Feb 4 2014

The Eleventh Station

Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

Two men are nailing Jesus’ hands to the cross – his feet have not been nailed as yet. In fact, the practice was to drive the nails through the wrists rather than the palms and through the heels just in front of the Achilles tendons rather than through the insteps. There would have been no footrest or, at best, a very basic one. Also, Jesus would have been completely naked – this was meant to be a shameful death as well as a very painful one.

The youth who has been carrying the INRI notice is unable to watch the nailing and covers his eyes. Jesus’ mother lifts her arms in anguish and the man in green behind her covers his face.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE OF
THE PARENTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS
OF EDMUND AND STATIA DUNPHY,
BALLYBRENOCK

Feb 4 2014

The Tenth Station

Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments

One man tugs at Jesus’ tunic while a soldier holds his cloak aloft. The man in the bottom left corner is busy with his tools but it is not clear what he is doing. Perhaps he is nailing the footrest to the cross – the footrest has not been seen in any of the previous stations.

The three men in the background are having a discussion, stroking their beards, while the group of women is mourning.

The two men on the right are in a pensive mood. Jesus is submissive.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

PRESENTED BY
JOHN POWER, DUNHILL
IN LOVING MEMORY OF
HIS DEAR WIFE BRIDGIE.

Feb 4 2014

The Ninth Station

Jesus Falls The Third Time

Jesus has fallen yet again. The crowd looks on with mixed emotions. Some appear to be dispassionate, others are curious while one man holds his head in anguish.

In the background, two prisoners are led uphill by two soldiers. Are these the two robbers that were crucified along with Jesus? Are they nearing the place of a skull known as Golgotha, or Calvary in anglicised Latin? –
“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them”. [John 19:16-18].
“Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left”. [Matthew 27:38]

The man carrying the basket on his head is there again and we can now see that one of the articles in the basket is a jar or ewer, but the others are still a mystery.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
THE PARENTS AND RELATIVES
OF MICHAEL AND MARY K. VEALE.

Feb 4 2014

The Eighth Station

Jesus Speaks To The Women Of Jerusalem

Luke is the only evangelist to record this event –
“And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?'” [Luke 23:27-31].

Five women and three children are in the foreground representing the many who were actually present. The flagellum carrier is having a quiet moment and Simon is still carrying his piece of the cross.

Two men are watching everything from the top of the city walls.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

THE GIFT OF
MARY BRENNAN
IN HONOUR OF THE HOLY SOULS.

Feb 4 2014

The Seventh Station

Jesus Falls The Second Time

Jesus has fallen again and a Roman soldier reaches out to help him. The man with the flagellum is strangely quiet, but the man next to him appears to be about to strike Jesus or the soldier with his raised right hand while Simon of Cyrene tries to prevent him.

The scene is quite crowded with thirteen people present including four soldiers. It is a scene of great activity but the priestly figures in the background are unperturbed and look serenely on.

The soldier at far right is frowning with his hand on his chin. What can he be thinking?

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
THE PARENTS AND RELATIVES
OF JOHN MURPHY,
KNOCKAHEAD.

Feb 4 2014

The Sixth Station

Veronica Wipes The Face Of Jesus

The gospels make no mention of this incident or of Veronica herself but devotion to Veronica has existed since the middle ages. The commentary on the second stained-glass windowof the north nave in Dunhill church will tell you a little more about her.

The man in the brown robe to the right of Jesus seems very irate. He is holding a flagellum in his right hand, the thongs of which are lying over his right shoulder, and he appears to be about to whip Veronica. We noted this man’s ire in the fourth station, too.

A newcomer to the scene is the man carrying the ladder. Just in front of him is a small boy. Behind Jesus’ left arm is a man who seems to be carrying a shallow basket on his head, but we cannot make out what is in the basket.

Simon of Cyrene is still there helping to carry the cross

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
THE PARENTS, BROTHERS, AND SISTERS
OF ROBERT AND HANNAH MOONEY.

Feb 4 2014

The Fifth Station

Simon Of Cyrene Helps Jesus To Carry His Cross

The scenes described in the third and fourth stations are not mentioned in the gospels but this scene is –
“And as they led him [Jesus] away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus”. [Luke 23:26].

Cyrene was an important city in east Libya, but Simon may not have been coming from there. He may have been living locally. Jesus is looking back at Simon and they appear to be talking together. Wouldn’t that be a natural thing to do, to say “Hello” or “Thanks!” to the man who was carrying your cross with you?

A priest is brandishing a scroll – could it be Pilate’s inscription? In the background another priest is flying through the air on horseback about forty feet up, apparently. He is preceded by another flying horseman, a soldier who is carrying a Roman standard which has the aquila or eagle at the top.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

PRESENTED IN MEMORY OF
MARY O’KEEFFE, BALLINAGGREE
BY HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN.

Feb 4 2014

The Fourth Station

Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

A heart-rending scene. While Mary reaches out to her son, Jesus is about to be whipped by the man with the flagellum.

The man with the hammer and nails strains to get a better view and is in danger of hitting a soldier on the head.

The man with the rope is standing on the edge of Jesus’ robe. The soldier with the red robe appears to be in charge and is standing next to Jesus and his mother, keeping things under control.

A high priest looks on from the back of the crowd, uninvolved.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
THE PARENTS AND CHILDREN
OF JAMES AND MARY DELANY.

Feb 4 2014

The Third Station

Jesus Falls The First Time

Jesus has fallen and a man carrying a flagellum (a whip used for scourging) is trying to pull him to his feet. The soldier has his left hand raised in protest. He wears a red cloak over his shoulders and so he is not the soldier that we mentioned in the second station.

The man carrying the hammer and nails in the second station is here again but appears to have changed his dark blue robe for a dark red one.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
THE DECEASED PARENTS
OF JOHN AND MRS. POWER,
KILSTEAGUE.

Feb 4 2014

The Second Station

Jesus Carries The Cross

It was the custom of the Romans to leave the vertical shafts of the crosses in situ from one crucifixion to the next. So the victim was required to carry only the horizontal cross-piece, rather than the whole cross, but that would still have been heavy enough to a man weak from scourging.

In the background, fixed to the top of a spear, is a notice bearing the letters INRI. This is not Pilate’s inscription, which was written in three languages, but is there to remind us that such an inscription exists. The letters are an abbreviation of the Latin Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum which means Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

On the far left of the tableau is a man in a dark blue robe who is holding a hammer in his right hand. He holds aloft in his left hand the nails that will be used to nail Jesus to the cross.

The soldier has in his left hand what looks like a sword, but he is holding it by the blade.

The dedication on the brass plate below the tableau is:

IN MEMORY OF
DECEASED PARENTS, RELATIVES,
AND FRIENDS OF
MAURICE AND MRS. DUNPHY,
CASTLECRODICK.

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The Eleventh Station