Via Crucis
Today is Good Friday and at any number of Catholic churches in America, if there is a Hispanic or Filipino community, chances are good that they will be doing a live version of the Via Crucis, or Stations of the Cross. This commemorates Jesus' march from His condemnation to His death to His burial in the tomb.
No lie, the Latinos have us Anglos beat when it comes to displays of faith. I know today that in Market Square in Knoxville, there will be a living Stations of the Cross that will be polite and sanitized, as members of the local Protestant churches gather with a Jesus who looks, at best, simply tired.
I know from my days at St. Joseph Church in Santa Ana, when Latinos do the Via Crucis, the man playing Jesus is roughed up considerably. He gets thrown to the ground, he gets pushed violently, he gets whipped with soft ropes but hey, that still stings. In short, to play Jesus is an honor but whoever does knows he is going to be aching for a week.
These are scenes from the Via Crucis in 2016 at Holy Ghost Church in the Happy Holler section of Knoxville.
No lie, the Latinos have us Anglos beat when it comes to displays of faith. I know today that in Market Square in Knoxville, there will be a living Stations of the Cross that will be polite and sanitized, as members of the local Protestant churches gather with a Jesus who looks, at best, simply tired.
I know from my days at St. Joseph Church in Santa Ana, when Latinos do the Via Crucis, the man playing Jesus is roughed up considerably. He gets thrown to the ground, he gets pushed violently, he gets whipped with soft ropes but hey, that still stings. In short, to play Jesus is an honor but whoever does knows he is going to be aching for a week.
These are scenes from the Via Crucis in 2016 at Holy Ghost Church in the Happy Holler section of Knoxville.
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