On Good Friday the faith community he=
re at Divine Word University staged a procession of the Stations of the =
Cross. …

For my non-Roman Catholi=
c readers, the Stations of the Cross are a liturgical form of deliberate=
ly meditating on the passion and suffering of Jesus for all mankind, to =
atone for our sins. You can read more about it here. If y=
ou are curious, you can walk inside almost any Catholic Church and aroun=
d the outer walls of the sanctuary you will see paintings, or bas relief=
sculptures, depicting the fourteen stations of the cross.

=
The pho=
tos here will show some of the sights of the outdoor Stations of the Cro=
ss, the processional leading from point to point, and most importantly, =
the people here.

Na=
turally, the practice of following the Stations of the Cross gets more e=
mphasis in Lent. On campus during the morning of Good Friday the studen=
t body put together a processional which wound around and off campus, st=
opping at fourteen locations. At each stopping point, a group of studen=
ts representing one of the regional areas of Papua New Guinea had built =
a temporary Station of the Cross. There was a liturgy consisting of sha=
red prayers and meditations, including a leader and response format at e=
ach station.

=
As the processional approac=
hed each station, representatives from the group ahead would meet the pr=
ocession. We would stop=
as a large cross being carried from station to station was transferred =
to the new group. Then as we moved on, music in the style of that region=
al group would greet the arriving procession. The music was always somb=
er and low tones (dirges) but the differences in style were unmistakeabl=
e. Moroever, many of the regional participants wore clothes and decorat=
ive attire reminiscient of their home regions.

After the liturgical mediation at that station, the la=
rge cross was picked up again and carried on toward the next group waiti=
ng near the next station. All told, the procession traveled about 1.5 m=
iles and overall took about three-and-a-half hours.

We received a liturgy guide written entire=
ly in Tok Pisin that gave the text of the prayers and meditations at eac=
h station.

I will provide highlights here with English translat=
ions.

As an aside, diwai is the local word for branch =
or growing part of a tree or bush. There is a pun (intentionally) form=
ed out of the former name of this school, Divine Word Institute or Di-W-=
I and yet today the campus post office is the Diwai Post Office, the min=
i supermarket on campus is the Diwai Market, and so on. A suggestion: w=
ith the pidgin words, look at them then try to pronounce them out loud. =
You may be surprised how quickly they seem to make sense.

Rot Bilong Diwai Kros (Rite of th=
e Cross)

Stesin 1. Pialat i Kotim Jisas
=
(Station 1: Jesus is condemned to death)

Stesin 2. Jis=
as i Karim Diwai Kros Bilong Em
(Jesus carries his cross)=

Stesin 3. Jisas i Pundaun Aninit Long Diwai Kros
(Jesus falls the first time)
Aside: notice the word pun=
daun … falls down.

Stesin 4. Jisas i Bungim Mama =
belong Em long Rot
(Jesus meets his mother)

Stesin 5. Saimon Bilong Sairini i Helpim Jisas Long Karim Diwai Kro=
s
(Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross)
<= br/>Stesin 6. Veronica i Marimari Long Jisas
(Ve=
ronica wipes the face of Jesus)
Aside: the word marimari or <= i>marmari means "mercy" and we hear it often in church on =
Sunday.

Stesin 7. Jisas i Pundaun Gen Aninit Long Diwai=
Kros
(Jesus falls the second time)

Stes=
in 8. Ol Meri Bilong Jerusalem i Krai Long Jisas
(Jesus m=
eets the women of Jerusalem)
Aside: meri means "woman&qu=
ot;. Loosely, in English, this says all of the women of Jerusalem cried=
when they saw Jesus.

Stesin 9. Jisas i Pundaun Namba T=
ri Taim Aninit Long Diwai Kros
(Jesus falls the third ti=
me)
Aside: pundaun namba tri taim means "falls down numb=
er three time".

Stesin 10. Ol i Rausim Klos Bilong=
Jisas
(Jesus' clothes are taken away)

Stesin 11. Ol i Nailim Jisas Long Diwai Kros
(Jesus i=
s nailed to the cross)

Stesin 12. Jisa i Dai Long Diwai=
Kros
(Jesus dies on the cross)

Stesin =
13. Ol Lusim Jisas Long Diwai Kros
(Jesus is taken down =
from the cross)

Stesin 14. Ol i Planim Jisas <= br/> (Jesus is laid in the tomb)

After the stations were compl=
eted, the processional went inside the campus Chapel for a mediation ser=
vice on the last words of Jesus on the cross. In Tok Pisin, Ol Las T=
ok Bilong Jisas Diwai Kros.

Here are the las tok (la=
st words):
[1. Jisas, taim yu hangamup long diwai kros yu bin pre: =
(English literal, Jesus the time you hanging up on the cross you prayed:=
)]

"Papa, yu lusim sin bilong ol. Ol i no save lo=
ng dispela samting ol i mekim." (Luke 23:24=
)

[2. Jisas, taim man nogut i hangamap long diwai kros wain=
taim yu, em i askim yu, "Jisas, bihain bai yu kamap long ples bilon=
g yu, orait yu tingting long mi." (English literal, Jesus, the no =
good man hung up on a cross one time (same time) as you, asked you, &quo=
t;Jesus, behind bye (after a while) you come up to the place that belong=
s to you, alright you think about me."]

"Mi t=
ok tru long yu: Tude bai yu stap wantaim mi long Paradais." (Luke 23:42-43)

[3. Jisas, i tokim ma=
ma bilong em: (English literal, Jesus talked to the mother belonging to =
him:)]

"Meri, dispela em i piknini bilong yu.&quot=
;

[Na em i tokim dispela disaipel: (English literal, A=
nd he talked to this disciple:)]

"Dispela em i mam=
a bilong yu." (John 19:26-27)

[4. Jisas, yu singaut strong: (English literal, Jesus, you sing ou=
t loudly:)]

"God bilong mi, bilong wanam yu lusim =
mi." (Matthew 27:46)

[5. =
Jisas, yu singaut:]

"Mi dai long wara." (John 19:28)

[6. Jisas, yu singaut:]
"Mi pinis nau." (J=
ohn 19:30a)

[7. Jisas, yu singaut strong moa:]

"Papa, mi putim spirit bilong mi long han bilong yu." (Luke 23:46)

Here are some oth=
er sayings and phrases in Tok Pisin.

Jisas, yu promisim gutpe=
la taim bilong oltaim long olgeta manmeri.
Tasol mipela i mas tani=
m pastaim na bilip long Gutnuis bilong yu.
Mipela i askim yu, help=
im mipela i sori long ol sin bilong mipela.
Mipeal singaut long ma=
rimari bilong yu.
Lord, yu marimari, Kraist yu marimari, Lord, yu =
marimair.

See if you can find any of these in the above lines.<= br/>Gutpela taim ("Good times") means "peace.&quot=
; Oltaim means "forever." Olgeta is "altog=
ether" and manmeri is "men and women."
(So, Je=
sus promises peace forever for all people.)

Bilip is &qu=
ot;belief" (or believe). Notice the connection between the letters=
p and f. Gutnuis is "Good News."
Mipela is we, or us, more than just two; "My people.&quot=
;
Help us as we are sorry for our sins.

Lord have mercy; Ch=
rist have mercy; Lord have mercy.