Tracing footsteps to Calvary

The vast Roman Empire stretched from Gaul, which is present day France, all the way east to Syria. One of the Roman colonies was Judea on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea where civil unrest between the authorities and Jewish zealots was rampant. Many of the Jewish people during this time were waiting for a Messiah who would deliver them from Roman captivity.
In the midst of this, itinerant preacher from Galilee entered Jerusalem, the site of the Jewish Temple, and ushered in a series of events that changed western civilization forever.
These series of events known as The Passion of the Lord have been commemorated for thousands of years by Christians worldwide including students at Sacred Heart High School.
The annual Passion play at Sacred Heart was held Tuesday in the high school gymnasium. Playing Jesus for the middle part of the play was Drew Bordelon. “It means a lot to me to play Jesus,” he said. “I haven’t been in the Passion at all my last three years of high school, and I just felt like I needed to participate because I felt like it’s my duty to show how important the Passion is.”
He continued, “It’s very important because it shows how the world was against Jesus except for a select group of people, and it didn’t faze Him because He knew this is what He came on earth to do. He had to do that to save all of us.”
As Bordelon explained, the Passion “shows the series of events that took place when Jesus was crucified. It starts when Jesus was with His apostles at The Last Supper all the way until He’s on the cross and dies.”
Sacred Heart’s Passion began with Jesus, played by Nick Perry, entering the gym through the foyer as members of the crowd waived palm branches signifying the entrance into Jerusalem.
One of the students in the crowd was Jay Earles. “We have to follow Jesus around,” he said. “We are the ones who wanted to crucify Jesus.”
For Earles, the Passion is important because “it really brings back what did happen and puts it in a different perspective to where we can actually see it.”
The Passion then shifted to scenes of the Passover meal on Holy Thursday where Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist. At the table with Jesus and 11 other apostles was Judas who betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver.
Another apostle present was Peter who was played by Jacques Leger. “It means a lot to play Peter,” he said. “It helps me to see exactly what went down during this time and what Jesus really felt during this time.”
For Leger, the Passion is “very important because it’s an important part of our faith and Christ’s journey.” He added, “It’s a part of Christ’s life where He gave of Himself, and we have to remember it because He died for us and all of the sins we committed so we can have a place in Heaven.”
Also present at the table on Holy Thursday was John, who reclined his ear on Jesus’ chest at supper, played by Jack LaHaye. “It’s an honor to play John, the beloved apostle of Jesus,” he said. “John played such an important role in the life of Jesus and became a son of His mother. He was also the strongest of all of the apostles, in my opinion.”
After the Last Supper, the Passion shifts to Agony in the Garden where Jesus is again tempted by the devil. Playing the devil in the play Tuesday was Payton Floyd. “The devil was there in the garden to tempt Jesus and represent the sins of the world,” she said.
Floyd said the Passion is important because “it is the story of us getting saved from sin, and it’s how we are free.”
The scene then shifts to Jesus being arrested by the crowds and standing before the chief priests. One of the chief priests was played by Zachary Boudreaux. “The chief priests were the ones who insisted in the condemnation of Jesus with Pilate,” he stated. “They were the ones who paid Judas to betray Jesus.”
He continued, “The Passion was what saved us from sin, so it’s important to show to everybody else so they can understand what Jesus went through. It’s also important because if He wouldn’t have died to fulfill the prophecy, then we wouldn’t have had any forgiveness for sins.”
Jesus, at this point played by Bordelon, was then brought before Wesley Launey playing the part of Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. Pilate washes his hands of the matter and hands Jesus over to be crucified.
As Jesus carries his cross to Cavalry, he meets His mother along the way. Playing Mary was Catherine Bergeron. “It lets me see what Mary really went through,” she commented, “and I can feel what she was going through while seeing her son die. She watched her son be crucified to save all of humanity and watched people in disbelief while knowing He was the savior.”
For her, the Passion is “a big deal.” She went on to say, “I’ve been learning about it all of my life and am finally being able to be a witness to it. Being in it lets me see the emotions of what they were feeling.”
As Jesus continued on his way to Cavalry’s hill, a certain Simon of Cyrene, played by Christian Duplechin, is forced by the Roman soldiers to help carry the cross. “If Simon would not have helped, Jesus may have never made it to Cavalry to die for us, and that’s what His mission was,” he said. That’s what He was here for. If Simon never would have come, He never would have died for us.”
“It means so much just to be in the persona of the people with our Lord who died for us,” he added. “It’s incredible.”
As the play went on, Jesus, now played by Jalen Deville, was nailed to the cross and died. However, the story does not end there. Three days later, Jesus rises from the dead to bring about new life.
One of the first to witness the empty tomb was the apostle John. LaHaye concluded, “It’s amazing that Jesus resurrected and John was able to be there to experience the biggest miracle of all time.”