A Journey to the Cross

This Wednesday, as ashes are applied to our forehead many of us will hear the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return [Genesis 3:19]”  or “Turn away from sin (repent) and believe in the Gospel [Mark 1:15]”. So the season of Lent begins.

I would like to suggest to you that, this year, you could look upon Ash Wednesday as the starting point of a journey to the Cross. It is a journey that lasts six weeks, and it is a journey we take together. As we take our first steps, we know in what direction we are travelling. The map that plots our way equates to the weeks of Lent and especially the Sunday Gospel readings.

Among our travelling companions will be:

• those in our Journey in Faith group (RCIA) who are in the final stages of preparation for Baptism
• those baptised in other Churches who seek Reception into Full Communion with the Catholic Church
• and those adults who are to be Confirmed

For all of us, we are walking the road to Easter but we are walking with the Cross of Jesus and via the Cross of Christ. Our late Pope Francis, in the following words, encouraged people to look prayerfully at Jesus on the Cross:

‘What do we see then, when we turn our gaze towards the Cross where Jesus was nailed? We contemplate the sign of the infinite love of God for each and every one of us and the roots of our salvation. From that Cross flows the mercy of the Father who embraces the whole world. Through the cross of Christ, evil is overcome, death is defeated, life is given to us, hope is restored.’

One prayer that is part of many people’s Lenten practice is the Stations of the Cross. This is a traditional devotion reflecting on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Via Crucis (or Via Dolorosa) — the Way of the Cross — had its origins in the Holy Land, but it did not become popular around the world until the 17th Century. In a sense, the Way of the Cross is a mini-pilgrimage through the events that covered the final hours of Jesus’ life on earth. If there is one thing that we could do as part of our Lenten journey, it is to meditate regularly on this last journey of Jesus.

Every Friday during Lent we will pray the Stations of the Cross in St Thomas’ Church at 6pm. There are many different booklets of meditations on the traditional 14 stopping places, some of which are available in our shop.

This is a devotion you can do at home or in church. This link will take you a virtual ‘Stations of the Cross’, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.