Stations of the Cross Project

NEW! Poem for Video Presentation Shown last September 6 and Medy's Introduction to Dolly below

THE JOURNEY OF OUR HEARTS

BLESSING OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
AUGUST 29, 2003
MARYKNOLL HIGH SCHOOL GROUNDS

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.  THE OCCASION THAT GATHERS ALL OF US HERE TODAY IS A SPECIAL ONE FOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS ’68.   IN THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS, WE SEE OUR OWN JOURNEY IN OUR LIVES.

            WHEN WE REMEMBER THE FALL OF JESUS, THE KINDNESS OF SIMON OF CYRENE,  JESUS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHES AND THEN LATER ON,  HIS RESURRECTION, WE RECOGNIZE THE EXPERIENCE. WE KNOW THE PAIN OF FALLING AND REMEMBER—FIRST THE FEAR, THEN THE HOPE AND DETERMINATION THAT MAKES US RISE AGAIN. WE APPRECIATE THE COMFORT OF A FRIEND’S LOVE OR HELPING HAND. AND WE UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF A LIFE THAT SEEKS THE GOOD OF OTHERS.

JESUS PRECEDES US WITH HIS OWN PASSION, DEATH AND RESURRECTION. THEN HE ACCOMPANIES US.  HE LEADS US THROUGH OUR OWN STRUGGLES INTERTWINED WITH GROWTH AND CELEBRATES WITH US OUR PRECIOUS JOYS AND VICTORIES. 
 
            SO TODAY WE COME BACK TO A PLACE WHERE THIS JOURNEY FIRST BEGAN.  THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, AS A YOUNG ADULT, WE DARED TO START OUR OWN LIFE.   IT WAS A TIME OF CREATING  FRIENDSHIPS(AND MAYBE ENEMIES FOR SOME), A TIME WHEN WE GIGGLED TILL OUR TUMMIES HURT.  IT WAS A TIME WHEN OUR MINDS WERE WANDERING AIMLESSLY AND OUR EYES WERE MESMERIZED BY THE BOYS ACROSS THE CREEK.  AND YET, IT WAS ALSO A TIME TO DISCOVER WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE ARE ABOUT AND WHERE WE WANTED TO GO FROM HERE.   NOT ALL OF US MAY BE PRESENT TODAY.  BUT WITH DEEP LOVE AND GRATITUDE, OUR LEGACY, THE WORK OF OUR HANDS, ALL 14 STATIONS, WILL ALWAYS EXPRESS TO OUR BELOVED SCHOOL, MARYKNOLL-MIRIAM COLLEGE, THAT WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN TO COME HOME.
 
            WE STAND HERE TODAY AS GOLDEN GIRLS --WHOSE GIGGLES HAVE TURNED INTO LAUGHTER THAT HAS KNOWN TEARS, OUR ENTHUSIASM TEMPERED BY ACQUAINTANCE  WITH FAILURE AS WELL AS SUCCESS.  SEASONED TRAVELERS THAT WE ARE, WE NOW PICK UP WHAT MATTERS MOST TO US AND LET GO OF WHAT WE DO NOT NEED.
 
            THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS WILL OUTLIVE US.  AROUND THE CAMPUS THEY WILL BE NESTLED AMONG THE FLOWERS AND TREES OF GOD’S CREATION.  THROUGH THIS LEGACY, WE LEAVE A PART OF OURSELVES IN THE HOME THAT HAS HELPED TO SHAPE US.  OUR JOURNEY HAS BROUGHT US BACK HERE THROUGH OUR HEARTS, AND, THROUGH OUR HEARTS, WE NOW CONTINUE TO VENTURE FORTH IN LIFE, OPEN TO THE FUTURE’S HOPE AND PROMISE.
 
            THANK YOU.
 
                                                                                   
                                                     DOLLY TANSECO DEL ROSARIO
                                                     CORAL JUBILARIAN

Poem for the Presentation of the Stations of the Cross Project
of the Maryknoll College High School Batch '68:

High School was a time of friendship,
of laughter and of tears.
A time of childlike wonder
We shared with our peers

We discovered, we dreamed,
But not without fear.
For we had to find our way ---
Where we'd go from here.

