To conclude a series of journeys through a handful of exhibits, we trekked to north to University of the Philippines, Diliman. Along Apacibile street, we made our way into the Parish of Holy Sacrifice. There were only two things to see in the Parish of Holy Sacrifice (not counting mass, of course)— the building’s architecture and the stations of the cross painted around its interior.
Its architecture was dome-like and rotund in shape. I suppose when this was created, it appeared to be very unique for a church, but I understand that this has probably been copied. Although it is unique and appealing in style, I have to say that it might not have been the best for a church. Because it’s round, some people are forced to view mass almost facing the priest’s back. I’m not a religious fanatic, but from what I understand, mass is a participative ritual; the architecture sort of ruins that element.
The paintings, on the other hand, I did not find spectacular. Without a doubt, the painter was talented and I’m not saying I could have paint anything as good, but it simply did not appeal to me. Let’s have a look at each station of the cross:
The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death
Here we see Pontius Pilate speaking with Jesus, condemning him to death even though he knows that Jesus is innocent. The popular figure of speech “washing his hands” is derived from this scene and can be seen in the painting. I sort of find it awkward how the window filled with people is right beside Jesus, though, and it looks like they’re all staring at him.
The Second Station: Jesus takes up His cross
Jesus accepts his fate and takes up the heavy cross. In the painting, Jesus looks like he’s praying; strangely enough, the crowd that was watching from the window earlier is nowhere to be seen. His mother and Mary Magdalene are helplessly looking on though.
The Third Station: Jesus falls for the first time
Here Jesus falls unto his knees because of the weight of the cross. At the side, we see Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene praying. Again, the spiteful audience is not present in the painting, which I suppose is what makes it awkward that the two women are just praying at the side while Jesus is heaving to carry the wooden cross.
I do recall this station to be a rather heartbreaking one. Mary is stricken with grief and cannot bear to see her son suffering, so she goes to meet him. Her doing so is most probably dangerous as she could also be condemned, but she does so anyway. In this paintings, the number of people increase, so that’s a plus.
The Fifth Station: Simon helps carry the cross
Because of the soldier’s impatience with Jesus’ pace in walking, they order a random civilian, Simon, to help him carry the cross. This is another touching scene, as we see Simon, first reluctant to help Jesus, open his heart and hands to him.
The Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
The painting shows what the title specifically says. One of the things I found amusing here is that Veronica wiped Jesus’ face, but also seemed to capture the contour of his hair on the piece of cloth. No doubt that looks weird.
The Seventh Station: Jesus falls for a second time
Jesus falls yet again; Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene look on helplessly yet again. It makes me think about women during that time— were they really regarded in a manner so low that they didn’t think any of them could help Jesus up?
Again, like I said in my earlier reflection, did all the women do was weep? Did none of them think of helping up at least carry the cross or did they think they were too weak for that? In this painting, though, there is again an absence of the taunting crowd and now, Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. Where’d they go?
The Ninth Station: Jesus falls for the third time
Here we see a more true-to-story interpretation; there is finally the presence of a soldier who whips him as punishment for falling yet again. Another problem with the other paintings of the stations was that Jesus’ suffering was not so evident because there lacked the presence of the taunting crowd and the sadistic soldiers, so it just looked like Jesus was having a really hard time carrying the cross.
I honestly found this painting really awkward. Jesus is just standing there with his eyes closed in shame while two other guys tear his clothes off.
One plus to this painting is that it effectively stirred the imagination of the viewer of what was going to happen next and how badly it’s going to hurt. One negative side is that it sort of looks like there’s a dirty, yellow plate behind Jesus’ head.
The Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
There appears to be a change in style here, because the look of Jesus’ body is suddenly different. Mary and Mary Magdalene also look rather strange, not looking at Jesus but rather looking directly up (not to mention their amusing lack of a neck).
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down the cross and given to His mother
There is another change in style here, not only because Jesus’ body looks different, but also because his skin color changed significantly. I have to wonder if it’s because the artist wanted to make it look like Jesus was really dead or lost a lot of blood. Another strange thing about this painting is that I have no idea who that random guy is that looks like he’s hugging Jesus.
The Fourteeth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
The tomb doesn’t look like a tomb, but apart from that, I think I rather liked this painting. It showed genuine emotion through Mary Magdalene’s face, though I do wish they had added more detail on Jesus’ body; it doesn’t look like he’s dead here and he’s a bit disproportioned.
This is the only painting that used brighter shades and with good reason; it’s the only painting showing something positive. I can’t say I particularly like how they showed his resurrection, but who am I to complain?
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