St. John the Evangelist Parish and the Shrine of the Passion of Christ in St. John, Indiana

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane-Shrine of Christ's Passion

On the Eve of Pentecost, my family and I were blessed to go on a pilgrimage to  the Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John, Indiana led by Bishop Donald Hying of Gary, Indiana and Fr. Anthony Jelinek of Marytown in Libertyville, Illinois.  The pilgrimage was sponsored by Michael Wick of The Institute on Religious Life.  We were all deeply moved by the experience, so much so that I thought about just titling this blog post "Wow!"

Although a trip out of town is always a fun occasion, a pilgrimage is not just any ordinary trip, but rather, it is meant to be difficult and to change us in some way, helping us to draw closer to the Lord, and so we were well-prepared to deal with any challenges that we might encounter, although, admittedly, we encountered very few.

Our first stop was at St. John the Evangelist Church in St. John, Indiana.  The presider at Mass was our dear friend, Bishop Hying.  It was so good to pray with him, and in his moving homily about the power of Pentecost he shared one of my favorite quotes of his: "One thing is certain. When we give our lives over to the Holy Spirit, nothing will ever be safe or dull again. We will find ourselves blown out to the deep water and then Christ will bid us to get out of the boat." 

Following Mass, one of the parishioners gave us a tour of the church and shared the history of the parish with us.

St. John the Evangelist Parish Church in the diocese of Gary was originally built in 1837.  The original church, the first church in Northern Indiana, was made of logs and is still standing and is used today at a perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.  The chapel was only a few minutes away from the newer church so we took a few minutes on our way home at the end of the day to stop and pray in that beautiful chapel and were deeply moved to be with the Lord in such an historical treasure.

When the parish outgrew the log cabin, they had built a larger church, and then years later an even larger church right next door.  Now they have once again outgrown that third church but continue to use it for the daily and school Masses.  In 2008, they built this newest church which seats 10,000 people, the number of people who attended this past year's Good Friday service.  Our tour guide boasted that although the original debt for the cost of the building was well into the millions, most of the debt is already paid off.  The architect who designed the church is a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Parish.  How special it must feel to worship in the building that you designed!

St. John the Evangelist Church as seen from the grounds of the Shrine of Christ's Passion.

A large statue of Our Lady, properly crowned for May.
The grounds of the Shrine of the Passion of Christ can be seen in the background.

A window in the front of the church displays scenes from the book of Revelation.

photo credit:  John Paul Bender

The two-sided tabernacle which opens from the back  is flanked by two angels on loan from a private collection in Rome.  The hand-carved gold leaf angels are over 300 years old.

The angels that surround the tabernacle on both sides represent the Liturgy of the Hours.
They were designed by the same architect that designed the church.
Photo Credit:  John Paul Bender

The Stations of the Cross are made of ceramic by Suzanne Young from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

She captured the expression on Our Lady's face so perfectly here...

...and here, as well.  You can feel her love and her sorrow.

The stained-glass Holy Spirit window mimics the one found at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

Although she's not yet been declared a saint, the church has a
stained glass window of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

St. Pope John Paul has a window, as well.

The Blessed Mother with the infant Jesus were carved by the same artist who made the
statue of the Blessed Mother for St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in downtown Milwaukee.

Upon arriving at the Shrine of Christ's Passion, which is literally in the backyard of St. John the Evangelist Church, we were greeted by a giant, metallic statue of Our Lady of the Millenium, and, just before leaving, our pilgrimage group gathered around the statue to pray the rosary.

Our Lady of the New Millennium

The volunteers at the Shrine who guided us on our prayerful tour of the life-sized Stations of the Cross, were informative, friendly and helpful.  They also are already very fond of their new bishop which made all of us who were visiting from Milwaukee very proud.

As we walked the path from station to station, the path that was measured out to be the exact same distance that Christ had walked on his Way to Calvary, they spoke about nuances of the artwork and shared stories of how past pilgrims have been touched by the Stations of the Cross at the Shrine. Then they played an audio-recorded prayer for each station while hauntingly beautiful music played in the background.

Touch me not!  Our Resurrected Lord meets St. Mary Magdalene.

Fr. Jelinek lies prostrate at the crucifix and leads us in prayer.

The highlight of the Shrine visit were the reflections offered at each station by Fr. Jelinek.  In his rich Hungarian voice, he added relevance to each station regarding how we live our lives today.  He cautioned us against gossip, spoke about the importance of turning to the Blessed Mother whenever we are in need, reminded us of the importance of a good and frequent confession, mentioned that if we don't forgive ourselves it will be impossible for us to forgive others, at the eighth station pointed out that only women were present and mentioned that even today most church-goers are women, and then spoke about how important it is for men to have a deep and personal relationship with the Lord.  At each and every stop, Father stressed the need for prayer.  Fr. Jelinec spoke with conviction in a "fire and brimstone" manner, warning us to be on our guard at all times so that when our personal judgment arrives, we won't be one of the many who hear "I never knew you."

