RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - Many Catholics spend extra time in their parishes this Holy Week, praying through the Stations of the Cross.
Each of the 14 depictions, which may be in carvings or paintings or another medium, is a reminder of the pains and passions Jesus went through on what Christians celebrate today as Good Friday.
This spring, Lorraine Smith is able to pray the Stations of the Cross daily with the installation of the holy reminders in her backyard memorial garden.
Perennials surround a medium-sized pond and waterfall, built by her husband, Marvin, who also built the shaker-roofed stands to protect the Italian painting reproductions from the weather.
Smith found the prints on one of her many trips to Italy and Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. And they were blessed by Pope Benedict in 2005.
Then, the icons waited in their rural Russellville home.
The pond was installed as a remembrance after Smith's sister, Helen, died. Loss has been a part of Smith's entire adult life and yet she remains faithful.
In her 20s, Smith survived breast cancer, lost her first husband only months before the birth of their second child, and lost her brother Albert.
"It's amazing when you believe," Smith said. "The trials of my life, I have never questioned because (God) was always there. I believe they are given to us so we know who to pray for."
Smith rediscovered the prints after the death of her daughter, Becky, last year.
"It's funny how things work," she said. "There was a reason behind those years."
Smith went on her first pilgrimage to holy sites at age 19, when she was a governess in Beirut, Lebanon, where she walked the same path as Jesus when he was on his way to be crucified.
She got the idea to add the Stations of the Cross to her own landscaping when visiting Medjugorje. Several parishes had outdoor prayer gardens with the stations throughout.
"When you're meditating or praying, and when you're outside in the quiet with the birds singing, it's a peaceful atmosphere," Smith said. "I love it."
Her shady sitting garden has been a regular site to pray the Rosary and lift up her intercessions. St. Anthony, the Blessed Mother, Padre Pio and the Spanish Blessed Mother already had their place. The Stations of the Cross only augment it.
Her times of frequent reflection give her confidence when faced with life choices, Smith said.
"I know why I'm going to say "no' to something that's wrong," she said.