In an afternoon of prayer and contemplation, Jesuit Communications’ (JesCom) newest publication, “Ang Bagong Daan ng Krus”, made its successful launch at the Ateneo de Manila University-Jesuit Residence Grounds last Friday, March 24, 2023.
Present at the event were invited guests and campus visitors, who took part in praying the guidebook for the New Way of the Cross, co-written by JesCom Associate Director Fr. Ro Atilano, SJ, and Fr. Benjamin Espiritu III. Leading the attendees in prayer and meditation for each station were representatives from Ateneo Junior High School-ALM, Payatas Youth, San Jose Seminary, Puhon Initiative Community, and employees from Jesuit Communications and Jesuit Residence. Joining them were members of the Loyola House of Studies, Faith Keeper Flower Ladies, Knights of Columbus Marikina Valley Council 6178, CSIP, Arvisu House residents, and Loyola School of Theology students.
Compiling the heartening lessons from Fr. Ro and Fr. Benjamin’s experiences during their regency, “Ang Bagong Daan ng Krus” seeks to provide the youth with a renewed perspective of the sacred Lenten tradition of the Way of the Cross.
“After my regency in 2013, I needed to go back to Manila to do my theology. I was assigned to Payatas’ Ascension Chapel. I thought of doing what Fr. Benjamin and I had started in Cebu, which was the Way of the Cross. We wanted to do this along the alleyways in Payatas- a more dramatized version,” recalled Fr.Ro of his book’s inception during a recent episode of The Parable Café on Radyo Katipunan 87.9 FM.
“I couldn’t find any material in Filipino, so I called Fr. Benj if he could translate what we wrote way back in English, to Filipino. That was the birth of this version. After translating it into Filipino, I used it in Payatas for the youth, and it started a new tradition. Since then, they’ve been doing every year- complete with dramatizations,” he added in his narration of the book’s journey towards publication.
It was after uploading the reflections for each station onto a blog site, that people really began to take notice of their impactful teachings, prompting Fr. Ro to share the message of “Ang Bagong Daan ng Krus” in a material accessible for all.
“Around 2017, I uploaded what we wrote per station onto WordPress, including photos from Payatas which seemed really nice. Suddenly, we got invitations and requests from different groups and parishes to use this version of the Way of the Cross,” he recounted.
“One such group was the Knights of Columbus of Marikina, who printed this onto tarpaulins-forming the stations of the Cross along the riverbanks for bikers to pray with during Holy Week. So I then thought, maybe it would also be good to have it finally published to reach even more people.”
As for Ang Bagong Daan ng Krus co-author Fr. Benjamin, the touching lessons of faith from their “gift to the Filipino Church” will surely remain relevant, throughout the Lenten season and beyond.
“Kahit may pinagdadaanan kang mahirap sa buhay mo, even outside the Lenten season, pwede mo yang dasalin at makita mong may kasama ka sa yong pinagdadaanan- at may bagong buhay pagkatapos ng lahat ng ito.”
Ang Bagong Daan ng Krus is available at the JesCom Online Shop (JOSH) for only Php 100.
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