Friday, April 10, 2009

The Stations of the Cross for Ragamuffins

More from my friend Claudia Mair Burney on this Good Friday as promised in the previous post:

It was my beloved Brennan Manning who introduced me to the Stations of the Cross. In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, he speaks eloquently of that February day, in 1956, when meditating on the Stations of the Cross he had a powerful experience of the personal love of Jesus Christ, and it is very personal, lovies. Manning recalls, "At that moment the entire Christian life became for me an intimate, heartfelt relationship with Jesus." It is my prayer that you experience Jesus this way always.

If your faith tradition does not practice this devotion, you may not know what it is. Allow me to demystify it for you. The Stations of the Cross, often called The Way of the Cross, is an imaginative prayer the re-enacts the story of the Lord's passion, death, and resurrection. Don't try this as merely an intellectual experience that demonstrates his death precisely. The Gospels testify of such, and you can read the entire Passion of the Lord narrative in John 18 and 19. But this experience of going to Golgatha with Jesus in our imagination can be still be quite useful. For me, it's needful. So, I'm inviting you to open wide your heart and soul, and travel with Jesus on His darkest day. Enter into His suffering, and share it with Him. See where the experience takes you.

To read the rest of Mair's post:

http://ragamuffindiva.blogspot.com/2009/04/stations-of-cross-for-ragamuffins.html

No comments: