I believe that everybody has a spiritual belief system. Some people believe in the existence of a supernatural being. As Christians, we know this being to be God. Other religions have different names for the supernatural being that they believe in. Some people do not believe in the existence of God or any supernatural being. However, one thing is certain about everyone, irrespective of their belief or unbelief systems. Our practices and behaviors reflect our belief or unbelief in the existence of a supernatural being. By default, we hand over our beliefs to our children and they pass them on to their children, and that is how our beliefs become transgenerational except for when our children are influenced by another system.

As Christians, our practices and behaviors “should” reflect our belief in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Lent is a 40-day period in which Christians remember the events leading to the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter. During Lent, the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and some other(?) churches meditate on the Stations of The Cross to help them undergo spiritual cleansing through contemplation of the Passion of Christ.

In the Catholic Church, Stations of The Cross is performed every Friday during Lent. Typically, participating Catholics go into the church to practice this observance. However, as life becomes more dynamic, it has become increasingly challenging to be available every Friday to physically attend the Stations of The Cross in the church. It is in how to overcome this challenge that I discovered the Stations of The Cross app. This app has helped me continue to practice this meditation remotely on Fridays that I am unavailable to be in the church. Thanks to technology and its evolving nature that enables us with the convenience to meet the challenges of changing times.

On Fridays that I work, I use my Stations of The Cross app during my break, while taking my “sanity walks.” This Friday though, I did not work and have just returned from an outing with my family. My clock alarm rang with my “every-Friday-Stations-of-The-Cross-reminder.” So, I invited my children to join me in meditating on it. Sweetheart could not join us. I began by reminding and talking them through a summary of the Stations of The Cross. I showed them the pictures of each station as talked. They listened. Afterward, I switched to the audio mode and we participated in the liturgy. The combination of the voices of the narrators and the background music was serene, soothing, and stimulated deep reflection. That has always been my experience since I discovered and have been using the app. I felt they shared my experience too as they sat in complete relaxation and, undistracted.

In the end, I thanked them for joining me. I asked if they enjoyed it, and they responded with a “yes.” To ensure that they did not just say so to please me, I asked if they had questions or anything that they didn’t understand.

Oche: “It was pretty straightforward.”

Ofu: “I understood everything.”

Agbenu: “No.”

I was convinced about their responses. This is our faith. What a blessing to be able to practice it with my children. I recall the advice of my Med Surg Professor, Linda King, whenever I was overwhelmed, she’d ask, “how do you eat an elephant?” She’d reply with, “by one small bite at a time.” Raising children is a big task that involves a holistic approach, among which is their spiritual development. Meditating on the Stations of The Cross with my children today is a “small bite in eating the elephant” of raising them. It is one of the baby steps in helping their spiritual development in line with our belief.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 6:6 – 7.

And we ended our day with a family movie night by watching “Yes Day!” 

• 3/19/21