GOOD FRIDAY : ‘Lord’s Passion’
In a service almost as old as Christianity, Roman Catholics gathered Friday at Holy Family Cathedral in Orange to remember Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on a hill called Calvary.
About 800 worshipers attended “The Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.”
As they softly sang “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” eighth-graders from Holy Family Cathedral School took part in a tableau depicting 14 moments, or “stations,” of Christ’s journey--from his condemnation to death by Pontius Pilate to his entombment.
Some of the students were dressed as Jerusalem townsfolk or Roman soldiers, but Michael Crouse looked especially solemn as, arms outstretched, his head crowned with thorns, he played the part of Jesus on the cross.
The students’ tableau has been a part of Holy Family’s Good Friday service for years, said the Very Rev. Arthur A. Holquin, rector of the cathedral and a co-celebrant with Bishop of Orange Norman F. McFarland and Auxiliary Bishop Michael Driscoll.
In keeping with Christian tradition, the service of communion and solemn prayer lasted nearly three hours, from noon until 3 p.m., “because Jesus hung on the cross for three hours,” Holquin said.
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