Matters India Reporter
Karjat, March 29, 2022 : Salesian province of Mumbai is offering nature walks and free counseling to people of all faiths on every Friday of the year since the beginning of lent this year.
Pilgrims are also welcomed daily during the Lent which started on March 2 and will end on April 16.
Karjat town is located in the outskirts of Mumbai city in Raigad district of Maharashtra.
Besides Catholics, Christians and believers of other faiths visit the 67 acre Don Bosco Centre property with rolling hills for nature walk, prayer and meditation.
“Groups of pilgrims who arrive at the property by bus or train are offered free snacks before they start out on the nature trail with devotional props like wooden crosses, crown of thorns and nails signifying the instruments of torture inflicted on Jesus in His final moments before crucifixion,” says director of the center Salesian Father Anthony Santarita.
Santarita says, “Several people who came with knee and spinal complaints and due for surgery, testify that after the completion of the way of the cross they experienced healing,”
One of the helpers at Don Bosco Centre Salesian Bother Alister has collected some of the healing testimonies on video.
There is no tour guide, pilgrims and nature walkers from all walks of life may confront themselves while meditating on 14 stations of the cross depicting the journey of Jesus to Calvary.
The 54 piece, life size tableaus, supplied by Church Art Kolkata, start with the condemnation of an innocent man, forcefully loading the cross on him, and making him carry the instrument of his death to the hill of execution on Calvary.
Notable among the representations are – the moment Jesus meets his mother, women who weep over the sufferings of Jesus, woman who dares to do an act of kindness toward Jesus, or a stranger pressed in to help Jesus carry the cross.
The stations of the cross which dot the one kilometer trail depict stark cruelty of crucifixion helping one to conclude his or her present sufferings are nothing.
The solitude, physical exercise, and natural in take of fresh air, helps one to find peace and harmony with nature, and communion with fellow walkers on the trail.
Visitors who wish to talk to some one will find a listening ear.
Santarita says, “Possibility of the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation and Eucharist are also offered on request.”
At the end of their nature walk the visitors are offered a simple free meal.