Fr. Jelinek shares the story of how Our Lady was a help to him while he was persecuted in Communist Hungary.

I'm planning a return pilgrimage to the Shrine of Christ's Passion with my sisters and nieces in late June.  I can hardly wait!  For another perspective on our pilgrimage, visit my son, John's blog here.

Bound

artwork drawn by my son, Justin, when he was eleven-years-old,
based upon a drawing found in a Stations of the Cross booklet for children
from Gesu Parish in Milwaukee, originally drawn by Mugsie Pike

Here He is,

painfully bound-

bound by my sin,

my misery,

my indifference.

How can I loosen

those binding ties, my Lord?

How can I relieve

your suffering and sorrow?

Let my tears of repentance

fall in abundance.

Let the hope in my heart

set you free.

Let the joy of my life

lived with gratitude

be the dagger

to cut the burning ties

that excoriate Your skin,

scorching through to Your 

Most Sacred Heart,

already burning with the fire

of love for my pitiful soul.

The only binding I can bear
to see You held within, my Lord,

is the fastening You desire.

I will wrap my life around Your holy will

and forever be held close to You, 

bound to Your beautiful love

today and into eternity.

Dust

I had volunteered to lector for the Ash Wednesday Mass, and when I arrived in the sacristy before Mass, Dave, the sacristan, asked me if I would help distribute ashes.  With forty-eight years of experience as an ash-receiver to my credit, I had never once distributed ashes before, and I found the experience to be deeply moving.

Dave handed me a small card with the words "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" written upon it.  I clutched the card tightly during the first half of Mass and glanced at it over and over again, afraid that I would forget the words.

When the time came to distribute the ashes, Fr. Joe invited those who were helping to come to the front of church to receive their ashes first.  When he firmly placed the cross of ashes upon my forehead, Fr. Joe said, "Remember, you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Maybe he didn't get the cue card, I thought.  But I decided that it would be easier to remember to speak about dust as I was smearing it upon foreheads and so I followed Fr. Joe's example.  After the helpers received their ashes, Fr. Joe turned to me and asked me to place the ashes upon his forehead.

My hand trembled as I shoved my thumb into the dish of ashes, and faintly drew a cross upon Fr. Joe's forehead,  whispering the reminder to him that he was dust.  Something about this sinful woman reminding a holy priest of his littleness felt extremely humbling.  But maybe it wasn't because he was a priest.  Maybe, I was soon to discover with each forehead that was presented to me, distributing ashes was meant to humble the distributor as much as the receiver.  

The church was standing room only, and soon I was smearing crosses upon the elderly, children and babies.  It wasn't long before it felt like a physically taxing exercise as I bent down for the children and reached up for those who were tall.  When my two youngest children and my husband stood before me, all smiles, I recalled all of the moments when I had traced the cross upon their forehead in a blessing, with a clean and dry thumb, sans the ashes, and the words, "God bless you" instead of "You are dust."  

source

With each person who stood before me, waiting for the reminder of their sinful humanity as they embarked upon yet another Lenten season,  I thought of Christ, with his face down in the dirt of the Via Dolorosa during his three falls and I wished I were wiping the dirt off of their faces, like Veronica, instead of marking them with it.  And yet, when I washed the ashes off my own forehead before I went to bed that night, I prayed that a faint shadow of the cross would remain, reminding me of my need for Him and my gratitude for all that He suffered for the likes of me.

Marked

I receive the ashes that label me as His child, His own.

The dust flakes down into my eyes, flirting with my lashes and
blurring my vision of worldly things, reminding me that the
spiritual realm can often contain that which is dirty, dusty and dark.

The ash that marks me settles deep within my soul,
mingling with the sorrow and joy that God's love
has carefully placed within my life.

I am marked as His own and will carry that mark
from my forehead to my soul
beyond this season of Lent and into forever.

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIV-Jesus is laid in the tomb

(The fourteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Calm as a summer evening when no breezes are abroad, quiet as a noonday wood when all birds are songless, the Face of Jesus rests in death.  The Holy Countenance breathes by its very silence its last and final message:  "it is Consummated."  Not the malice of men, nor their ingratitude, is consummated, but the atonement for all human malice and ingratitude by the Sacrifice of that fair but now broken Humanity of God's Son.  With thoughtfulness too deep for words, with grief too deep for tears, the faithful disciples carry in tender haste the body of their Master to Joseph's tomb.

