Stations of the Cross
The Heart of Jesus
One of the many mysteries of the Lenten season is the call to identify with the pain and suffering of the Cross. For most of us, this is a difficult call. We spend most of our lives avoiding pain and suffering. Embracing them requires a great deal of us.
Yet we do so because of the richness and depth that comes from connecting with the heart of Jesus on the Cross. Pope Francis reminds us that the Cross is indeed a place of power and a place of love for Christ.
“Jesus, with his Cross, walks with us and takes upon himself our fears, our problems, and our sufferings, even those which are deepest and most painful. With the Cross, Jesus unites himself to the silence of the victims of violence, those who can no longer cry out, especially the innocent and the defenseless; with the Cross, he is united to families in trouble, those who mourn the loss of their children, or who suffer when they see them fall victim to false paradises, such as that offered by drugs. On the Cross, Jesus is united with every person who suffers from hunger in a world where tons of food are thrown out each day; on the Cross, Jesus is united with those who are persecuted for their religion, for their beliefs or simply for the colour of their skin; on the Cross, Jesus is united with so many young people who have lost faith in political institutions, because they see in them only selfishness and corruption; he unites himself with those young people who have lost faith in the Church, or even in God because of the counter-witness of Christians and ministers of the Gospel. The Cross of Christ bears the suffering and the sin of mankind, including our own. Jesus accepts all this with open arms, bearing on his shoulders our crosses and saying to us: “Have courage! You do not carry your cross alone! I carry it with you. I have overcome death and I have come to give you hope, to give you life” (cf. Jn 3:16). (Address, World Youth Day, Way of the Cross, July 26, 2013)
It is there on the Cross that Jesus gives us unending hope in the midst of suffering and teaches us the power that resurrection holds. He has triumphed over death, and one day, we shall do the same.
Join us
This Lent, we are invited to experience Jesus’ journey, death and resurrection in the Stations of the Cross. We invite you to join us every Friday (except Good Friday) at 12:15 PM as we experience the fullness of the Lenten season as a parish family.