Greetings, everyone! On the Fridays of Lent, we have the opportunity to pray the Stations of the Cross. The Stations are prayed at 9:00 am at St. Vincent de Paul & at 7:00 pm @ St. Patrick, please join us for either time as we walk the way of the cross with our Lord.

 As you are likely aware, there are a number of different “versions” of the Stations of the Cross with reflections on each Station written from varying angles & perspectives. One “version” of the Stations of the Cross that I’ve discovered in recent years & that has quickly become one of my favorites is the “Stations of the Cross for Healing,” by David M. Knight. As I’ve prayed these Stations over the last few years I’ve found them to contain some very powerful reflections & over these final weeks of Lent, I wanted to share a few of my thoughts on them with you.

  The reflection on the Third Station, Jesus Falls the First Time, contains the line, “No fall makes us a failure if we let Jesus help us up.” All of us fall, all of us. Sometimes we fall physically & sometimes we fall spiritually, through doubt & sin. The temptation is to allow our falls to keep us down, to allow our falls to define us. The temptation is to allow the times where we fall short to cause us to give into discouragement & even self-loathing. Thoughts like, “I’m not good enough, “ or “Does God even love me?” can begin to creep into our minds, both directly & indirectly. Sometimes we have a harder time forgiving ourselves than God does. God is holding out a hand to help us up & we keep beating ourselves up, holding ourselves down. That’s not to say that we don’t, or shouldn’t, feel any shame or regret for our sins & our falls, but while we feel that shame & regret, we can’t allow that to define us. Our guile and shame shouldn’t define us, it should spur us on to true growth & conversion.

  This week, name the guilt & the shame that may be holding you back, holding you down &, as you name it, allow God to lift it off of you & help you up!