7th April 2019 - Mary's Way of the Cross

On this week's programme the SS102fm team, with the help of some volunteers, reflect on the Stations of the Cross, in particular through the eyes and heart and mind of Our Blessed Mother - Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother too. We also have our usual reflection on the Sunday Gospel.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks full programme HERE.

Mary's Way of the Cross by Richard G. Furey C.Ss.R.

It is part of Catholic tradition to pray the Stations of the Cross, particularly during Lent. As part of our Lenten observances this year the SS102fm team decided to reflect on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus through Mary's Way of the Cross written by Richard G. Furey C.Ss.R.

Each station begins with an imagined reflection from Our Lady and ends with variations on the refrain "but I knew this had to be so I.... silently." 

Mary's fiat, her yes to God, was not offered just once to the Angel Gabriel when he invited her to become the Mother of God. Mary's yes to God had to be offered over and over and over again. She is the supreme model of faith for us, because she knows what it means to suffer, she knows the mother's pain of losing an only child, she knows poverty and struggle and pain and yet she trusted God completely. She invites us to do the same.

As Richard says "Mary stood by her Son throughout His passion, and in her faith, experienced the joy of His resurrection. This booklet allows the 20th century Christian to do the same in hope that he or she will, with Mary's assistance, deepen his or her faith and allow Jesus to rise once more in his or her life." 

You can listen to the interview excerpted from the main programme podcast HERE.

If you wish to read Mary's Way of the Cross, the text is available online HERE. 

Gospel - John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any more.’

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire
English Dominicans
Centre for Liturgy
Sunday Reflections

Liturgical odds & ends

Liturgy of the Hours - Psalter week 1; 5th week of Lent

Saints of the Week

April 8th - St. Julie Billiart
April 9th - St. Waldetrudis
April 10th - St. Michael de Sanctis
April 11th - St. Marguerite d'Youville
April 12th - St. Julius
April 13th - Pope Saint Martin I

Notices

'Journey towards Transformation' - will be held in St. Mary of the Rosary Church, Nenagh on April 7th, 8th and 9th from 7.30pm. Each night will have input, reflection, meditation and live music and is facilitated by Martina Lehane Sheehan and her husband, Pat. All are welcome to this unique three night journey of meditation, scripture and healing.

The Way of the Cross led by Pope Francis at the Colosseum

This year, the meditations on the fourteen stations of the Way of the Cross were written by fifteen young people between the ages of 16 and 27. Two things are unusual in this regard. First, there is the age of the authors: they are young people and adolescents, nine of whom are students at the Liceo Pilo Albertelli in Rome. Second, there is the “choral” aspect of their work, which is a symphony of many voices of different tonalities and timbres. These are not “young people” in general; instead, they are Valerio, Maria, Margherita, Francesco, Chiara, Greta and the others.

With the enthusiasm typical of their age, they took up the challenge presented by the Pope in this year devoted particularly to the younger generation. They did so using a precise methodology. Gathered around a table, they read the accounts of the passion of Christ from the four Gospels. In other words, they stood before each scene along the Way of the Cross and “saw” it. Then, after a certain time had passed, each young person spoke about a detail of each scene that had struck him or her the most. In this way, it became easier and more natural to assign the individual stations.

Three key words, three verbs, mark the development of these texts: first, as already stated, is seeing, then encountering, and last, praying.

When we are young, we want to see, we want to see the world around us; we want to see everything. The scene of Good Friday is powerful, even in its horror: seeing it can lead to revulsion or to mercy that provokes an encounter. This was the way of Jesus in the Gospel and every day, including today. He encounters Pilate, Herod, the priests, the guards, his mother, the Cyrenean, the women of Jerusalem and the two thieves, his final companions on the way. When we are young, every day we have a chance to encounter another person, and every encounter is new and surprising. We grow old when we no longer want to see anyone, when fear closes doors and defeats trust and openness. It is the fear of change, because to encounter means to change, to be prepared to set out once more on our journey with new eyes. To see and to encounter leads, finally, to prayer, because seeing and encountering give rise to mercy, even in a world that seems pitiless and, in times like our own, abandoned to senseless anger, meanness and the desire not to be bothered.

