CAFOD Stations of the Cross 2018
STATIONS OF THE CROSS - LENT 2018– LEADER’S NOTES
This Stations of the Cross takes us on a prayerful journey of transformation in solidarity with people living in poverty around the world. As we walk through the Stations, we also share their journey through a mixture of their stories, Scripture and prayer.
This Stations of the Cross is flexible and can be used in a variety of ways, such as:
- To lead a Stations in your parish, for example on Fridays during Lent.
- As part of a prayer session or small group meeting.
- As part of RCIA preparation for Easter.
- Combined with a hunger lunch for a parish group.
- As part of J&P group meeting.
- As part of a parish CAFOD group meeting.
Options
- In a church, as you follow the traditional Stations on the wall.
- You may wish to print out the pictures from the accompanying PowerPoint™ to stick on the wall next to the traditional image.
- In a church, seated.
- If you have a very large group, or people with mobility issues, it may be best for the readers to walk around the church’s Stations while the rest of the group remains seated in the middle.
- If there is a suitable wall, project the accompanying PowerPoint™ at the front of the church so people can reflect on the images.
- In a room.
- Set out the chairs in a circle and create a focal point in the middle with a candle, a cross, white and purple cloths.
- You could light a tea light as you start each station so that the room gets lighter as you move towards the resurrection.
- Project the PowerPoint™ onto a wall so that people can reflect on the images, or
- Print out the photosin the PowerPoint™ and stick them around the room.
What you will need
- At least two Stations of the Cross printouts, for the leader and the other reader.
- A reader, although if you have a very large group you could have a different reader for each Station for variety of voices. Different participants could read each closing prayer in turn.
Optional extras
- A screen to show the PowerPoint™.
- Props such as a candle, tea lights, cloths, a cross.
Things to bear in mind
- The leader reads the title of each Station as well as the text designated ‘leader’ within the Station. You may wish to have two leaders – one reading the odd-numbered Stations and one reading the even-numbered.
- Run through the responses with the group before starting, especially if they do not all have a printout, so that they know what is happening.
- Make sure there is a pause between the readings so that people have time to reflect on what they have heard.
- Be clear about the structure and who is reading what.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Opening reflection
Leader: As we reflect on the final journey of Jesus, leading to his death on the Cross, we also contemplate the lives of our sisters and brothers around the world living in extreme poverty. People like Svondo from Zimbabwe, featured on the CAFOD parish poster for Lent 2018. With help from a CAFOD local partner, Svondo’s mother Marian takes part in the local community garden and has been given seeds, tools and advice. Vegetables and fruit from the garden are helping Svondo to grow up strong and healthy.
Let us pray together for God to transform our lives and the lives of others:
Everlasting God,
we give you thanks
for you nourish and strengthen us
with your merciful love.
Give us this day our daily bread.
We pray for those
who hunger in scorched lands,
with no food for their children.
Together, we cry out for justice.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Help us to share generously
as one global family,
and to hold onto hope
for a world transformed.
Bread of life,
we pray your people
may find life and joy
in all its fullness.
Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
First Station
Jesus is condemned to death
Reader: “The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas’. Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’… Pilate released Barabbas for the crowd; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.” Matthew 27:21-26
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Jesus has done nothing wrong. He has spent his whole life doing only good. And yet, he is condemned to death. The crowd have turned against him and are willing to release the criminal Barabbas instead of him.
Can you think of a time when you have felt like the whole world was against you? When no matter what you did, it was not good enough for others?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it means to stand alone
in front of those who reject you and don’t understand you.
Walk with us.
When we feel that we can’t make a difference, help us to keep going.
Teach us to share your love.
Second Station
Jesus carries his cross
Reader: “After mocking Jesus, the soldiers stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him” Matthew 27:28-31
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader:The guards dressed Jesus up as a king, with a crown made of thorns, and mocked him. They gave him a heavy wooden cross to carry. Jesus knows that the way will not be easy and that it will lead to his death. And yet he shoulders his burden and starts on his way.
The burden of hunger is one that too many people have to bear. When he was small, Marian used to leave her older son Tawanda in the morning while she went to find work. She would return hours later to find him still sitting in the same place. “I didn’t have enough food to give him,” she said. “He hadn’t played, or even walked. It was very painful to see him like that.”
We all have burdens to carry. We also place burdens on other people. In what ways do I place unnecessary burdens on other people?
Prayer:
Jesus, you picked up your cross,
even though you did not deserve it.
Walk with us.
When we feel afraid, help us to be brave.
Give us the courage to speak out to change our world,
so that all our sisters and brothers
can experience justice.
Third Station
Jesus falls the first time
Reader: “He was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Whilst carrying his cross, Jesus falls down. The weight of the cross, the pressures, the burdens of the world, are all piled on his shoulders.
We heard how Marian was not able to give her son Tawanda enough food when he was small. He didn’t even have the energy to move from the spot where she had left him. Tawanda was prevented from reaching his God-given potential. How can children learn, play and grow when they do not have enough to eat?
The choices we make have an impact on other people both near and far. In what way do my choices cause others to stumble?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know how it feels to struggle and to fall.
Walk with us.
Show us how to walk with others
to know what it feels like to be in another’s shoes.
You reach out to us with caring hands.
