This
project, as represented by both a book and a
DVD, was the culmination of a true labor of
love. The Stations of the Cross are well known,
not only by Catholics, but by Christians
everywhere. In 1991 Pope John Paul II initiated
a revised version, using only biblical
texts. He called
this new version “The Way of the Cross.
Based on “The Way of the Cross,” my close friend
and well-known painter,Steve Hawley,
and I collaborated on a
visual/aural contemplative experience, called
“Waiting at the Station.” Steve painted 14
canvases and I wrote 14 songs, one for each of the
“stations.”
“Waiting at the Station” is intended as a
spiritual springboard, allowing song and visual
art to help expand the timeless soul benefits of
remembering our Lord’s passion.
First offered as a book with beautiful
renditions of the paintings, texts and song
lyrics, we then proceeded with the help of
my dear friend Jon Couch to create a DVD so the
songs could be heard and the paintings explored
in a deeper and almost magical way.
Here is a sample from the DVD . The book and
the CD offer two different experiences, as any
reader and movie-goer understands.
Thank You Michael
Here's an Amazon review for the DVD:
I wrote a review of the book, which I repeat
below, as it is still pertinent. Nevertheless,
I have eagerly awaited the DVD because now I
can hear the songs, and take a deeper dive
into the paintings. Michael Kelly Blanchard's
song poems need many listenings to fully
appreciate. Something new strikes me each
time, and the variety of musical styles match
the content beautifully. The paintings
likewise. I continue, after many viewings, to
find nuance I had missed. Scripture is the
same way for me - the living word - alive
because it finds me where I am and I am never
quite the same.
And for the book:
It
has been my experience that coming to Easter
is much more meaningful when I’ve deliberately
walked through Lent, especially Holy Week and
the Passion.
Steve Hawley’s paintings capture both the
stark horror and deep beauty of the betrayal,
arrest, suffering and execution of Jesus. The
reflections and the song/poems of Michael
Kelly Blanchard enlighten and bring us into
the stories of Judas, Peter, Pilate, Mary, the
repentant thief, Simon of Cyrene, Joseph of
Arimathea, “Mary’s Boy”, even the cross
itself.
Individually, the art and the words are
powerfully moving. Paired together on each
2-page spread, one for each Station, they
reach and instruct the heart of our
understanding of this mystery.
You will want to revisit and spend more time
at each of the Stations, and each time you
will come away with something more.
and well-known pai
