences about your five minutes of silence.
Write three sentences in response to today’s Pause and Prompt.
Write three more sentences about anything that comes to mind.
Want More?
You can listen to more tracks from Stabat Mater here.
Take more time to look at all of Allan Rohan Crite’s Stations of the Cross here.
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Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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