See William Donaghy's sonnet series on the Stations of the Cross. See also Mark D. Roberts' short reflections on the seven last words of Christ plus his meditations on the Stations of the Cross. (HT: Hugh Hewitt)
- [Me] Today at noon I walked the "Stations of the Cross" along with others in one of our city's parks. This commemoration of Christ's condemnation and crucifixion was led and sponsored by clergy from a local Episcopal Church, a Lutheran Church, a Methodist Church, and a Roman Catholic Church.
I greatly appreciated the opportunity to focus and meditate on Christ's sufferings, and to be led in appropriate prayerful responses. Afterwards I drove a few blocks away to a Presbyterian church and
sat in on meditations on two of the seven "words" Christ spoke from the cross. This church had set aside a 3 hour block of time, noon to 3:00 PM, to offer hymns, Bible readings, and short homilies in 20 minute intervals led by different individuals. I stayed for the meditations on John 19:26-27 - "Behold your son.. behold your mother" and Matt 27:46 -" My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Why do I write this? I do so out of a renewed awareness of how helpful it is to back away from life's busyness to mediate on the foundation of our faith. I go to a church that celebrates Easter, of course, but does not observe the church calendar and so there is no observance of Lent, nor are there special services during Holy Week.
In my judgment this is a mistake. We need special services. We need liturgies. We need any and all helps to quiet our minds and our lives, to allow God to reset our compasses and still our hearts. I am glad -- and blessed -- that I live in a time and a place where such observations can be utilized. I am grateful for the worldwide body of Christ which transcends denominations and particular traditions.
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Noteworthy article:
Charlotte Allen laments the cultural obliteration of the Lenten and Easter seasons.
...Given the solemn nature of Easter, which celebrates not the happy birth of a child as does Christmas, but the awesome themes of suffering, death, atonement, and resurrection, it is always conceptually difficult to festoon the paschal season with the rounds of merrymaking that characterize the end of December.
Still, it is sad and disconcerting that the oldest and holiest of Christian festivals is simply ignored by the media (and almost everyone else), and that Christians have acquiesced to the near-disappearance of their highest feast day from public consciousness. . .