From colorful stained glass to aromatic incense, the Catholic Church has always found ways to incorporate human senses into its liturgy. Campus Minister Kelly Golbuff has had the school experience a more modern incorporation of that tradition.
“Shadow stations are just a different way to use our senses to experience the Passion of Christ. It’s just a different way to bring all that about,” Golbuff said.
The artistry of shadow stations is more than just an appeal to the senses, but a representation of the Lenten season’s commemoration of reflection.
“There’s something very stark about the black and white of it,” Golbuff said. “It’s like you can put yourself into the scene because it’s anonymous — you can see yourself as one of the people there. ‘What would it have been like, or what would it have been like to be his mom and have your dead child placed in your arms?'”
Golbuff’s Spiritual Leadership class is in charge of the direction of shadow stations. The production is a fitting project for the class’ curriculum.
“It’s obviously very spiritual, and there’s a lot of leadership involved. There’s so much that people don’t see going on,” Golbuff said. “At the end of the day, they are telling the story of the Passion of Christ for us. They genuinely want to communicate this, the story of Christ, and they wanted to make sure to get like, that intimacy, but also that sadness down.”
Senior Molly Taylor was a stage manager for her class’s portion of the performance.
“I kind of just made sure that everyone was in their places, and it went really well,” Taylor said. “I felt like I was just really close with people during that time because I was actively portraying the stations. I had so much fun doing it with all my friends in the class.”
The Spiritual Leadership class also implements an auditory element. During each station, a 30-second portion of music is played, and the song is chosen according to the events or mood of the station.
“I was a personal fan of ‘Sign of the Times.’ It’s very, you know, emotional, sad, but at the same time, it’s a representation of, like, ‘it’s gonna be okay’,” junior Katelyn Hallman said. “I think that they did an excellent job of incorporating the lyrics in the songs on station, and I like how they incorporated modern music into the stations.”
Golbuff hopes that students come out of the experience with a newfound, more in-depth understanding of Christ’s Passion.
“I think sometimes it can almost be easy, especially if you’ve gone to Catholic schools, or not even just Catholic schools, but just if you’ve been in your faith, you can almost be like, ‘Yeah, I know what happened’,” Golbuff said. “Just take that moment to maybe see it in a different way, or just take a moment to really reflect on how, first of all, this was real. Give yourself that moment and allow yourself you know you’re there, in the dark, not talking to your friends about whatever, and just be a part of the experience.”