Yet if we follow Jesus with all our heart, also on this mysterious journey to the cross, courage and trust can be reborn. After we have seen, and opened ourselves to encounter, we will experience the grace of praying, no longer alone but together.

*********************

Read the reflections HERE.

Watch the Stations of the Cross HERE.

9th April 2017 - Palm Sunday 2017 - Journeying through the Stations of the Cross

On this weeks programme, to mark the beginning of Holy Week. Sr Phyllis Moynihan joins us to reflect on the Stations of the Cross. We have a brief reflection on the journey through the liturgies of Holy Week as well as some notices.

As Holy Week out ranks all other celebrations, we dont have any celestial guides or saints of the week commemorated this week.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks full programme HERE.

Hosanna to the King of Kings!! 

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday as it is also called, begins Holy Week. This week is the “holy of holies” of the Christian Church Year. For today we begin our observance of the last days of our Lord’s early sojourn, “for us and for our salvation,” as He enters in the very heart of darkness, sin and death itself. The triumph of the humble King who enters Jerusalem, humble and riding on a donkey, is marked on Sunday with a triumph: shouting crowds and exuberant shouts of welcome and celebration, but in only five days, the shouts of welcome turn to shouts of anger, hate and a call for his death. “O, Dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken?” as the old Lutheran hymn puts it. 

Let us then fix our hearts and minds on prayerful watching and waiting during these days, as we again are led by the Holy Spirit to see in our hearts, and our minds, the evil sinful nature and the thoughts, words and deeds, which put our Lord on the Cross. And repenting of them, despairing of ourselves, we turn once more to Christ the Crucified One, on whom is placed the sins of the world: your sins, my sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

(Procession Gospel - Matthew 21:1-11)

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, 
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, 
"Go into the village opposite you, 
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 
'The master has need of them.'
Then he will send them at once."


This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet 
might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
"Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."


The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.  They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, 
and he sat upon them.

The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, 
while others cut branches from the trees 
and strewed them on the road.The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
"Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest."
And when he entered Jerusalem 
the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?"
And the crowds replied, 
"This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."


Reflections on the gospel:

Sunday Reflections
Centre for Liturgy
English Dominicans

The Stations of the Cross

This week we reflect on the Stations of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is the journey through the Passion and Death of Jesus through out the first Holy Week in the city of Jerusalem. To this day Christians of all denominations will walk the ancient streets of the Old City retracing that journey from the Mount of Olives to Calvary.

You can listen to the podcast of the Stations of the Cross excerpted from the main programme HERE.

Pope Francis presides over the Stations of the Cross in Rome

 

 

O Cross of Christ!

Pope Francis

Colosseum in Rome

25th March 2016

 

O Cross of Christ, symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you raised up in our sisters and brothers killed, burned alive, throats slit and decapitated by barbarous blades amid cowardly silence.
O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the hardened hearts of those who easily judge others, with hearts ready to condemn even to the point of stoning, without ever recognizing their own sins and faults.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in expressions of fundamentalism and in terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence.   

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who wish to remove you from public places and exclude you from public life, in the name of a pagan laicism or that equality you yourself taught us.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the powerful and in arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters, and give their children blood-soaked bread to eat.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in thieves and corrupt officials who, instead of safeguarding the common good and morals, sell themselves in the despicable market-place of immorality.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the foolish who build warehouses to store up treasures that perish, leaving Lazarus to die of hunger at their doorsteps.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the destroyers of our “common home”, who by their selfishness ruin the future of coming generations.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the elderly who have been abandoned by their families, in the disabled and in children starving and cast-off by our egotistical and hypocritical society.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anesthetized conscience.

O Cross of Christ, image of love without end and way of the Resurrection, today too we see you in noble and upright persons who do good without seeking praise or admiration from others.

O Cross of Christ, we, too, see you in ministers who are faithful and humble, who illuminate the darkness of our lives like candles that burn freely in order to brighten the lives of the least among us.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the faces of consecrated women and men – good Samaritans – who have left everything to bind up, in evangelical silence, the wounds of poverty and injustice.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the merciful who have found in mercy the greatest expression of justice and faith.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in simple men and women who live their faith joyfully day in and day out, in filial observance of your commandments.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in the contrite, who in the depths of the misery of their sins, are able to cry out: Lord, remember me in your kingdom!

