One of my favourite devotions is to make the Stations of the Cross. I even have a set of meditations on the Stations on my mobile phone so that if I am away anywhere and do not have any book of meditations, I can always use them. The saints who wrote on the spiritual life tell us that the passion of Christ is always a worthy subject of meditation and the Stations are a good way of framing such prayer.Family Publications have recently published two fine pamphlets with the Stations. First of all, there is the shorter set of meditations by Cardinal Newman. These are included in his "Meditations and Devotions" - I have a copy from 1893 which I picked up many years ago as a student. Family Publications have set them out in a fine glossy pamphlet with good illustrations.
A second set is by Fr Dominic Allain, a fellow-columnist for the Catholic Herald. It is a courageous thing for a priest to set out in print his thoughts on the Stations and I felt it was a privilege to read Father's thoughts and prayers. Here is a link to the pamphlet. Once again, this well produced with beautiful illustrations.
The Stations of the Cross should lead us to repent of our sins. One danger with schemes of meditation is that they focus on evils that happen elsewhere in the world and therefore tend to pander to the easy path of tut-tutting over everyone else's sins but our own. Neither of these excellent publications falls into this trap.
7 comments:
Fr Hunwicke's observation on people not wanting to listen reminded me of a very painful experience less than a year after my ordination. I had been sent to study at a college in the USA run at the time by religious women. Before one of the weekday Masses a Sister asked if the community could join in the Eucharistic Prayer. I told her they couldn't.
After the gospel I figured that it might be no harm to explain why I had said 'no'. While I was doing this one of the Sisters walked out and never spoke to me again during the three years I was there. The one who had made the request told me after Mass that I was 'very negative'. I was quite devastated at the time, still 'with the oils on my palms' and less than two months in the USA.
When, after the introduction of Masses in the mother-tongue, the late Archbishop John Charles McQuaid of Dublin mandated one Mass in Irish every Sunday in each parish, some were complaining, even if there were five or six or more other Masses in English. (He didn't mandate any Masses in Latin.)
God bless the work!
Fr Finigan - I've just recently discovered your blog (via Fr.Z), and have found it to be wonderful. I've added you to my Catablogue to remind myself to stop in often and get taught.
Incidentally, I've linked to your inaugural blogpost as part of my 'response' to Rev Richard McBrien's latest editorial in the National Catholic Reporter. It seemed providential that I came across that just this morning.
God bless you and keep on fighting for Christ and His Church.
Thank you for the suggestions. The stations of the cross is the earliest memory of my early Catholic years!
Larry - many thanks. I've put your blog Acts of the Apostasy on the blogroll. God bless.
I bought both books a couple of weeks ago. I can't commend them enough.
I love the Stations of the Cross, it is so important for us to remember the suffering Our Lord endured for us. I also find a good meditation so spiritually uplifting. Thank you for the suggestions.
I love to think of the Holy Face of Jesus, to look into the eyes of someone who loves us unconditionally is enough to make all of lifes troubles meaningful.
Personally, I really like St. Alphonsus Ligouri's Stations.
(Sure beats the "Stations" I had to walk out of a few years ago in which the Passion of Jesus was compared to Vietnam and the Kent State shootings.)
Post a Comment