by Vincent | Mar 17, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Was it the sound of their weeping that caught his attention? Doubtful. He knew they were there for they always were – the women – following, supporting, listening, responding, encouraging and loving. He numbered many of them among his friends and, following the resurrection. they were among the first to whom he appeared.
One of the criticisms leveled against our church is its apparent lack of placement of women in key roles of the church. Indeed, on that very memorable night that saw the election of Pope Francis, this was once again very much in the spotlight. No women were seen on the balcony when Francis was announced. This is a fact and maybe one we do well not to ignore. On St Peter’s Square there were countless women. Some of them, like those found in this Station, crying – though tears of happiness as Francis found his voice and wished them and all of us a “Good Evening”. They are always there in terms of church and, many of them, are the backbone of parish life and church groups and leaders of prayer …. there place is so central.
Is this a station about “women’s rights” or the ordination of women? I don’t think so. It is a station that speaks to all of us about the centrality of women in our lives and church. It’s not a station about control or equality – at least I don’t think it is – but it is one about recognition and acknowledgment. It is one about listening and responding and it is one about shared space and vision. It is about Christ turning his gaze in the direction of a group of women who understood what was going on and wanted to show support.
The women in this station draw close to the suffering Christ. They teach us how to respond to cruelty and wrongdoing in the only way that is appropriate and natural – through our tears. We MUST be moved to tears when we see suffering. We must also recognise the place – the entitlement of these women’s offspring to have their place – not just on the side of the road of “The Way of The Cross” but on the balcony … and ordination is not the essential ingredient – that central ingredient is their presence. That’s what Jesus noticed as he neared Calvary – not that they were or were not Ministers of Religion but that they were “there” and that they cared ….
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
by Vincent | Mar 16, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
In many ways, the second fall is more difficult and painful than the first since the first fall was an unknown and took the faller by surprise. The second fall is a reminder – a hard reminder – of where we’ve been before. It’s especially difficult when we think we’ve managed to come to terms with and leave behind that sense of having fallen. The fall alas is never too far away.
Jesus, on the ground again, reminds us that to fall is sometimes unavoidable but the challenge – the Gospel call – is to rise again and press onward in the belief that a journey has to be made and a destination has to be reached. We cannot stay down but must repeatedly find our feet and our determination to move away from the fall.
It’s worth noting that Jesus still has the support of Simon, the remembrance of Veronica’s kindness and the image of his mother in the crowd to give him strength. When we fall, our ability to rise will be rooted in the goodness shown us along the way. For this reason it is very important to note and remember acts of kindness shown us in life. These truly are our source of strength and make the getting up, even from a second fall, that bit more manageable.
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
by Vincent | Mar 15, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
She’s some woman! Veronica, the woman with the towel – one who saw something that needed to be done and just did it. There’s a tee-shirt that appears from time to time with the slogan “JUST DO IT” … she could have worn that tee-shirt for sure.
Like Simon at the fifth station, Veronica helps Jesus and the help was crucial. It meant more than just sharing a weight, or wiping a face – it meant that there was an understanding of his message. “Do unto others as you would want done to you …” “Insofar as you offer cup of cold water to one of these brothers or sisters, you did it for me …” Yes, the help was much more than just a physical presence, it spoke to something much deeper – an awareness that what is wrong must be challenged by what is right. Evil must not be allowed triumph since, as it has truly been said, “all that’s needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing ….”
Veronica’s help differed from Simon’s insofar as it was freely and courageously given. She stepped, uninvited, from the crowd to do the right thing and, in so doing, gave a powerful witness. Some say the track of his face was left on the towel she used. I think it matters little whether that’s true or not since the mark of his “presence” was truly with her before and even more so after the moment on Calvary’s road.
Yes, she’s some woman and she calls all of us to have a heart for those less fortunate and to have courage beyond our size or ability – We may well be the needed ones in a given situation. Are we ready to step from the crowd? Are willing to make a difference?
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
by Vincent | Mar 14, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
I remember a man coming to me very early one morning. He was looking for some food and possibly a few euro as he faced the day. I asked where he’d stayed the night before and he told me, without any hesitation, that he had slept under a lorry that was parked for the night down the street.
Tonight, in many of our larger cities, people will wrap themselves in sleeping bags, boxes, rolled up papers, old blankets and anything they can find to help keep out the cold. They’ll settle down for the night in the doorway of a shop, down a side street or under a bridge. Wherever a spot is available that promises the possibility of a night’s sleep, it will be utilised. This is an image, as my opening line of this paragraph suggests, linked with larger cities and a significant amount of homelessness. My early morning encounter is not from such a setting. It is rural. It is happening all around us. People are struggling.