O Cross of Christ, we, too, see you in the blessed and the saints who know how to cross the dark night of faith without ever losing trust in you and without claiming to understand your mysterious silence.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in families that live their vocation of married life in fidelity and fruitfulness.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in volunteers who generously assist those in need and the downtrodden.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those persecuted for their faith who, amid their suffering, continue to offer an authentic witness to Jesus and the Gospel.

O Cross of Christ, today too we see you in those who dream, those with the heart of a child, who work to make the world a better place, ever more human and just.

In you, Holy Cross, we see God who loves even to the end, and we see the hatred of those who want to dominate, that hatred which blinds the minds and hearts of those who prefer darkness to light.

O Cross of Christ, Arc of Noah that saved humanity from the flood of sin, save us from evil and from the Evil One.  O Throne of David and seal of the divine and eternal Covenant, awaken us from the seduction of vanity!  O cry of love, inspire in us a desire for God, for goodness and for light.

O Cross of Christ, teach us that the rising of the sun is more powerful than the darkness of night.  O Cross of Christ, teach us that the apparent victory of evil vanishes before the empty tomb and before the certainty of the Resurrection and the love of God which nothing can defeat, obscure or weaken.  Amen!

6th March 2015 - The Stations of the Cross - 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)

On this weeks programme as we journey through the joyous holy season of Lent, we provide a pause moment on this weeks programme to reflect on the Stations of the Cross with reflections from fourteen contributors aged from 7 to 77 on this traditional Lenten devotion. We also have music and prayer spaces from the Divine Mercy Conference which was held in Dublin recently.

You can listen to the podcast of the full programme HERE.

Sunday is Laetare Sunday, also known as Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day in Ireland), Refreshment Sunday, Mid-Lent Sunday (in French mi-carême), and Rose Sunday (either because the golden rose sent by the popes to Catholic sovereigns used to be blessed at this time or because the use of rose-colored vestments instead of violet ones was permitted). Historically it was also once known as "the Sunday of the Five Loaves," from the traditional Gospel reading for the... day, the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, which was, before the adoption of the modern "common" lectionaries, the Gospel reading for this Sunday in the Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Old Catholic churches. Laetare, a Latin word, means to Rejoice and it takes its name from the Opening antiphon which we hear in Mass this Sunday «Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her, rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult.'


The Stations of the Cross

This week we reflect on the Stations of the Cross, the traditional Franciscan devotion which has spread from the Holy Land around the world to walk the journey of Jesus during his Passion in Jerusalem to Calvary and to the tomb.

This week we have a number of contributors reflecting on the Stations of the Cross with some original pieces, others reading reflections on the Stations composed by Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP.

You can listen to this weeks reflections excerpted from the main programme HERE. If you wish to get a copy of a cd of these recordings, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the SS102fm team.

Over the last number of years, SS102fm has done a number of programmes on the Stations of the Cross and we have post various reflections on the Stations individually on the blog also including previous years reflections from Rome as well as a series of reflections which we asked contributors to make in 2012.

The 2012 series of blog reflections on the Stations of the Cross are here.

Our recording of Mary's Stations of the Cross from 2013 is here.

I - Jesus is condemned to death

II - Jesus receives his cross

III - Jesus falls the first time

IV - Jesus meets his mother

V - Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

VI - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

VI - Jesus falls the second time

VIII - Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

IX - Jesus falls the third time

X - Jesus is stripped of his garments

XI - Jesus is nailed to the cross

XII - Jesus dies on the cross

XIII - Jesus is taken from the cross

XIV - Jesus is laid in the tomb

Gospel - Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable:
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him,‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire

Centre for Liturgy

Sunday Reflections

English Dominicans
iBenedictines

Liturgical odds & ends

Liturgy of the Hours: psalter week 4; 4th week of Lent

Saints of the Week (as commemorations during Lent)

March 7th - St Perpetua and Felicity (virgins, martyrs)

March 8th - St Senan

March 9th - Saint Dominic Savio

March 10th - Saint Silvester of Ireland

March 11th - St Aengus

March 12th - Feria



The Stations of the Cross

 

Many of our readers and listeners will be familiar with the traditional Catholic devotion known as the Stations of the Cross, a series of meditations on scenes from the Passion of Jesus, from his sentencing at the hands of Pilate to the laying of his body in the tomb.  Below we list some online links to various reflections on the stations for your use over Lent.

