The meditations that Pope Francis wrote for the first time for the traditional Way of the Cross, which is celebrated today, on Good Friday, in the Colosseum in Rome, will be a dialogue with Jesus in a world ruled by the “madness of war”, “violence”. against women” and in which “a keyboard is enough to write sentences”
Today, the Vatican published the meditations written in Francis’s handwriting, which tonight will echo in the Roman amphitheater, a symbol of the persecution of Christians in the first days, and which, as the Vatican has already announced, are “an act of meditation and spirituality, with Jesus at the center” and therefore “instructing on the present to be less direct than that expressed in past years”.
In the fourteen Stations of the Cross, the Pope establishes a dialogue with Jesus with questions, reflections and prayers in the face of everyday experiences such as when “we experience pain, disappointments, wounds, failures and crosses that we also carry” but sometimes we just “sink into sacrifice”.
In his reflections, Francis assures that the “shame and contempt” that Jesus suffered is something that happens today when “the keyboard is enough to insult and publish sentences”.
He also meditates on “when we return to our mistakes and sins when others mislead us and then realize that we are no different.”
In the eighth station, when ‘Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem’, for Francis it is an opportunity to encourage “recognition of the greatness of women, those who were faithful to you at Easter and did not leave you, those who are still rejected today, suffering miseries and violence” .
And at this moment, the Pope is also thinking about “whether we cry in front of the madness of war, in front of the faces of children who no longer know how to smile, in front of their mothers who look at them malnourished and hungry, without any more tears to shed. “
And Francis asks: “You, Jesus, wept for Jerusalem, you wept for the hardness of our hearts. Shake me from the inside, give me the grace to weep while begging and to pray with tears.”
When Jesus is taken down from the cross and handed over to Mary, the Pope observes that “we live in merciless times and we need compassion2” and he prays to the Virgin: “Anoint us with gentleness; undo the resistances of the heart and the knots of the soul.”
In his last prayer, the Pope asks that this moment be used to embrace “brothers and sisters in so many parts of the world who suffer persecution because of your name; those who suffer the tragedy of war and those who, drawing strength from you, carry heavy crosses.”
“Jesus, holy judge who will call me by name, free me from thoughtless judgments, gossip and violent and insulting words”, Francis also prays.
The Via Crucis at the Colosseum will begin at 9 p.m. Italian time (8 p.m. GMT), and the Pope is supposed to lead it from the Palatine Hill, while last year he did not attend due to the extreme cold, as he had to recover from bronchitis that affected him, he is forced be hospitalized.
Source: Panama America
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
