February 27, 2012
We’ve begun our Lenten journey. Isn’t it about deepening our trust in the Lord and care for one another with greater patience and love? We will grow richer in our understanding of the power of God’s Word; we will learn wisdom from the teachings of the church, especially as it speaks to life’s experiences, and be nourished, as always, at the table of the Lord.
This season of repentance offers particular opportunities for prayer. We continue our Lenten devotions at parishes everywhere, especially the Stations of the Cross.
Every version of meditating on the walk to Calvary offers unique opportunities for connecting the Way of the Cross with our own walk through life. Pope John Paul II offered a different set of meditations for the devotion on Good Friday 1991. He eliminated events not mentioned in the Gospels, but added ones that are. Whether the Stations of the Cross are the traditional medieval images presented in most Catholic churches or those more scripturally-based, the reflections and meditations should always hold meaning and relevance for our lives today.
The devotion is powerful because we all realize that we’ve been asked to “take up our cross” and follow Christ. The human struggle with hatred and accusations, with insensitivity and mockery certainly speak to us, including our own sinfulness.
The Stations of the Cross can provide a sacred journey – a pilgrimage – so that we might empathize with the struggles of our brothers and sisters and see them in the Christ. We walk with Jesus, our brother, who is also the Lord of all Creation, who will lift us up because he conquered sin and death.
Father Joe Ciccone, CSP, is the director of the St. Thomas More Newman Center at the Ohio State University in Columbus.