Pax Christi is the Catholic peace organization. The Stations of the Cross going across Manhattan, mostly on 42nd St., are the New York branch’s biggest event of the year.
This was the 26th year in a row they organized the Stations. Brigid and I participated for many years, from about 1991. I think being involved in a public display of belief, in a high profile location like mid-town Manhattan is very worthwhile. We brought Joe and then Tim along, but eventually that became too much (when your kids start saying at the third station “I’m bored” or “When are we going home?”, you know it’s too much). So for several years I went on my own, with members of my parish, Holy Name of Mary. The whole event takes about three hours, but I usually cheat, and arrive around the 4th or 5th station. The last time I went was 2005; I missed the last two years because of my lymphoma.
After the Stations there has always been a “15th Station”, sponsored by one or another peacenik group and involving civil disobedience. I was arrested seven times in the nineties taking part, but to explain why I think that was (and is) worthwhile would take a complete posting, so I won’t go there.
This time I went down with Judy Anderson, and we arrived for the fifth station, in front of the Daily News building. Each Station always blends in a contemporary theme and meditation; some are sublime and excellent. A Catholic girls school from Staten Island had a good one on the abuse of women. Catholic Charities had an excellent one (in front of the world’s biggest McDonald’s) entitled “amusing ourselves to death.” Of course others are also inane. Right after a station on the genocide in Darfur, the next station was about “genocide on our city streets.” But you gotta take the good with the bad…
The numbers were down this year; only about 350 people. in other years I believe there have been as many as 800. But it may have been a function of the weather. Normally good Friday is in April and it’s warmer.
Here are a few pictues with a little commentary –
The Pax Christi truck moves along from station to station, with the music and the sound system
Amusing; a Jewish Lubavitch-evangelizing HQ motor home is also patrolling 42nd St. I think I’ve seen this during previous Pax Christi Stations.
Fordham Prep (Joe’s school) had seven students and a teacher participating. They were mostly big guys, and they stood out.
Here we are at Times Square. The military recruiting station (closed; i suppose because of the bomb about two weeks ago) is the low building on the left of the island.
These folks were there when we arrived.
Times Square, surrounded by billboards and flashing signs – it’s pretty surreal
further along; outside the world’s biggest McDonald’s
Here are pictures of Judy and Tom (can you tell who is who?) as well as Sue McMurty and her daughter, who we ran into at the last Station. Another parishioner, Regina O’Leary, had come down on her own, but we lost track of her and didn’t get a pix.
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