by Vincent | Mar 18, 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 mentioned before a priest called Fr Leo Morahan – I heard him speak one time about an elderly woman who used visit the church beside the school when he was a child. The children would go in to watch her as she prayed the Stations of The Cross. She’d not know they were watching since she was immersed in the journey she was making. She’d have no text book with her or no particular formula. She’d just walk from station to station, spend a while at one, a longer time at another – maybe say something, maybe not. He said that quite often at the ninth station she might say something like “you’re down again” …. simple but true.
“You’re down again”. That’s the truth of it. This station shows us the Lord stretched again beneath the burden of the Cross. Despite Simon’s help, the weight of the cross and tiredness of limbs lays him low.
This image of Jesus, though not easy to look at, speaks to the vulnerability in all of us. How quickly we can be laid low! How easily we can be broken! How ultimately fragile we all are.
“Fragile” – yeah maybe that’s the word. When something “fragile” is sent in the mail or by courier it usually has attached the simple but vital message “handle with care”.
Maybe this station is calling us to “handle with care” the humanity that is around us – the family, friends and neighbours around us. To do anything else could all too easily lead to their fall. To be handled any other way, likewise, to ours.
Oh, that today we would listen to his voice, let us harden not our hearts.
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.