I have an image at this station, not of the ones huddling down for the night, but of people gathering in twos, threes and more to make soup and sandwiches, to gather sleeping bags and warm clothes and to prepare for the nightly “soup run”. I’ve never done this – never really even considered doing this – but very many do. They know where to go. They know what to say. They do what needs doing.
There are many such groups but one is called the Simon Community. I believe, though I may be wrong, that their name comes from this Station; Simon helping Jesus to carry his cross. The first Simon was an unwilling volunteer. He was dragged from his vantage point on the side of the road and placed centre stage. His reluctance didn’t hold him back though. We can only begin to imagine the difference it made to Jesus when some of the weight was, quite literally, taken from his shoulder and shared. Simon, on that day, made a huge contribution and I suspect that afterwards his reluctance would have given way to joy that he had been able to help a man, trapped in a place and time not of his own making. I’d imagine he’d have been pleased to be able to say he had done something to help.
This station calls us to spare a thought for kindly people and to share their load in whatever way we can – maybe we could volunteer to travel with them sometime or to offer a few euro from time to time. http://www.simon.ie/
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
by Vincent | Mar 12, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
[youtube=http://youtu.be/Fm6ss1PBC1Q?rel=0]
“Though your message was unspoken, still the truth in silence lies …..” this is one of my favourite lines from Dana’s hymn “Our Lady of Knock”. It brings us back to that gable wall on an August evening in 1879 and to a people gathered in wonder and fear. A vision before them and much pain and confusion behind and all around them in the wake of famine days and forced, uncertain, emigration. No words exchanged. No words spoken by Mary to these people you’d imagine were in need of a word. She didn’t tell them that they were disappointing her son. She didn’t call them to one kind of devotion or another. She didn’t demand response in promises of any kind. Knock and its story, remind us though that she was “THERE” – for the people present that evening she was “HERE”.
I often think of that when looking at this fourth station. There’s no mention of any dialogue. You can almost imagine their eyes meeting across a largely hostile and curious crowd. Once those eyes met and locked in on each other, there was reassurance. “You are still my son” ….. “it matters not what they think of you or what they think you’ve done or anything else …. you are still my son”. Presence and reassurance – maybe that’s as good as it gets.
What did she receive in return from his gaze? A loving acknowledgement that out of all that’s going on around here, out of all this thunderous crowd, “I see you. I need you. I love you”. The fourth commandment comes to mind “Honour your father and your mother”. No accident that it comes right after the call to keep Holy the Sabbath Day. This relationship between parent and child must also remain holy and be forever reverenced.
This Station then speaks to all that is good in that bond between parent and child, in this case, mother and son and calls us to be there/here for each other in moments of crisis and uncertainty. It also calls us to prayer for families that have been broken or compromised in any way due to a breakdown in communication and relationship.
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
by Vincent | Mar 12, 2015 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Stations of The Cross
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Was it a pebble or a rock? Was it a push or a slap? Was it verbal abuse or fatigue? Was it ….. We’ll never know what led to the first fall but we can be certain it wasn’t easy. Even burdened beneath the weight of the cross, there is a pride that keeps us going – a sort of determination not to lose face. We’ve all done it, a stumble and then a quick look to see if anyone noticed and, depending on whether it was noticed or not, embarrassment or relief. We might be able to pull off the stumble, maybe even to put it down to error but there’s no denying the fall.
There’s something very sad about seeing someone who has fallen on the ground – fallen on hard times, fallen behind. There’s a genuine wish, especially if they’re known to us and loved by us, that the fall hadn’t taken place. It’s uncomfortable to watch someone on the ground. It’s a degrading place to be and, quite often in movies and plays, the man on the ground is to be pitied since he’s at the receiving end of brutality.
Such is the case in this third station. Jesus’ fall has come. He doesn’t call it his “first fall” since the hope is that it might be the only one. As we will see later on, this hope was not realised. Jesus came to pick up the fallen so maybe it’s not without significance that he is presented here as a man, mouth under, face down on the ground. It’s a moment of choice. Stay there or get up. We know the choice he made. It would not have been unreasonable were he to say, “No, I can’t go any further. What you’ve to do, do here ….” but no, he found his feet again and continued the journey.
This seems to be a station for the fallen one – for all of us who have been caught off guard and who have lost our footing. Don’t lose hope, feel the ground beneath you not so much as threat or enemy as launching pad to make a fresh start.
Let’s get up ….. the ground isn’t the best place for us.
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
