St Joseph The Worker Parish Held Cross Walk After 2 Years

After a lapse of two years, the Saint Joseph the Worker parish held its first cross walk today to mark the holy week of Easter.

The cross walk which begun from Colo-i-Suva at 4.30am brought together church members and friends of different denominations, singing catholic hymns and prayers.

Carried out during the week of Easter, the cross walk involves the re-enactment of the different stations of the cross reflecting on Christ’s journey from the court of Pontius Pilate to the tomb.

Significance of cross walk

Father Mikaele Tikoisuva, parish priest of Saint Joseph the Worker parish said the cross walk was a way for the parishioners to exercise their faith.

“Although we are not fully out of COVID, it gives us a sense of joy to have the cross walk because this is one of the highlights of holy week,” he said.

“This is an event during holy week that Catholics look forward to because it tells us that even though COVID had closed our churches, we are still able to come together to show our faith.

“The cross walk brings a sense of togetherness, walking and praying together to exercise our faith in public.”

Father Tikoisuva said the church had applied for a permit from the relevant authorities to be able to do the cross walk.

He said copies of the approved permit had been handed over to the various Police stations along the way of the cross walk.

Plans and preparations for the cross walk were headed by 12 community groups and the parish priest that looked after all the programmes and activities during holy week.

Previously, community heads would volunteer to partake in the planning for the cross walk however this year, communities are allocated tasks to do during holy week.

“Two consecutive years we have had lockdowns but to me I see it in a positive way. It’s a way of God testing us and our faith.

“I just give a call to any of the communities, they donate wholeheartedly and that is where we show our awareness about our faith.

“Although we not fully out of COVID yet, this cross walk is an expression of that manifestation, that faith that we are there together post and pre-COVID.”

Although the pandemic was challenging, Father Tikoisuva said lessons can be learnt about going back to the basics of family and church.

“With COVID, people are coming to the realization that there is a need for God because some of those people pre-COVID, they don’t come to church,” he said.

“The last four years, during Palm Sunday we would have more than enough palms but this year, had no palms left as people came to church in numbers.

“Now when we are experiencing the effects of COVID with the church members, they come to the realization there is a need for God.

“These are not new people; these are the same people who are there but they don’t normally come to church pre-COVID.”

As today marks Good Friday, there two parts will be carried which included the cross walk and also the veneration of the cross at 3pm which depicted the time when the Jesus died on the cross.

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