Friday, March 26, 2010

Stations of the Cross Are Not a Downer! Really.

I had another very cool experience at Zach's school again this week. Being the season of Lent, Zach has been going to the Stations of the Cross service every Friday for the past few weeks. Having NOT been raised Catholic I have never been to such a service, however I have seen the Stations of the Cross in both Catholic and Episcopalian churches and they always look somewhat macabre and a "downer" so I was a little concerned that the material might be a bit heavy for my 5-year old who hides behind the couch whenever Thomas the Tank is about to get in trouble or have a crash on TV.

So today I went to the service to check it out. First, let me tell you this, if you are a Christian and have NOT been to a Station of the Cross service - I highly recommend you go. God doesn't care if you are not a Catholic, as long as you worship Him and you won't regret it. The service was amazing to me. Father Rich walked through each station and along with the children, explained what the station was - what Christ was doing, thinking, feeling; how others were reacting around him. Then discussed how we can take the lesson of each station and use it in our lives.

I learned more about Christ's journey to the cross today than I have in quite a while. I think as Evangelicals we sometimes gloss over the passion and go right to the Salvation. Now, I'm not saying that the Resurrection of Christ is not important, but there are a lot of lessons of Christ in that journey from arrest to Resurrection that are very important as well.

Some of my friends will recall my hesitation in putting Zachary in a Catholic school since we are not Catholic. I have to say, the more we progress through the year the more thrilled I am with this experience. Zach is bright and learning more academically, socially and spiritually every day. That's exactly what I'd hoped for, what I didn't count on is my own growth in the process as well. I'm thrilled with that. Just goes to show you that God will find you and grow you in the most least of expected places, so always keep your mind and your heart open.

And let me also just put my plug for Catholic schools in here. I am not a Catholic but I would recommend Catholic schools to anyone looking for a Christ-centered education. Zachary would never get the type of education in public school that he is getting at St. Joseph School. We are very involved parents so we talk with him about everything he does at school, religion included. Obviously if there is something I'm not familiar with - I go check it out. Zach is getting a well-rounded education and will be all the better for it. If you think you can't afford it, think again. We are on a very tight income right now with me not working, the school helped us make it work. Zach is worth it. We'd love to have you at St. Joseph - ask me how if you like. If we're not in your area, check with your local Catholic School, I don't think you'll regret it.

No comments:

Post a Comment