Jesus, because You were born in a cave and laid to rest in another man's tomb, I find courage to ask You to rest in this poor soul of mine.  It must have value in Your eyes, for You paid so readily a great price for its possession.  Take then, Jesus, what You have bought, and give me in return Your forgiveness and Your love.

Sorrowful Mother, rejoice with Jesus; He shall not have died in vain for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIII-Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms

(The thirteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is the gentle majesty of Holiness, something suggestive of the calm sleep of innocent childhood, on the Face of Jesus taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms.  It would seem as if the years had been suddenly turned back and the peace of a Nazareth eventide had settled with the lips of Mary upon the Face of God.

Jesus, whatever the cost, and I have surely cost You much, do not let me die without heartfelt repentance for my sins, without the absolution of Your priest, the blessing of Your vicar, the Unction of the Holy Oils, and Your Kiss of Peace in Holy Viaticum.

Blessed Mother, as you stood by Jesus dying, stand by me and those I love, in that dread hour when into fearful darkness the Light of Justice reaches, to fall with fearful brightness on our souls.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XII-Jesus dies on the cross

(The twelfth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this twelfth station the hatred of men and the love of Jesus reach flood-tide, and then His ebbing Blood leaves at last His Sacred Body lifeless on the Cross.  Greater love than this no man hath-than that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Jesus laid down His for His enemies.

Jesus, no one can deny the grandeur of Your sacrifice, even though he fail to comprehend its widest extension and its fullest meaning.  Have mercy on me, my Jesus, that turning from the world like the penitent thief, I may claim the heaven of Your love.

Mother of God, Refuge of sinners, pray for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XI-Jesus is nailed to the cross

(The eleventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is a calm expectance on the Face of Jesus upturned upon the wood of the Cross.  He is waiting for the iron nails of man's ingratitude to confirm for all time the limitations of man's comprehension of God and the limitlessness of God's comprehension of man.  Only God-or the God-sustained-could bear with a prayer of forgiveness the torture of the nails.

Jesus, remembering your great pain, the Precious Blood pouring from Your hands and feet, let me be patient with all men, even with myself; let me be confident of the adequacy of Your redemption, and use that confidence not as a license for sinful indulgence but as an inspiration to more God-like living.

Blessed Mother, the hammer-blows on Calvary beat upon your heart; let me hear them, too.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross X-Jesus is stripped of His garments

(The tenth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

The mental suffering of Jesus is indicated in His Face in this, the tenth station.  Men drop their eyes in Christian modesty, which in the pure and humble is but instinctive shame for the stains of original sin.  Jesus lifts His eyes, because He is unsullied by any sin and stands clothed in Innocence and in His own Blood, symbolizing our poor, torn humanity restored to innocence and grace by this Most Holy Victim.

Jesus, when death strips me of all things else, let my soul appear for judgment clothed in the red mantle of Your Blood.

Mother Most Pure, pray for me to Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IX-Jesus falls the third time

(The ninth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is an utter weariness in the Holy Face drooping like a tired flower back to the breast of the earth.  Eyes and mouth have not the strength to close, so complete is the exhaustion of the Master.  Only the will to sacrifice remains in vigor, and that will endures because its strength is nourished by Love Divine.

Jesus, somewhere along the road ahead, a last disappointing failure may be waiting for me, a last moment of bodily weariness, perhaps a last moment of moral weariness.  Jesus, on my bodily and spiritual infirmities have mercy, remembering your own last fall.

Blessed Mother, pity the tired ones of the world. 

 (From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VIII-Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem

(The eighth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is dignity that no indignity can destroy manifest in the Face of Jesus as He turns towards the daughters of Jerusalem in recognition of their sympathy.  A light suggestive of surprise lingers in His eyes.

Jesus, even in this moment, when these think of You with the ready sympathy of true women, Your thoughts are not of Your sorrows but of the sufferings of others, and more especially the loss of souls immortal.  Master, teach me to weigh all things, even as You do, in the scales of salvation.  Make me ready, even as You, to purchase at any price my own and my neighbor's eternal well-being.

Blessed Mother, surely your prayer, your example, stirred the quick sympathy of the daughters of Jerusalem.  Secure for me, if not tears for the suffering of Jesus, at least repentance for my sins.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

 The above picture is the original one used in Fr. Fitzgerald's version of The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross but the Columban Fathers used the picture at the beginning of this post in their version.  Considering the words, "A light suggestive of surprise lingers in his eyes", this picture makes more sense, don't you agree?

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VII-Jesus falls the second time

(The seventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

Jesus was mindful of the abiding character of human frailty and in this His second fall beneath the Cross, His very exhaustion provided for all time courage and strength, grace for souls that find themselves constantly in need of beginning again.

