6th Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
We recognize the stains of abuse on people and the land
Meditation
For those who live in wealthy countries, access to amenities and abundant resources can put a temporary band-aid on the inconveniences caused by climate change. But such comfort can come at a high cost for our sisters and brothers around the globe. Today there is a great need to slow down our hectic pace in the global north. Contact with nature, its beauty and peace, helps restore our pace to creation’s. While we take in our Sister-Mother’s wonderment, it is also necessary to look into ourselves, into the depths of our hearts, face to face with our conscience.
We Pray
O God, we see the face of your Son reflected in all people, and in the whole cosmos created through Christ and for Christ. May our works of charity and justice serve to wipe the bloody face of Christ in our world today so that others may see a glimpse of your glory. With your grace, may we commit ourselves to the practice of empathy, to be present to others vulnerable to problems they did not create, but who reap these tragic consequences anyway. Give us the courage to reconnect and to heal. Amen.
♫ HYMN
Were you there when she wiped the face of Christ?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
7th Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
We stumble through frustration and anger
Meditation
Most wealthy and powerful people are tempted to exploit resources under the impulse of unlimited profit. Strong secular powers damage the balance of ecosystems, the health of their inhabitants and future generations. They frustrate the designs of our Creator with their industrialized economics and geopolitics. Are we aware of our daily actions that result in a demand for excess, waste, and destruction? While the results may seem small within our own vicinity, they join the billions of actions around the world that daily contribute to a culture of degradation.
We Pray
Lord, you fall to the ground as do many today crushed by the forces of technocratic greed, consumerism, and politics without soul. Help us to recognize you in those who carry the heavy load of unjust public policies and practices. We pray for the wisdom to unlearn harmful habits and deconstruct the systematic structures that oppress people, especially displaced persons. May we not remain on the sidelines in the struggle for a just and sustainable future. Amen.
♫ HYMN
Were you there when He fell the second time?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble;
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
The above is excerpted from a booklet prepared by the Franciscan Friars Conventual JPIC commission and a combined adaptation from a Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC) parish resource (from the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis’s 2022 ACCT) and a Jesuit Refugee Service resource (JRS Renew the Earth—Stations 2022).
The Stations will be posted individually over the next weeks of Lent. Check out our Resources page if you would like to view the entire document.
