The CSC in the Post-Dispatch

The CSC is mentioned several times in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The article, entitled, "Stretching Physical and Spiritual Muscles," mentioned the recent Yoga stations the CSC hosted:

"Last month, students performed yoga while praying to the Stations of the Cross at Washington University's Catholic Student Center."

Later in the article, the CSC was mentioned again, complete with several quotes from Fr. Gary:

The Rev. Gary Braun, director of the Catholic Student Center at Washington University, has watched the number of students who show up for Stations of the Cross dwindle to three or four. He said he's concerned that young people don't see God in suffering. He said they'd rather avoid acknowledging their own suffering by engaging in risky behaviors, such as drinking. 

So he cast about for something new and appealing that would mesh well with the Lenten devotion. He kept hearing students talk about yoga and came up with the idea of doing a different pose while praying to each of the 14 Stations of the Cross as they were projected on a screen. Braun was stunned when more than 40 students showed up to participate.

"It blew us away," he said. "The parishes around the neighborhood asked us to do it for them next year." 

A company has approached Braun about making a video of the poses so people can do it in their homes. 

Braun stresses that he's not proselytizing, but merely wooing young Catholics to the devotion. He hopes they walk away with a better sense of Jesus Christ's suffering, he said. 

"Yoga is about being present, and there's a pain in the body to hold the pose," Braun said. "It's amazingly visceral."