One of my favorite devotions is the Stations of the Cross. St. Francis of Assisi and St. Alphonsus Liguori composed the two most common sets of meditations. In the German-American Parish I grew up in over sixty years ago, it was a long tradition to pray the Stations of the Cross using the method of St. Alphonsus every Sunday of Lent at 3:00 p.m. Yes, on Sundays we were in church two times! The church was filled to capacity with all the generations present, including parents with young children. Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament would conclude the services. After generations of saying the same prayers and singing the moving Stabat Mater (At the Cross her station keeping) many had the devotion almost memorized. Like the rosary the familiarity gave us a chance to enter more deeply into the events of the Passion recalled. It began to seem as if we were there. In fact, I will always remember our venerable pastor, who after a while could not keep back his tears as he led the prayers. He was clearly touched by the greatness of God’s love for us.
As we enter more profoundly into the authentic spirit of Lent and thus the fullness of the Christian life, we can become discouraged. We may be tempted to give up on the narrow, hard road that Jesus revealed gradually throughout His public ministry and then explicitly on Calvary as He hung on the Cross. My friend, there is no easy road to heaven. There is the cross, which each must embrace in this life if happiness in the next world is to be won. There are no short cuts and no ways around it. The Cross is the path for those who follow the God of love.
This Sunday we reflect on the Lord’s Transfiguration, when He revealed the glory behind the Cross. He did this to encourage us not to give up when the Way of the Cross seems a great burden, and we may even be tempted to part ways with the Lord. It is all worth it. His love will sustain us through it all until the day we enter into glory with all the angels and saints. We take to heart the heavenly words of encouragement and comfort: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.”
Yours in the Our Lord and Our Lady, Fr. Mark G. Mazza, pastor