Jesus, in a very special manner I thank You for the second fall beneath the Cross, for repeated falls with repeated need to begin again are characteristics of my life, and indeed of the lives of thousands.  Your second fall assured me of Your patience with human weakness and inspires me to lift myself by Your grace and to begin again.

Mother dearest, your only weakness was that of love; extend your pitying love to me and to all who fall in sin and need must rise again.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VI-A holy woman wipes the Face of Jesus

(The sixth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

No less a symbol than Simon of Cyrene, as well as more admirable, is the holy woman whom we call Veronica.  Breaking through the crowd of morbid, curious people, unmindful of rabble jeers or soldier brawn, this holy woman-representative of the more generous lovers of Jesus-threw herself at the feet of the suffering Master and rising, offered her veil to wipe from His Sacred Face the Blood of Divine Love and the spittle of human hate.

Jesus, How swift, how gracious Your recognition of Veronica's heroic action!  Upon her veil You left an image of Your outraged Face, and thus sanctioned for all time devotion thereto.

Sorrowful Mother, lift my soul as a Veronica's veil to the outraged Face of Jesus.  Beg him to leave thereon the image of His Holiness and Beauty so clearly impressed that the beauty of creatures may not draw me from my allegiance to the beauty of Christ.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross V-Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross

(The fifth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Simon of Cyrene is more than an historic figure; he is as well a symbol of untold millions of Christians.  He did not choose the Cross, it was thrust upon him.  He embraced it because there seemed no other possible course of action, yet before he finished his forced journey, there had come to him the initial grace of realizing his privilege of sharing with the Saviour the road to Calvary.

Jesus, look upon me as You did upon Simon of Cyrene, with a love comprehensive of my limitations.  Grant me the grace You gave to him.  In so far as is necessary, force me to carry the cross, and as I bear it, awaken by Your grace in the depth of my soul appreciation of the privilege of even the most insignificant part in Your Saving Passion.

Mother of Sorrows, you who participated so perfectly in the sufferings of Jesus, secure for me the grace of a deepening love of Jesus, like that granted to Simon of Cyrene.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IV-Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

(The fourth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

It would be hard to conceive a moment at once of deeper anguish and of higher exaltation than that moment when the eyes of Jesus met the eyes of His Mother, as the Son passed by on the way to Calvary.  In that brief instant two worlds, two suns of burning love, fused into one universe, mutually attracting and balancing each other, with their love for each other as the attracting, and their love for men as the repulsing force.  In that moment the perfection of their mutual love revealed itself, as so often must our loves on earth, not by retarding but by encouraging each other in sacrifice.

Jesus, You could not have given me more striking proof of love than this: for me and for my salvation You passed Your sinless Mother by.  For human love it is written that a man shall leave his father and mother, and yet on the way to Calvary I witness a mystical yet no less real manifestation of that mysterious love which has drawn me out of the womb of nothingness and destines me by Your saving grace for life eternal.

Dearest Mother, on the way to Calvary, you gave up Your Son-the Bridegroom of souls-to me; that I may be less unworthy of that sacrifice, help me this day to give up some small thing for you.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's FathersForeign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross III-Jesus Falls Under the Weight of the Cross

(The third in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Moral failure, moral weakness, was not possible to Jesus, the All-Holy Son of God; but He knew how often in us moral and physical infirmities are allied; how often, as a result of original sin, man's corporeal being drags upon his spirit.  Therefore, Jesus willed to accept as much of our weakness as was compatible with the perfection of moral integrity.  He willed to suffer fatigue even to the exhaustion of His body and then by lifting Himself by His Divine Power, He taught us how in our weakness we might rise by His Strength and go forward to ultimate victory, salvation and sanctification.

Jesus, You have known the agony of exhaustion; how close that brings You to me!  Never am I more aware of the completeness of Your love than when I behold You crushed and exhausted beneath the weight of the Cross.

Sorrowful Mother, you were not permitted to help Jesus, but I am also your child; he permits you-as your love ever wills-to help me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross II-Jesus is Laden with the Cross

(The second in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this second Station we see the Face of Christ uplifted in anticipation of oblation.  Before Pilate, Jesus is the Lamb of God; before the Cross, He is the Lion of the House of Juda, on whose countenance gleams the light of sacrifice.

Beloved Master, You have made of the instrument of Your suffering a symbol of sublimest sacrifice; Your Cross has given to every cross a hidden value that can sustain me when my own grows heavy.  In that hour, Jesus, let me glimpse the exaltation of Your Face as You embraced the Cross.

Mother, who in spirit so perfectly accompanied and shared the Cross of Jesus, assist me also to bear mine. Teach me that crosses have many disguises.  Help me to remember Jesus, that however my cross be disguised, I may recognize and accept it for love of Him.

(from The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP,  founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood published by  St. Columban's Foreign Mission Society)