Imagine hearing the crack of the whip on Christ and his last agony on the cross before his death.
The dramatic sounds of Jesus’ Passion are brought to life in a new Lenten audio companion produced in-house by the Archdiocese of Denver. The archdiocese published the audio online this week that includes reflections and prayers made to help Catholics deepen their experience of the Way of the Cross during the Lenten season.
“You’ll feel like you’re in the middle of the Passion,” said Greg Willits, director of the Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries, about the audio experience. “We really believe that just taking 40 minutes out of your day to listen to this every once-in-a while during Lent is going to truly help you to dive more deeply into the Passion.”
Willits’ team worked in its on-site recording studio to produce the 40-minute audio with strikingly realistic sounds and profound reflections drawn from the text of St. Alphonsus Liguori’s popular meditations dating from the 18th century.
“Consider how your Jesus after three hours of agony on the cross, consumed at length with anguish, abandons himself to the weight of his body, bows his head and dies,” the narrator says during the audio’s last reflection. “Oh my dying Jesus, I kiss devoutly the cross on which you did die for love of me.”
The audio focuses on the 14 Stations of the Cross and is available for download to a personal computer, smartphone or other multimedia device.
Willits said the audio was made to help busy families mediate on the Passion in a convenient way and enhance their experience of the Stations of the Cross typically prayed at churches on Fridays during Lent.
Visit http://archden.org/eflm/way to access the audio.
“Download it, share it and encourage your friends and family to take some time to prayerfully meditate on the Passion of Christ,” Willits said.
