MARCH 2012

passion play
Living Stations makes a Lenten impact
By Crystal Kassab Jabiro
This Lenten season, the Eastern
Catholic Re-evangelization
Center (ECRC) is hoping
to continue a new tradition among
Chaldeans — going to see the Living
Stations at the historic Cathedral of
the Blessed Sacrament in Detroit –
by sponsoring a 5 p.m. performance
on Saturday, March 24.
Professional singers and dancers
bring this “Broadway-like” Stations
of the Cross to life right inside the
church. The expert lighting, sound
and special effects add to the energy
of the show. Attendees are not just
watching but participating in the
Passion of Christ as if they were truly
there in Jerusalem.
“The Stations of the Cross is
deeply rooted in our culture,” said
Neran Karmo, ECRC coordinator.
“Seeing, hearing, and feeling the
scourges is an amazing experience for
your senses.”
Kelly Nieto, creator and producer
of the Living Stations, practically
pleaded with people to come see
the show last year. “We knew that
once people experienced the power
and professionalism of Living Stations,
they would tell others, and it would
naturally spread like wildfire,” she
said in a statement. “That’s exactly
what happened. Thank the Lord!”
Nobody would have to beg May
Seman to go again. She, her husband,
and her 9-year-old son
attended last year’s first ECRCsponsored
Living Stations at Blessed
Sacrament, where hundreds of
Living Stations brings the story of Christ’s last days to life.
Chaldeans gathered to watch the
show. Seeing the reenactment before
her eyes made all the difference
in the way she relates to the story of
Christ’s affliction, she said. Although
the act has been referred to as the
“Broadway version of the Passion of
the Christ,” Seman attests that the
film is partly gruesome, while the live
performance is more powerful.
“The most provocative part for
me was when they raised Jesus up
on the cross,” she said. “It was very
dramatic with the lighting and the
sound. I felt like I was in Calvary.”
The ECRC is not only hoping to
make Living Stations a yearly family tradition,
but also anticipates seeing more
youth get closer to Jesus Christ and his
Passion. Karmo sees the event as no
different than going to a concert.
“You go to a concert to see a
beautiful performance, for a spiritual
connection that purifies your senses,”
she said. “At the Living Stations, His
suffering comes alive.”
Seman believes it is a great way of
preparing one’s family for Lent, aside
from the usual traditions.
“Sometimes when we do the
same repetitive practices we forget
the meaning,” she said. “The Living
Stations really awakens that ‘sleeping
faith’ that some of us have. It really
defines the meaning of Easter.”
Living Stations runs from March
16-April 1. Tickets for the ECRC
performance are being sold on a firstcome,
first-served basis for $17 each.
Call ECRC at (248) 538-9903,
St. Thomas at (248) 788-2460 or
check with your local Chaldean church
for tickets. To view a segment of the
performance, visit LivingStations.org.
The significances of
the 40 days of Lent
The 40 days of Lent are based on two Biblical
accounts: the 40 years of wilderness
wandering by the Israelites and our Lord’s
40 days in the wilderness, at which point He was
tempted by Satan.
Each year the Church observes Lent where
we, like Israel and our Lord, are tested. We participate
in abstinence, times of fasting, confession
and acts of mercy to strengthen our faith and devotional
disciplines. The goal of every Christian
is to leave Lent a stronger and more vital person
of faith than when we entered.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,
“The seasons and days of penance in the course of
the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory
of the death of the Lord) are intense moments
of the Church’s penitential practice. These times
are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises,
penitential liturgies and pilgrimages as signs of
penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and
almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and
missionary works).” (CCC 1438)
Giving something up
For most older Catholics, the first thought that
Lent brings to mind is giving something up. In my
childhood, the standard was to give up candy, a
discipline that found suitable reward in the baskets
of sugary treats we received on Easter. Some of us
even added to the Easter surplus by saving candy
all through Lent, stockpiling what we would have
eaten had we not promised to give it up.
There are various things you can suggest to
your children other than giving up candy. Even
though Lent has started, it is not too late to give
up something for God. Perhaps you can suggest
to your kids to give up television or video games.
Lent is about conversion, turning our lives
more completely over to Christ and his way of life.
That always involves giving up sin in some form.
The goal is not just to abstain from sin for the duration
of Lent but to root sin out of our lives forever.
As adults, maybe you can abstain from idol
gossip or rid your mind of negative thoughts.
Conversion means leaving behind an old way
of living and acting in order to embrace new life in
Christ. For catechumens, Lent is a period intended
to bring their initial conversion to completion.
– Vanessa Denha Garmo
Some of the information was retrieved
from catholic.org.
48 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2012