 

Previous posts by SS102fm on the Stations of the Cross

 

Pray as You Go - Stations of the Cross - There are fourteen standard stations, which can be found on the walls of just about any Catholic church in the world.  But some variations from this form exist, including one more closely following the scriptures, approved by Pope Benedict in 2007. 

 

The Stations of the Cross according to the method of St Francis

 

Patheos - The Stations of the Cross: A Devotional Guide for Lent and Holy Week

 

The Cross as a Journey - The Stations of the Cross for Protestant Worship

 

The Way of the Cross from Latin America, 1492 - 1992 - Stations of the Cross by Adolfo Perez Esquivel

Busted Halo - Virtual Stations of the Cross

Pope Francis: In the Cross we see the monstrosity of man and greatness of God’s mercy

From Vatican Radio:
 

“In the Cross we see the monstrosity of man, when we allow ourselves to be guided by evil; but we also see the immensity of God's mercy who does not treat according to our sins, but according to His mercy”. This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ brief unscripted address Friday evening as he presided at the traditional "Via Crucis", or Way of the Cross, service at Rome’s ancient Coliseum.

Immigrants, the unemployed, the sick, the elderly and prisoners: these were the focus of thousands of pilgrims prayers Friday evening as they gathered in the darkness around the ancient amphitheater, behind a simple wooden Cross.

"God - Pope Francis said – placed all the weight of our sins on the Cross of Jesus, all the injustices perpetrated by every Cain against his brother, all the bitterness of the betrayal of Judas and Peter, all the vanity of tyrants, all the arrogance of false friends. It was a heavy Cross, like the night of abandoned people, as heavy as the death of loved ones, heavy because it carried all the ugliness of evil".

The Cross emerged from the ruins marking the 14 stations of Christ’s final journey here on earth, borne between two burning candles by immigrants, prisoners, homeless, elderly, women, disabled, and former drug addicts. From the Palatine Hill opposite the Coliseum, Pope Francis knelt in prayer as the mediations by Italian Archbishop Giancarlo Maria Bregantini were read.


The Archbishop from the southern region of Campobasso, has been at the forefront in the fight against organised crime in southern Italy. His reflections spoke of "all of those wrongs that have created the economic crisis and its grave social consequences: job insecurity, unemployment, an economy that rules rather than serves, financial speculation, suicide among business owners, corruption and usury”.


The meditations also denounced the abuse of women and children, the loneliness of old people, of prisoners who endure torture, victims of organized crime and loansharks. The Archbishop wrote: "Today, many of our brothers and sisters, like Jesus, are nailed to a bed of pain, at hospital, in homes for the elderly, in our families. It is a time of hardship, with bitter days of solitude and even despair”.
As the Cross came to a standstill before the Holy Father four the 14th station, the Pope spoke briefly in unscripted remarks to the thousands of pilgrims gathered below in flickering candle light. He spoke of the “monstrosities” that mankind is capable of when we allow ourselves to be guided by evil. But he concluded “it is also a glorious Cross, as [glorious] as the dawn after a long night, because it represents the totality of the love of God, which is greater than our iniquity and our betrayals".

"However - he continued – it is also a glorious Cross, as [glorious] as the dawn after a long night, because it represents the totality of the love of God, which is greater than our iniquity and our betrayals. In the Cross we see the monstrosity of man, when we allow ourselves to be guided by evil; but we also see the immensity of God's mercy who does not treat according to our sins, but according to His mercy. Before the Cross of Christ, we see, we can almost touch with our hands how much we are eternally loved; Before the Cross, we feel like 'children' and not 'things ' or objects".