Now, 35 years after,
It's a time to rediscover,
Our old and tested friendships
And find new friends from old.

And today we come with pleasure
To a place we once had known
Returning in full measure
Much more than what was sown.

We wanted to give back,
We knew from the start.
We had to give back,
A gift from our hearts.

And so, we decided to leave a part of ourselves.

With deep love and gratitude,
We worked with delicate hands.
We toiled and carved and molded
To the crosses' great demand.

For we hope that these 14 stations
We offer you today,
Will be fitting appreciation
For showing us the way.

The loving work . . .
Having been done,
We're proud to give back
What we did with great fun.

As we look to the future
And to places we'll roam,
Today, we can say,
We have truly come home.

Medy's Introductory Speech

Background on the Stations of the Cross Project

Good Morning Tati, Sister Mariza, Suzanne, Reverend Father, classmates and all of you kind souls here with us today.

We, members of the Maryknoll High School Class of 1968, come to you for a special purpose – the blessing of our gift to you, these Stations of the Cross. This blessing today marks the completion of our Stations of the Cross Project which we formally started on July 2, this year. 

My role is merely to give a background on how we came up with this project and the process we went through to be able to realize the goals we had set forth for ourselves. Our main speaker, Dolly, will give the significance of this, our “Gift to the Lord.” As today marks the end our project, we hope that today is the beginning of a new tradition in these grounds which we had called home for a great deal of our student lives.

We are the Coral Jubilarians, 35 years from graduation...home once again.

Early this year, we wondered how we would celebrate this event. We were reminded that on our Silver Jubilee in 1993, we had contributed towards the construction of the High School Chapel. We were told that the Chapel now needs the Stations of the Cross. It was then that we decided that it would be appropriate that we be the ones to provide these as part of our gift in celebration of our Coral Jubilee. Another part of our gift will be to the Maryknoll Sisters both here in the Philippines and in the Mother house in Ossining, USA

Thus was the project born. The plan was that we will not simply purchase the Stations but we will fashion these ourselves using stoneware supervised by a commissioned artist. Bonnie kindly offered her atelier in Merville as the venue for this activity. But first, we had to find out what style would be adequate for the architecture of the Chapel.

A small group surveyed the Chapel sometime in June. Finding that doing the Stations within the confines of the backside of the Chapel was not the way we were taught by the nuns, we jumped at the suggestion to do an outdoor Stations of the Cross... just like the one in Lourdes which served as an inspiration to us.

Maricel the artist was then commissioned to do the concept for our artwork and we excitedly chose the stylized version instead of the realistic one, thinking that it would be something we could do. We had these approved.

Interested M & M's were welcomed to create, form and paint these Stations. From our different places in life we congregated every Saturday (and days in between) from early July up to the final days in August in a strong show of teamwork, cooperation, and a rekindled school spirit. We gave of our talents, of our energies, and of our time with enthusiasm to be one with the Class in this worthy project. Some of us skipped work, or school, or whatever was pressing at that time to do this. We learned that doing pottery was very therapeutic. We were surprised we could paint and carve. We made mistakes and erased with ease. We broke a few plates but were undeterred. We found out we had good artists in the class. We have documented our project through pictures and film clips which we will show as a video presentation on Sept. 6. We also monitored the project tightly and reported everything on the web. This way, those who could not physically be with us were constantly updated and they in turn cheered us on to the finish. And we came out of it, thoroughly satisfied --- sated with all the good food, non-stop laughter, soothing music, shared stories, and a feeling of accomplishment that we had given of ourselves for others.

You can imagine our dismay when we heard that there appeared to be problems with our donation. We couldn’t imagine how our gift could possibly be rejected. Well, we were proven wrong; because we are here with you today...handing over our precious Gift for the Lord to your special care.  Let us now listen to Dolly explain the significance of these Stations to us