Lent is my favorite time of the year. It is a time when we can listen with the ear of our hearts and hear Jesus whisper in the silence,
Along with more prayer, we enjoy another long time tradition of our Catholic faith. Catholic Relief Services provides every school with a most wonderful program called Operation Rice Bowl. Each of our students receive a Rice Bowl and is asked to share with those who have less than us. Where does this money go? To our brothers and sisters who are suffering across the globe.
Stations of the Cross
2011
These stations were developed for use in Theology classes as a part of the Lenten Social Justice Curriculum at Morris Catholic High School.
Each class will pray two to three stations each week.
Each prayer session should begin with the Sign of the Cross, followed by praying two or three stations, as noted in the curriculum. The session should end with the Sign of the Cross.
Prayers used with these stations are from Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl and the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia. Photos are from Carolyn Holmes.
First Station
Jesus is condemned
Jesus is handed over with a kissand is condemned to death. His journey with the cross begins.
In Honduras, a long history of violence, economic exploitation and inadequate infrastructure, education, and healthcare systems has condemned two-thirds of the population to live in poverty.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus stands in the most human of places. He has already experienced profound solidarity with so many on this earth, by being beaten and tortured. Now he is wrongfully condemned to punishment by death. His commitment to entering our lives completely begins its final steps. He has said "yes" to God and placed his life in God's hands. We follow him in this final surrender, and contemplate with reverence each place along the way, as he is broken and given for us.
Second Station
Jesus Carries the Cross
Jesus begins his journey toward Golgotha, the place of the skull. Jesus now has to bear the cross, which will soon become his place of death.
In Haiti, widespread deforestation has caused soil erosion, flooding and damage to the agricultural land, which reduces the number of crops that farmers can grow. As a result, the Haitian people are forced to carry the cross of food insecurity.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus is made to carry the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his shoulders! With each step he enters more deeply into our human experience. He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and experiences its crushing weight.
Third Station
Jesus falls for the First Time
Under the weight of the cross, Jesus falls for the first time.
He feels abandonment and pain. He walks alone.
In Senegal, 48 percent of the population has fallen beneath the burden of unemployment. This largely agricultural economy is often threatened by inconsistent rains, locust invasions, and unreceptive foreign markets.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
The weight is unbearable. Jesus falls under it. How could he enter our lives completely without surrendering to the crushing weight of the life of so many on this earth! He lays on the ground and knows the experience of weakness beneath unfair burdens. He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he will ever be able to continue. He is pulled up and made to continue.
Fourth Station
Jesus Finds His Mother
Jesus finds his mother among the crowd. As Jesus walks towards our redemption,
Mary sees how her child suffers with every step.
In Kenya, 1.6 million children have lost their mother, father or both parents to HIV-related infections. These children struggle to survive without proper medical, nutritional and educational support.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus' path takes him to a powerful source of his strength to continue. All his life, his mother had taught him the meaning of the words, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord." Now they look into each other's eyes. How pierced-through her heart must be! How pained he must be to see her tears! Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his heart to its depth.
Love and trust in God bind them together.
Fifth Station
Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus
The Roman soldiers picked Simon of Cyrene out of the crowd to help Jesus with the cross.
Since 1943 Catholic Relief Services has helped carry the cross for our brothers and sisters in need by providing assistance with housing, water systems, health services, agriculture, and response to emergencies.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus even experiences our struggle to receive help. He is made to experience the poverty of not being able to carry his burden alone. He enters into the experience of all who must depend upon others to survive. He is deprived of the satisfaction of carrying this burden on his own.
Sixth Station
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Along his journey, Jesus comes across Veronica. She is moved by Jesus’ pain, and she wipes his face. Veronica’s simple act inspires us to works of compassion.
There are more than 1 billion people around the world who regularly suffer from hunger and malnutrition. Most are women and children. We pray that like Veronica, our actions will provide relief to those who suffer.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus' journey is at times brutal. He has entered into the terrible experiences of rejection and injustice. He has been whipped and beaten. His face shows the signs of his solidarity with all who have ever suffered injustice and vile, abusive treatment. He encounters a compassionate, loving disciple who wipes the vulgar spit and mocking blood from his face. On her veil, she discovers the image of his face - his gift to her. And, for us to contemplate forever.
Seventh Station
Jesus Falls a Second Time
Jesus falls a second time. This time, getting up is more difficult. His journey is still not over.
In Indonesia, the villages in the province of East Flores have fallen beneath the cross of food insecurity. Limited rain, poor soil fertility, inadequate access to water, a lack of crop diversification, and a lack of access to markets are a few of the many factors that have constrained agricultural productivity in this region.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you
have redeemed the world.