"Oh, our Jesus - the Pope concluded - lead us from the Cross to the Resurrection and teach us that evil will not have the last word, but love , mercy and forgiveness. O Christ, help us to once again cry : 'Yesterday I was crucified with Christ; today I am glorified with Him. Yesterday I died with Him, today I live with Him. Yesterday I was buried with Him, today raised with Him '. Finally, let us all together remember the sick, remember all the abandoned people under the weight of the Cross, that in the trial of the Cross they may find the strength of Hope, the Hope of the Resurrection and the Love of God".

Way of the Cross at the Colosseum led by Pope Francis

GOOD FRIDAY
Rome, 18 April 2014 
 

“The Face of Christ,
the Face of Man”

MEDITATIONS by H.E. Msgr. Giancarlo Maria Bregantini,Archbishop of Campobasso-Boiano

 

INTRODUCTION

 

He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth. These things occurred so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “None of his bones shall be broken”. And again another passage of Scripture says: “They will look on the one whom they have pierced” (Jn 19:35-37).
 

Loving Jesus,

you went up to Golgotha without hesitation, in utter love,
and let yourself be crucified without complaint.
Lowly Son of Mary,
you shouldered the burden of our night
to show us the immense light
with which you wanted to fill our hearts.
In your suffering is our redemption;
in your tears we see “the hour”
when God’s gracious love is revealed.
In your final breath, as a man among men,
you lead us back, seven times forgiven,
to the heart of the Father,
and you show us, in your last words,
the path to the redemption of all our sorrows.
You, the Incarnate All, empty yourself on the cross,
understood only by her, your Mother,
who stood faithfully beneath that gibbet.
Your thirst is a wellspring of hope,
a hand extended even to the repentant thief,
who this day, thanks to you, enters paradise.
To all of us, crucified Lord Jesus,
grant your infinite mercy,
a fragrance of Bethany upon the world,
a cry of life for all humanity.
And at last, as we commend ourselves into the hands of your Father,
open unto us the doors of undying Life! Amen.

 

FIRST STATION

 

Jesus is condemned to death
Fingers pointed in accusation

Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again; but they kept shouting: “Crucify him, crucify him!” A third time he said to them: “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him”. But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed. So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted. He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished (Lk 23:21-25).

Pilate, timid and afraid of the truth, fingers pointed in accusation, and the growing clamour of the raging crowd: these are the first stages in Jesus’ death. Innocent, like a lamb, whose blood saves his people. Jesus, who walked among us bringing healing and blessing, is now sentenced to capital punishment. Not a word of gratitude from the crowd, which instead chooses Barabbas. For Pilate, the case is an embarrassment. He hands it over to the crowd and washes his hands of it, concerned only for his own power. He delivers Jesus to be crucified. He wants to know nothing more of him. For Pilate, the case is closed.

 

Jesus’ hasty condemnation thus embraces the easy accusations, the superficial judgements of the crowd, the insinuations and the prejudices which harden hearts and create a culture of racism and exclusion, a throw-away culture of anonymous letters and vicious slanders. Once we are accused, our name is immediately splayed across the front page; once acquitted, it ends up on the last!

And what about us? Will we have a clear, upright and responsible conscience, one which never forsakes the innocent but courageously takes the side of the weak, resisting injustice and defending truth whenever it is violated?

 

==========

PRAYER

 

Lord Jesus,
there are hands which give support and hands which sign wrongful sentences.
Grant that, sustained by your grace, we may cast no one aside.
Save us from slanders and lies.
Help us always to seek your truth,
to take the side of the weak,
and to accompany them on their journey.
Grant your light to all those appointed as judges in our courts,
that they may always render sentences that are just and true. Amen.

SECOND STATION

 

Jesus takes up his cross
The heavy wood of the cross

Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls (1 Pet 2:24-25).

The wood of the cross is heavy, for on it Jesus bears the sins of us all. He staggers under that burden, too great for one man alone (Jn 19:17).

 

It is also the burden of all those wrongs which created the economic crisis and its grave social consequences: job insecurity, unemployment, dismissals, an economy that rules rather than serves, financial speculation, suicide among business owners, corruption and usury, the loss of local industry.

 

This is the cross which weighs upon the world of labour, the injustice shouldered by workers. Jesus shoulders it himself and teaches us to reject injustice and to learn, with his help, to build bridges of solidarity and of hope, lest we be like sheep who have lost our way amid this crisis.

