For 35 years, St. Paul in Ham Lake has hosted Living Stations of the Cross performed live by parish teenagers. The parish’s youth minister Brian Cox said about 2,700 people in total attend the Living Stations.
The Living Stations of the Cross is free to attend and will be held at 7 p.m. March 18-20 at St. Paul.
“This year, we have a record number of teens (who) are involved, over 160, and they’re actively praying every single time before we have practice and also, they’re praying for all the people (who) are going to be there as well in the pews to witness Jesus Christ in his passion,” Cox told “Practicing Catholic” co-host Leah Heselton for an episode that debuts at 7 p.m. March 6 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
After each performance, Cox said the performers have time for prayer. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, they participate in praise and worship. On Friday evenings, there is time for adoration of the Eucharist.
“It’s a beautiful time where we’re just really specifically trying to bring everyone closer to Jesus Christ,” Cox said.
Cox believes the Living Stations are unique because they so easily visualize what Jesus Christ suffered on the cross but also help bring people closer to Christ.
“It’s also just amazing to see all of these teens come together specifically for one goal, with that goal being to evangelize, with that goal being to have every single person that comes, whether it’s their neighbor, their parents, their siblings, their friends at school, whoever, just to come closer to Christ,” Cox said.
After 35 years of performances, there is now a generational overlap, Cox said. Many adult volunteers were part of the teams putting the performance together when they themselves were teenagers.
“We even have some kids of former volunteers that have now stepped into roles volunteering themselves,” Cox said. “They’re really helping to build the legacy that Living Stations is to the Church of St. Paul.”
To hear more from Cox about St. Paul’s Living Stations of the Cross, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. March 7 and 2 p.m. March 8.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes Heidi Harvey and Janae Bower, parishioners of St. Paul, in an interview about the parish’s Stations of the Resurrection.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at practicingcatholicshow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
