This week, we visit and observe the path of Christ to the Cross in meditation for Lent. The Stations of the Cross prepares the participant in devoted reading of the final hours of Christ.
From the earliest of days, followers of Jesus told the story of his passion, death and resurrection. When pilgrims came to see Jerusalem, they were anxious to see the sites where Jesus was. These sites become important holy connections with Jesus. Eventually, following in the footsteps of the Lord, along the way of the cross, became a part of the pilgrimage visit. The stations, as we know them today, came about when it was no longer easy or even possible to visit the holy sites. In the 1500's, villages all over Europe started creating "replicas" of the way of the cross, with small shrines commemorating the places along the route in Jerusalem. Eventually, these shrines became the set of 14 stations we now know and were placed in almost every Catholic Church in the world. Set aside a piece of your time and follow the links on the College of the Resurrection's site regarding the stations.
As we visit each moment leading up to the death of Jesus, see if you can find yourself more readily part of the Easter story, where we are all taken up to be part of God through the death and resurrection of his son.
**Next week, we will be reading a selection from Amy Carmichael, p 360 in Spiritual Disciplines**
1 comment:
Last night, as we came to the end of Tenebrae, a young girl carried the Christ Candle out of the church. Then, in total darkness, following the strepitus, this same young girl carried the Christ light down the long aisle of the nave, through the chancel, and replaced it on the altar. In that total darkness, as only the light of Christ illuminated the space, I wondered if God cared that it was a young female acolyte that carried his light. My mind expanded upon this question--does the morphology or physiology of the person who carries the Christ light matter to God? Does the perfection or lack thereof matter to God? Does the wisdom or simplicity matter to God? As the young girl walked forward into the darkness, the light of Christ shown bright. I could not see her form, only the light of Christ. It did not matter. All those differences that bring walls of separation, fear,and hate crashing down between us do not matter. Only the light of Christ penetrating the darkness mattered.
Then the illumination of Eliot's words struck me
"I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you which shall be the darkness of God."
stan runnels+
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