NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— On this Good Friday, Catholics in our area took part in an annual tradition –The Way of the Cross and Way of Justice Procession.
After a two-year pause due to COVID, this devotional Way of the Cross is back and commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus on Good Friday.
The Way of the Cross reflected on the Stations of the Cross on the Passion of Jesus Christ, but also included certain issues that are affecting our world, our city, and Catholics today.
This Good Friday, Catholics like Ben Heyob are walking and praying the Way of the Cross through the streets of Downtown New Orleans.
“Always going to apply to every aspect of life. I mean that is the teachings of Jesus. It is timeless,” Heyob said.
For Catholics, the Stations of the Cross tell Jesus’ journey to crucifixion, and the teachings are still relevant today. For example, the 3rd Station of the Cross… “Jesus Falls For the First Time.” These Catholics prayed in front of the New Orleans Public Library to bring awareness to “poor education.”
“The same thing is applicable today and it happened to Jesus during his life,” Sister Beatrice of St. Margaret’s Church said.
Other issues they reflected on were healthcare as they prayed in front of the old Charity Hospital. Immigration issues, where they prayed in front of City Hall, and even consumerism, where they prayed across from Saks Fifth Avenue.
Sister Mary Lou said, “Jesus brought to us his cross, we have to bring the crosses that are today to the people all around us.”
For them, Good Friday is about suffering, but remembering this.
“No matter what you are going through there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, there’s always a resurrection,” Heyob said.
The Stations of the Cross was put on today by a faith-based organization in the Irish Channel called Hope House.
The Stations of the Cross ended along the Mississippi River at Spanish Plaza with participants praying for hope.
In the Catholic Church, these are the Stations of the Cross:
1st- “Jesus Condemned to Death”
2nd- “Jesus Takes Up His Cross”
3rd- “Jesus Falls for the First Time”
4th- “Jesus Meets His Mother”
5th- “Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross”
6th- “Veronica Weeps Jesus’s Face”
7th- “Jesus Falls For a Second Time”
8th- “Jesus Speaks To The Women”
9th- “Jesus Falls For the Third Time”
10th- “Jesus Is Stripped of His Clothing”
11th- “Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross”
12th- “Jesus Dies On The Cross”
13th- “Jesus Taken Down From The Cross”
14th- “Resurrection”