Backstory:
Opening the celebration of one hundred years of ministry, Saint Cecelia Catholic Church launched into its centennial year with a Lenten Mission presented by Reverend Louis Scurti. Father Scurti is a travelling priest and an avid painter of religious art, who created vivid scenes of The Lord’s walk to Calvary from the perspective of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows. In honor of our centennial, Father Scurti donated these fourteen impressionistic paintings for fundraising purposes. The collection has been valued at $8,000 by Burke Appraisal and is offered for auction to befit our ongoing ministries.
This collection is presently being auctioned. Until our online purchasing system is ready, interested parties can contact 447-3494 for inquiries.
The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
“And as soon as it was morning the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the whole council held a consultation; and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate wondered. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.” Mark 15: 1-5
The Second Station: Jesus Carries the Cross
“When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.” John 19:6, 15-17
The Third Station: Jesus Falls for the First Time
“And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe; they came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.” John 19:1-3
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother
Mary knew from the very beginning that her son would suffer–but did she really understand just how bad it would be to watch it unfold right in front of her? Mary, what were you thinking and feeling that day? Did those images stab your heart every day for the rest of your life? Did you wake in the night sweating from the terror of reliving those moments in nightmares? Pray for us, Mary. Teach us to prayerfully endure the struggles in our own lives and to comfort others when they suffer.
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
“And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.” Mark 15:21
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Veronica boldly stepped out of the crowd to wipe Jesus’ face of blood and sweat. She wasn’t afraid to be seen with him. She didn’t care that he was the most hated man on earth that day. She noticed his need, and she went to him. Jesus was the same way. He made a habit of going out of this way to engage with people on the fringe of society–no matter who they were or what they were like. He never avoided people. He never ignored them. And he invites you to act in the same way.
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls a Second Time
Jesus was God and he still fell under the weight of the world–not just once, but now for a second time. Do you ever fall under the weight of your world? Life is difficult. The problem is that we expect it to be easy or we try to make it easy. Life proposes a series of challenges, dilemmas, problems, dissatisfactions, heartaches, and opportunities, but often we set out to avoid all difficulty and friction. This is impossible, so we become agitated and angry. We shun anything that will bring us stress. So why did Jesus run toward it? Why did Jesus accept stress and suffering and humiliation and even death? Because he had a mission. And that mission–to save you, to save all of humanity–was the reason he was able to get up again.
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem\
“And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”” Luke 23:27-31
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls a Third Time
Jesus is exhausted and the weight of the cross overwhelms him. There are times in our lives like this too–times when we don’t know which way is up or down, left or right, back or forward. What do you do when you find yourself beat up and abandoned in one of life’s dark alleys? What do you do when you have been blindsided by betrayal? Walk toward the light.
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the scripture, “They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”” John 19:23-24
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
“And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.” Luke 23:33-34
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.” Luke 23:44-46
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus’ Body is Removed from the Cross
“When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathe´a, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.” Matthew 27:57-58
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
“After this Joseph of Arimathe´a, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body. Nicode´mus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’ weight. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.” John 19:38-40