Even with help, Jesus stumbles and falls to the ground. In deep exhaustion he stares at the earth beneath him. "Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return." He has seen death before. Now he can feel the profound weakness of disability and disease and aging itself, there on his knees, under the weight of his cross.
Eighth Station
Jesus Consoles the Mothers of Jerusalem
Jesus comes to a group of mothers who lament his pain. Jesus offers them consolation for what they and their children will suffer. Today, too many people in our world suffer due to war and conflict. We must offer our help and consolation to mothers, families, and children whose lives are interrupted by conflict.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
The women of Jerusalem, and their children, come out to comfort and thank him. They had seen his compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. He had broken all kinds of social and religious conventions to connect with them. Now they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers, knowing he can't remain to help them more in this life. He knows the mystery of facing the separation of death.
Ninth Station
Jesus Falls for a Third Time
Once again, Jesus falls under the great weight of the cross.
In Senegal women often fall beneath the burden of supporting their families without a stable source of income.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
This last fall is devastating. Jesus can barely proceed to the end. Summoning all this remaining strength, supported by his inner trust in God, Jesus collapses under the weight of the cross. His executioners look at him as a broken man, pathetic yet paying a price he deserves. They help him up so he can make it up the hill of crucifixion.
Tenth Station
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
Jesus is stripped of his clothes and is left naked, another great humiliation.
Today in the United States, 14.3 percent of the population is living in poverty.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Part of the indignity is to be crucified naked. Jesus is completely stripped of any pride. The wounds on his back are torn open again. He experiences the ultimate vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects him. As they stare at him, his eyes turn to heaven.
Eleventh Station
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Jesus is nailed to the cross. The pain is great and he shouts in agony.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with 54 percent of its people nailed to the cross of poverty. Most people support their families through farming, but land in Haiti is often ill-used and poorly cultivated.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Huge nails are hammered through his hands and feet to fix him on the cross. He is bleeding much more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of his life hangs on those nails. Every time he struggles to pull himself up to breathe, his ability to cling to life slips away.
Twelfth Station
Jesus Dies on the Cross
In his life, Jesus showed us how to love; in his death, he shows us how to live.
Jesus died on the cross for us. In our actions we must follow Christ’s example of service to others.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Between two criminals, a mocking title above his head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to support him, Jesus surrenders his last breath: "Into your hands I commend my spirit."
Thirteenth Station
Jesus’ Body is taken off the Cross
Jesus’ body is removed from the cross. Solemn and sad, this is a painful act of love.
In Indonesia, only 11 percent of the terrain is arable land. CRS’ agriculture programs are helping farmers down from the cross of poverty by teaching them growing methods that will maximize their crop yields.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
What tender mourning! Jesus' lifeless body lays in his mother's arms. He has truly died. A profound sacrifice, complete.
Fourteenth Station
Jesus’ Body is Placed in a Tomb
Jesus’ body is placed in a simple tomb. His followers mourn.
Because the healthcare system in Honduras is unable to meet the needs of many of its poorest inhabitants, maternal and infant mortality rates are often high in rural villages.
God of all people, hear us as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in need.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
They take the body of Jesus to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty or that Jesus would show himself alive to his disciples, or that they would recognize him in the breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us, as we realize how he had to suffer and die so as to enter into his glory, for us.
Fifteenth Station
Resurrection!
Truly, Christ is Risen!
He invites us to serve Him in serving our brothers and sisters.
Let us go then, and proclaim, Christ is Risen!
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Alleluia! How beautiful is the sound of this word at this spot! Alleluia, Christ is Risen! And my heart, dear Jesus, leaps with joy. I can feel again your power and glory. "Where is death your power?"
Yes, Lord Jesus, at this site you overcame the most dreadful enemy of life, the most brutal of moments and transformed it into a glorious event. The tomb saw your glory, witnessed the light of life, testified to your overwhelming power. No stone could hold you, no bandage tie you up. No guard could stand by your everlasting power as Son of the Father Almighty.
From the tomb, dear Jesus, you made your Holy Cross the throne of your Glory. From the tomb you came back alive to fill us with the certainty that we too will participate in your glory as the redeemed ones not through the blood of goats or lambs but through the blood of the Son of Man.
Alleluia, Lord, from the tomb you filled our hearts with hope. Make it so, Lord, that we always look at this tomb in the moments when we feel ourselves closed in the confined spaces of darkness.
May the victory of your Resurrection spread its peace throughout the world. May it inspire the peoples living next to your "tomb of glory" to overcome the prejudices and hate and grow up in love and respect. Grant to the whole word the joy of your victory. Alleluia!
