Humbled by the Cross

I was a grade six pupil when I first heard about the stations of the cross. I did not understand anything. I was just walking beside our old neighbor and we were transferring from one cross to another. When I got a little bit older and the Lenten season was there again, I happened to pass by a group of people who were so focused and contemplative while uttering several words. There I discovered that the Station of the Cross was a depiction of the final hours of Jesus. Those stations were actually events commemorating the Passion. Last year was another fruitful experience for me when I started living with nuns. We did the Stations of the Cross and for the first time, I was able to hear and to comprehend how symbolic every station is. There were reflections based on our real situation after every station. Thus, the Stations of the Cross could really help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death.

I have just finished reading Fr Barry Cairns' Good Friday: Stations of the Cross. I learned that three of the scenes come from an ancient tradition. I was able to reflect on them: Veronica wiping the face of Jesus, Jesus falling the third time, and Jesus being nailed to the cross.

The cross with the crucified Jesus reminds me of God's love: not just an ordinary love but a kind of love that heals and saves. The cross humbles me because it reveals that suffering and pain are true...May we all remember how Jesus payed for the sins that do not belong to Him in order for us to have a new life...May we all then value our own lives and that of others and may we uphold the worth and dignity of every creation.