Show us how to join our hands with communities around the world
who are bringing hope to their people.
Fourth Station
Jesus meets his mother
Reader: “Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:33-35
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Whilst Jesus is walking to his death, his mother comes up to him in the crowd. When Jesus was still a baby and presented to God in the Temple, Simeon prophesied to Mary that “a sword will pierce your own soul too”. What sadness must have filled Mary’s heart when she saw her son, knowing he was going to die.
For all mothers who struggle to support their children. For all mothers who watch their children go hungry. For all mothers who see their children suffering and feel powerless to help. For all mothers, we pause and pray.
[pause for silent reflection]
Prayer:
Jesus, you looked through the crowd
and saw your mother’s eyes.
Her love gave you the strength to carry on.
Walk with us.
When we don’t want to listen, open our ears to hear.
When it would be easier to look away, open our eyes to see.
Fifth Station
Simon of Cyrene carries the cross of Jesus
Reader: “The soldiers compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.” Mark 15:21
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Simon is compelled to help Jesus. Despite not knowing who Jesus is, he is taken from the crowd to walk with him and carry his cross.
Helping others brings us together and is an act of solidarity. With the gift of seeds, Marian now grows vegetables in her community garden. Her younger son Svondo has been brought up on fresh vegetables, beans and peanut butter. He is growing healthy and strong. He plays with his friends. His childhood has been so different from his older brother’s. The difference is the support that Marian received, and her determination to make things better for her children.
When a moment arises for us to help others, do we support them without complaint? Do we look for opportunities to help others, or do we try to keep out of the way, telling ourselves that it is not our responsibility?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know what it means to depend on someone and to need their help.
Walk with us.
When my friends need help, teach me to work with them to lighten their burden.
Show me how to listen carefully so that I can offer what they need.
We are your global family of many different colours, cultures and religions.
Make us one family united in you.
Sixth Station
Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
Reader: “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of our family, you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:37-40
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Veronica was able to reach out and touch Christ’s face.
The gentle, generous, humble action of wiping Jesus’s face, a face covered in blood and sweat, was one of love and humanity. It recognised the dignity of Jesus, not just seeing him as a spectacle walking by.
Do we look for Christ in our brothers and sisters? Do we anoint them through our respect for their human dignity?
Prayer:
Jesus, you know how it feels
to be hurt and to cry out in pain and fear.
Walk with us.
Show us how to walk together with others.
Show us how to love the people around us
And to be there for those who need us.
Seventh Station
Jesus falls the second time
Reader: “You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.” James 5:5-6
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Continuing his journey towards the place where he will die, Jesus becomes increasingly weak. He falls again. The journey must seem never ending. And each step is made more difficult with the weight of the cross and the pain. Jesus is becoming weaker.
Hunger impacts on every aspect of life: health, work, education. For those of us who have plenty it can be hard to imagine the physical and mental struggle of continued hunger. How can we walk alongside those who are hungry today?
Prayer:
Jesus, you stumbled and fell.
You lost strength and became tired.
And yet you carried on.
Walk with us.
When we find it hard to keep going,
give us the strength we need
to finish our work as well as we can
and show love to others.
Eighth Station
Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
Reader: “A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him” Luke 23:27-28
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem and tells them not to weep for him, but for themselves and their children.
Marian speaks of her fear at seeing her children go hungry: “My heart would feel pain. My children were tired and unhappy. I was so worried about finding the next meal.”
In the world there is so much to weep over. Sometimes we feel there is little we can do but cry. But following our tears, we commit ourselves to action to support all our sisters and brothers to flourish. We must always have hope.
Prayer:
Jesus, you cared and spoke out,
even on the road to your death.
You knew and felt the suffering of others.
Walk with us.
As we hear the stories of our sisters and brothers who live in poverty,
give us the courage to raise our voices,
so that together we can work for change.
Ninth Station
Jesus falls the third time
Reader: “Come to me all you who labour, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: As the journey to his crucifixion comes to an end, Jesus falls one more time. Jesus, who died for our sake, falls under the burden.
For people living in poverty, there is so much to cause them to fall. Faced with many challenges do we give up, or do we look to God for strength and hope?
We pray for ourselves, and for all those who need strength and courage, that in the face of so many struggles, the love of Christ will urge us on.
Prayer:
Jesus, you felt the darkness around you,
the crowds surrounded you.
You fell once more.
Walk with us.
When we lose hope, when everything is just too difficult,
show us how to reach out to each other and hold hands,
so that none of us have to do everything on our own.
Help us to know that you walk alongside us even when we feel most alone.
Tenth Station
Jesus is stripped of his garments
Reader: “The soldiers took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic…” John 19:23-24
Leader: We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
All: because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Leader: Arriving at his place of execution, even the clothes he is wearing are stripped from him. He is left with nothing. In Populorum Progressio, Blessed Pope Paul VI starkly challenges us that, “No one may appropriate surplus goods solely for his own private use when others lack the bare necessities of life.”
Hearing those words, how am I challenged? Do I have surplus goods which I am hoarding? What am I challenged to do for those who “lack the bare necessities of life”?
Prayer:
Jesus, you sacrificed everything and endured mockery for our sake.
Walk with us.
When we value possessions more than people,
or look down on someone who has less,
Show us your face in theirs.
Eleventh Station