Page 37 - Way of the Cross

expressions, bodily contours, and positioning of the figures

for each Station were developed in tandemwith the donors,

Tom and Charlene Welch, along with the Marian Fathers

and their staff.

In addition, Timothy gives much credit to landscape

designer Bob Macintosh and landscape contractor Michael

Bianco who “did an amazing job framing each Station.”The

dramatic Stations set against the idyllic mountain views of

western Massachusetts provide a breathtaking, new look at

the hard road Jesus took to His death at Golgotha.“You walk

these Stations, and you just feel like you’re being lead deeper

into the Passion,” says Timothy. The effect is both jarring and

comforting, he adds. And that’s part of the power of the

Passion itself. Through Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, we

are shaken to the truth of His love for us. So, too, by walking

each Station, we find a place of rest, reflection, contemplation,

and prayer.

Timothy’s work could easily be relegated to some of the

world’s great museums, but for an artist whose mission is

“creating art that has the power to convert,” that would

defeat the purpose.“They are meant to be outdoors,”he says.

“When original artwork is created today and placed in living

spaces, the statement expressed is: ‘The Church is all impor-

tant and glorious … today!’”

Timothy says he is most pleased by the scale of the

Stations. Because they are life-size, he says, “the Lord’s

suffering can become more real to us.”

“The best compliment these sculptures receive is to amaze

and fascinate themost cynical youths of today,”Timothy says.

“A ‘cool’ sculpture outside a church may make them think

that, likewise, something‘cool’ is to be found inside the church.

Christian sculptures are like visual sermons 24 hours a day.”

Excerpts from the newly revised

Way of the Cross

.