Let us return, then, to Christ, the shepherd and guardian of our souls. Let us strive, side by side, to provide work, to overcome our fears and our isolation, to recover a respect for political life and to work to resolve our problems together.

The cross will become lighter if carried with Jesus, and if all of us lift it together, for “by his wounds – which are now windows opening to his heart – we have been healed” (cf. 1 Pet 2:24).

==========

PRAYER

Lord Jesus,
our night grows ever darker!
Poverty increases and becomes destitution.
We have no bread to give our children and our nets are empty.
Our future is uncertain. Provide the work we need.
Awaken in us a burning thirst for justice,
that our lives may not be a constant burden,
but lived in dignity! Amen.

 

Continue Reading the Reflections HERE.



13th April 2014 - Palm Sunday - Stations of the Cross - Updated

And so at last this year we begin the beginning of this most Holy of Weeks, an intense liturgical and reflective week which is the pinnacle of the Christian year; a celebration of the raison d'etre of why we are Christian - to mark the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord. To celebrate Palm Sunday SS102fm reflects on the Stations of the Cross to provide a moment of space and reflection.

You can listen to the full podcast of this weeks programme HERE.

Palm Sunday - SS102fm reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday as it is also called, begins Holy Week. This week is the “holy of holies” of the Christian Church Year. For today we begin our observance of the last days of our Lord’s early sojourn, “for us and for our salvation,” as He enters in the very heart of darkness, sin and death itself. The triumph of the humble King who enters Jerusalem, humble and riding on a donkey, is marked on Sunday with a triumph: shouting crowds and exuberant shouts of welcome and celebration, but in only five days, the shouts of welcome turn to shouts of anger, hate and a call for his death. “O, Dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken?” as the old Lutheran hymn puts it. Let us then fix our hearts and minds on prayerful watching and waiting during these days, as we again are led by the Holy Spirit to see in our hearts, and our minds, the evil sinful nature and the thoughts, words and deeds, which put our Lord on the Cross. And repenting of them, despairing of ourselves, we turn once more to Christ the Crucified One, on whom is placed the sins of the world: your sins, my sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

"When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,
‘The master has need of them.’
Then he will send them at once.”
This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet
might be fulfilled:Say to daughter Zion,
“Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.
They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,
and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is the he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?”
And the crowds replied,
“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:1-11)

Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire

English Dominicans

Centre for Liturgy

Sunday Reflections

Update



This week we reflect on the Stations of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is the journey through the Passion and Death of Jesus through out the first Holy Week in the city of Jerusalem. To this day Christians of all denominations will walk the ancient streets of the Old City retracing that journey from the Mount of Olives to Calvary.

We reflect on the stations through the eyes of Mary as the mother of Jesus walks the road to Calvary. We take this opportunity to enter into an intimate journey of faith through a deep reflection that unites our pain and suffering with Jesus on the cross through the sorrowful heart of His Mother.

You can find the text of the reflections we used for this weeks programme HERE.

The podcast of the Stations of the Cross is available HERE.

You can read individual reflections on the Stations of the Cross from previous posts on SS102fm HERE.


"Let us resolve to make this week holy"

Let us resolve to make this week holy by claiming Christ’s redemptive grace and by living holy lives.

The Word became flesh and redeemed us by his holy life and holy death. This week especially, let us accept redemption by living grateful, faithful, prayerful, generous, just and holy lives.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by reading and meditating Holy Scripture.

So often, we get caught up in the hurry of daily living. As individuals and as families, reserve prime time to be with Jesus, to hear the cries of the children waving palm branches, to see the Son of Man riding on an ass' colt, to feel the press of the crowd, to be caught up in the "Hosannas” and to realize how the cries of acclamation will yield to the garden of suffering, to be there and watch as Jesus is sentenced by Pilate to Calvary, to see him rejected, mocked, spat upon, beaten and forced to carry a heavy cross, to hear the echo of the hammer, to feel the agony of the torn flesh and strained muscles, to know Mary’s anguish as he hung three hours before he died.

