One of the new full-sized crosses recently installed at the Benedictine Monastery in Waialua is fronted by a sitting area for meditation and prayer. The Benedictines will be hosting a Good Friday Stations of the Cross outdoor prayer service April 18. (HCH photo | Darlene Dela Cruz)
Visitors who trek up to Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit Monastery in Waialua will find on the property 14 new full-sized Stations of the Cross, which the Benedictine community blessed on March 23.
The stations line a walking trail behind the monastery’s main buildings, leading to the Marian grotto and columbarium built by a secluded mountainside. Each of the 14-feet tall cement crosses features a round, 16-inch mosaic depicting a significant moment in Jesus’ passion and death.
The idea for outdoor stations was developed about two years ago. Benedictine Father Michael Sawyer said he was inspired by the Way of the Cross he had seen at Lourdes and Medjugorje. He hoped that having the crosses along the hiking path to the Benedictine grotto and columbarium would encourage visitors to pray the devotion and meditate on the life of Jesus.
“It’s not just (important) during Lent,” Father Sawyer said. “It’s through Christ and his cross that he redeemed us, and the cross is life to the Christian in a real way. It sets us free.”
The project came to fruition with the help of many hands. Father Sawyer created the wooden mold from which each cross was fashioned, and Benedictine Father David Barfknecht worked with friends and associates of the monastic community to set them up on the trail. Eagle Scouts skillfully plotted the specific locations for the crosses before construction began.
Sheree Pokipala, an artist and parishioner of St. Ann Church in Kaneohe, created the tile mosaics embedded in the crosses. Pokipala said she had done smaller mosaics in the past, but the larger-scale Stations of the Cross was a unique endeavor.
“I was honored and humbled to be asked,” said Pokipala, who as an “elder” member of the Basic Christian Community has longstanding ties to the Benedictines.
“Out of all my art achievements, this would be the most important because this is where people from all over the world would come to pray,” she said.
Pokipala said she opted to do the depictions of Jesus’ passion in tile so the artwork could withstand weathering over time. She tried to keep the designs “simple, using only the primary and second colors with no shading.”
The project turned out to be an arduous, but gratifying spiritual journey for Pokipala. She said the physical labor required to hammer, clip and glue the tiles for the mosaics “took a toll on my shoulder, arms and hands.” Pokipala also endured the death of her mother during that time.
“It got so bad to where I couldn’t function and thought I would never finish this project,” she said. “I kept asking God to please take this pain away.”
Pokipala shared her struggles with her Basic Christian Community group. She said the group prayed over her, “and the next day I was completely healed of the pain!”
“As I was doing this project … I was able to relate to and appreciate the Stations of the Cross,” Pokipala added. “Our Lord, on his path to his crucifixion, suffered much pain for us. I was only experiencing a tiny bit of pain compared to the Lord … I realized more how much God loves us and what he would be willing to suffer for us.”
Pokipala and Father Sawyer said the Stations of the Cross were meant to instill in devotees that deep appreciation for Christ’s path to Calvary. Praying at each cross, they said, also helps those who come to the monastery with their own personal burdens to ask for God’s peace and grace.
“We can use the ‘crosses’ in our lives as gifts to Jesus as we walk the journey to eternal life,” Father Sawyer said.
The Benedictines will be hosting a public prayer service at the outdoor stations on Good Friday, April 18. For more information on the event, call 637-7887.
