I never made it. Friday at 7pm was just undoable. I was too comfortable at home.
I still wanted to go, though, and felt bad about not doing so. Last weekend, I decided come what may I was heading down the road on Friday.
Praise be because that's what I did. I got lucky, or else divine providence helped me, as an hour or so beforehand my corner of London got hit by a torrential downpour. By the time I left the house, however, it was no more than a few drops of rain.
The Stations were preceded by Mass. There was no server so I stepped in, keeping an eye out for a reader as we (the parish priest and I) didn't know if anyone would come up to the ambo. Fortunately, they did. The most dramatic point of my evening was lifting the sanctus bell on its cushion from the bench to the floor while kneeling on the latter. Had I dropped it the whole church and a few people outside would have known about it. Happily, my hands were steady.
After Mass, I expected to disrobe and join the congregations for the Stations. Instead, the P.P. asked if I would act as cross-bearer. I don't know how other parishes (Catholic or otherwise) do their Stations, but in ours, we had two candle-bearers and myself as cross-bearer accompanying the P.P. as he went from station to station, reading out the prayers and meditations.
The Stations took somewhere between 30-45 minutes to complete. I'd be more specific but I forgot to check the time until I got home! It went well, though I have to admit I am not really a fan of our stations. We talk about how bloodied Jesus was but though they represent the Passion, there is no blood or any sign of physical injury in any of them. I'm not expecting to see anything like Mel Gilbson's Passion of the Christ, but some acknowledgment of the physical effects of what Jesus went through would be good. With that said, if you look at the image above, it too shows no blood or gore. Perhaps no station does; I'd never thought about that before. Maybe realism is eschewed because it would distract from the meaning of the Passion and death of Our Lord.
The cross was a wooden one and quite heavy. I am not the most muscular person in the world so was glad when we got to the end. With that said, I am already looking forward to next Friday. Whether I am serving and/or cross-bearing or in the congregation, it will be good to be there.
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