Milagres Church Holds the Last ‘Way of the Cross’ of Lent Season on ‘Good Friday’
Mangaluru: O Jesus, our adorable Saviour, we now contemplate Your sacred passion. Help us to understand that the sufferings of our life are the continuation of Your passion. We ask for strength of our souls to go through our passion, in the spirit with which You went through Yours. Amen. The Stations of the Cross {Way of the Cross} usually observed during Lent, especially on Lenten Fridays and most importantly on Good Friday, and the faithful in large numbers attended the final “Way of the Cross” this morning, 30 March 2018 {Good Friday} in the Church compound. It is one of the most popular devotions for Roman Catholics. The devotion consists of meditating on 14 events which form the 14 stations of the cross. The purpose of this devotion is to focus on the Passion of Jesus Christ.
The lent season which began 40 days ago culminates today on Good Friday, during which the Catholic faithful made time for the ‘Way of the cross’ accompanying Lord on the journey of his passion and death. Following Ash Wednesday which was on Feb. 14, 2018, which marked the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday was 46 days before Easter Sunday, which takes place on April 1, 2018, and while Good Friday is on March 30, 2018, which was observed on and beginning of the Holy season of Lent, the Catholic Church invited her children to solemnly enter into the holy season of Lent and to unite the Faithful throughout this season to the suffering and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ in a spirit of prayer, meditation, reflection, penance, fasting and alms-giving.
This season was also a moment of unique grace that lead the faithful to the joy and privilege of celebrating Easter, a feast of hope of new life in the Risen Lord. For Catholics they can do this to the extent that they imitate Christ who became poor and enriched them by his poverty. The fasting and abstinence, during the season of Lent, were not simply a form of penance; however it was also a call for the faithful to take stock of their spiritual lives. As Lent began, many Catholics set out specific spiritual goals they would like to reach before Easter and decided how they will pursue them – for instance, going to daily Mass and approaching the Sacrament of Confession more often.
As per Lenten Fasting and Abstinence, all Catholics 14 years and older were to abstain from meat on Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Catholics who are 18 to 59 years old are to fast on Good Friday. Fasting refers to the quantity of food eaten. Traditionally, fasting calls for refraining from eating between meals and consuming only one full meal per day. The following suggestions were proposed to observe Lent- Attending Mass; Making at least a 15 minutes visit to the Blessed Sacrament; Reading the Bible for 15 minutes; Meditation on the Passion of the Lord for 15 minutes; Missing Breakfast or anyone meal; Making strictly vegetarian meals; Giving 10% of one’s daily earnings in Charity; and most of all, taking part in the “Way of the Cross”.
The object of the ‘Way of the Cross’ was to help the faithful to make in spirit, as it were, a pilgrimage to the chief scenes of Christ’s sufferings and death, and this has become one of the most popular of Catholic devotions. It is carried out by passing from Station to Station, with certain prayers at each and devout meditation on the various incidents in turn. It is very usual, when the devotion is performed publicly, to sing a stanza of the “Stabat Mater” while passing from one Station to the next. The “Way of the Cross” proceedings held today at Milagres Church on Friday 30 March was conducted by Valerian D’souza-Parish Priest of Milagres Church, along with parish Ward Gurkars partaking also in the readings/proceedings, and also with faithful gathered in large numbers, and the choir in attendance.
The ceremony began with an Opening Prayer: Mary, my Mother, you were the first to live the Way of the Cross. You felt every pain and every humiliation. You were unafraid of the ridicule heaped upon you by the crowds. Your eyes were ever on Jesus and His Pain. Is that the secret of your miraculous strength? How did your loving heart bear such a burden and such a weight? As you watched Him stumble and fall, were you tortured by the memory of all the yesterdays- His birth, His hidden life and His ministry?
You were so desirous of everyone loving Him. What a heartache it was to see so many hate Him – hate with a diabolical fury. Take my hand as I make this Way of the Cross. Inspire me with those thoughts that will make me realize how much He loves me. Give me light to apply each station to my daily life and to remember my neighbor’s needs in this Way of the Pain.
Obtain for me the grace to understand the mystery, the wisdom and the Divine love as I go from scene to scene. Grant that my heart, like yours, may be pierced through by the sight of His sorrow and the misery and that I may determine never to offend Him again. What a price He paid to cover my sins, to open the gates of heaven for me and to fill my soul with His own Spirit. Sweet Mother, let us travel this way together and grant that the love in my poor heart may give you some slight consolation. Amen. Following the prayer, the 14 Stations of the Cross {Way of the Cross} was observed, namely :
{For the long version of “Stations of the Cross” or “Way of the Cross” with meditations and prayers click on the earlier article link below this article}
The First Station: Jesus Is Condemned To Death
The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother
The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls A Second Time
The Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks to the Holy Women
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
The Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Sepulcher
After observing the 14 “way of the Cross”, the ceremony ended with a Closing Prayer:
My Jesus, I have traveled Your Way of the cross. It seems so real and I feel so ashamed. I complain of my sufferings and find obedience to the Father’s Will difficult. My Mind bogged down by the poverty, sickness, starvation, greed and hatred in the world. There are many innocent people who suffer so unjustly. There are those born with physical and mental defects. Do we understand that You continue to carry Your cross in the minds and bodies of each human being? Help me to see the Father’s Will in every incident of my daily life. This is what You did – you saw the Father’s Will in Your persecutors, Your enemies and your pain.
You saw a beauty in the Cross and embraced it as the desired treasure. My worldly mind is dulled by injustice and suffering and I lose sight of the glory that is to come. Help me to trust the Father and to realize that there is something great behind the most insignificant suffering. There is Someone lifting my cross to fit my shoulders – there is Divine Wisdom in all the petty annoyances that irk my soul every day.
Teach me the lessons contained in my Cross, the wisdom of its necessity, the beauty of its variety and the fortitude that accompanies even the smallest cross. Mary, My Mother, obtain for me the grace to be Jesus to my neighbor and to see my neighbor in Jesus. Amen.
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Photos by: Roshan Madtha- ‘Roshan Digitals’, Mangaluru
Also Read Related Article below:
‘Way of the Cross’- a Devotion to Focus on Passion of Jesus Christ during Lent
