Witnessing the Passion of Our Lord

Today Lent reaches its climax. For the past six weeks we have fasted, watched and prayed with the Lord. We have heard the call to repentance, we have humbly brought ourselves before God, again and again, asking Him for mercy. And today, in the bright, glaring sunshine we saw the price of our redemption, we saw our ransom paid in full, we watched and prayed as Jesus took our sins upon Himself and reconciled us to God.

Today, ably led by our Confirmation candidates, we walked with Him on His painful journey to Golgotha...

...and joined the United Walk of Witness to the Carfax to pray with our fellow Christians...











...but what made the day so powerful, what made Our Lord's sacrifice really hit home was the Liturgy of the Passion this afternoon. There's something so striking as you walk into the Church with the Sanctuary stripped to the bare bones, the Tabernacle naked and flung open. It's so harsh, in a way brutal, it begins to awaken us to what today is, to the truth of Christ's suffering. And from that first glimpse onwards we are plunged into the very heart of Our Lord's sacrifice, we become a real part of it as we read the part of the crowd in the Gospel and turn back to Him in profound gratitude and love as we kneel and venerate His cross. But as we all quietly leave the Church there is this wonderful sense of hope and anticipation, even though He has been laid in the tomb, we know this is not the end and that after Good Friday always comes Easter Sunday.

Stations of the Cross

Each Friday evening in Lent we gather together to pray the Stations of the Cross, to walk with Jesus on that most dark, difficult and painful of journeys. We acknowledge our sinfulness, swallow our pride and instead of continually turning away from God, rejecting Him and His Church, constantly pushing Him away we turn back towards Him and, even though it is hard, we follow Him. In this overwhelming act of love, unconditional, burning love, for each and every one of us Jesus teaches us to pick up our own cross; He takes most, virtually all, of the weight, we have but a little to bear. And in walking that road with Him He uses our sacrifice, our submission to the Father's will to transform us, to help us die to ourselves and become the people we were created to be.

Tonight the Stations were prayerfully led by Fr. Richard, Fr. Aaron and the boys from Youth Cafe. Slightly less boisterous than pictured here (that photo was taken after ample helpings of pizza and fizzy drinks) they helped us to reflect on what Our Lord suffered and to pray, as Jesus did at all times, for the needs of others. Even though I am slightly biased I must admit that they did brilliantly, especially when you consider they had barely half an hour to prepare. Well done guys!

Please do join us on Good Friday at 10am where our wonderful Confirmation candidates will lead us in the Stations.