We recoil before the atrocities of war, gang crime, domestic violence and catastrophic illness. Unless we personally and immediately are touched by suffering, it is easy to read Scripture and to walk away without contacting the redemptive suffering that makes us holy. The reality of the Word falls on deaf ears.

Let us take time this week to be present to someone who suffers. Sharing the pain of a fellow human will enliven Scripture and help us enter into the holy mystery of the redemptive suffering of Christ.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by participating in the Holy Week services of the church, not just by attending, but also by preparing, by studying the readings, entering into the spirit, offering our services as ministers of the Word or Eucharist, decorating the church or preparing the environment for worship.

Let us sing, "Lord, have mercy," and "Hosanna." Let us praise the Lord with our whole heart and soul and mind and strength, uniting with the suffering church throughout the world -- in Rome and Ireland, in Syria and Lebanon, in South Africa and Angola, India and China, Nicaragua and El Salvador, in Washington, D.C., and Jackson, Mississippi.

Let us break bread together; let us relive the holy and redemptive mystery. Let us do it in memory of him, acknowledging in faith his real presence upon our altars.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy within our families, sharing family prayer on a regular basis, making every meal a holy meal where loving conversations bond family members in unity, sharing family work without grumbling, making love not war, asking forgiveness for past hurts and forgiving one another from the heart, seeking to go all the way for love as Jesus went all the way for love.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy with the needy, the alienated, the lonely, the sick and afflicted, the untouchable.

Let us unite our sufferings, inconveniences and annoyances with the suffering of Jesus. Let us stretch ourselves, going beyond our comfort zones to unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work.

We unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work when we reconcile, when we make peace, when we share the good news that God is in our lives, when we reflect to our brothers and sisters God's healing, God's forgiveness, God's unconditional love.

Let us be practical, reaching out across the boundaries of race and class and status to help somebody, to encourage and affirm somebody, offering to the young an incentive to learn and grow, offering to the downtrodden resources to help themselves.

May our fasting be the kind that saves and shares with the poor, that actually contacts the needy, that gives heart to heart, that touches and nourishes and heals.

During this Holy Week when Jesus gave his life for love, let us truly love one another

Limerick Diocese on Facebook

As posted earlier in the week, Limerick Diocese has joined Facebook with its own page and Noirin Lynch from LDPC came on to tell us all about it. You can listen to Noirin's interview excerpted from the main programme here.

Limerick Diocesan Facebook page.

Liturgical odds and ends

Holy Week is the pinnacle of the liturgical year and as such out ranks any commemoration of the saints that may occur during that time so we wont be posting the saints of the week this week.

Holy Thursday - Mass of the Lord's Supper - Reminder to bring back your Trocaire boxes/donations to your parish.

Good Friday - Passion Ceremony - Day of Fast & Abstinence (First Friday) - traditional to perform the Stations of the Cross and is also the date for the collection for support of the Holy Places.

Resources for Holy Week

The weekly diocesan newsletter from LDPC has had lots of notices and resources over the last couple of weeks for Holy Week. You can find the newsletters HERE.

Easter Ceremonies in the Diocese

You can find out about the diocesan celebration of Easter including the details of the Chrism Mass (Wednesday 17th at St Joseph's Church at 7.30pm) and the broadcast of the Easter ceremonies from St John's Cathedral on the diocesan website.

Time for celebrating the Easter Vigil in Limerick Diocese

The Easter Vigil must take place after sunset. As summer time commenced on Sunday 30th March the Easter Vigil in the diocese of Limerick is to be celebrated no earlier than 9.00p.m.

Celebrations with Pope Francis in Rome

You can find out the details of the ceremonies which Pope Francis will preside over in Rome during Holy Week here. As usual we will post the main homilies of the week and the Pope's "urbi et orbi".

Celebrations in the Holy Land

Anticipation for Easter is growing in the Holy Land. The most important week for the life of the Church will this year be celebrated simultaneously with other Christian churches as well as falling the same week as the Jewish Passover. You can follow events from the Holy Land on the website of the Custody of the Holy Land. Sadly we cannot embed videos from the site but head on over to watch and read the reflections and of course, please remember to be generous on Good Friday for the traditional collection taken up for the Holy Places.