Vatican City, 3 April 2015 (VIS) – At
9.15 p.m. today, Good Friday, at Rome's ancient Colosseum, Pope
Francis offered a meditation following the torch-lit Via Via Crucis
in which thousands of faithful participate every year, accompanying
Christ's journey to the Cross. From the terrace of the Palatine Hill,
the Holy Father listened to the reflections that accompanied each of
the fourteen stations, all of which were united by the constant
reference to the gift of being protected by God's love, and in
particular that of the crucified Jesus, and the task of being, in
turn, protectors of the whole of Creation, especially the poorest and
most marginalised. He reflected on the situation of men and women who
are persecuted and martyred for their faith or for working to promote
justice and peace, on the family, on the condition of life for women,
on human trafficking and violence against children in its various
forms.
The cross was carried between the
fourteen stations by the cardinal archbishop of Rome, Agostino
Vallini, a large family, another family with adopted children, two
patients, citizens of Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Egypt and China, women
religious from secular institutes and of Our Lady of Piety in Latin
America, and two custodians of the Holy Land.
At the end of the Via Crucis, the Pope
recited the following prayer:
“O Christ crucified and victorious,
Your Way of the Cross is the summary of Your life, the icon of Your
obedience to the will of the Father,and the realisation of Your
infinite love for us sinners. It is the proof of Your mission. It is
the final fulfilment of the revelation and the history of salvation.
The weight of Your cross frees us from all of our burdens.
“In Your obedience to the will of the
Father, we become aware of our rebellion and disobedience. In You,
sold, betrayed, crucified by Your own people and those dear to You,
we see our own betrayals and our own usual infidelity. In Your
innocence, Immaculate Lamb, we see our guilt. In Your face, slapped,
spat on and disfigured, we see the brutality of our sins. In the
cruelty of Your passion, we see the cruelty of our heart and of our
actions. In Your own feeling of abandonment, we see those abandoned
by their families, by society, by attention and by solidarity. In
Your body, sacrificed, ripped and torn, we see the body of our
brothers who have been abandoned along the way, disfigured by our
negligence and our indifference. In Your thirst Lord, we see the
thirst of Your merciful Father, who desired to embrace, forgive and
save all of humanity. In You, Divine Love, we see even today, before
our very eyes, and often with our silence and complicity, our
persecuted brothers and sisters, decapitated, crucified for their
faith in You.
“Imprint in our heart, Lord,
sentiments of faith, hope and charity, of sorrow for our sins, and
lead us to repent for our sins that have crucified You. Lead us to
transform our conversion with words into a conversion of life and
works. Help us to preserve within us a living memory of Your
disfigured face, so that we may never forget the terrible price You
paid to free us. Crucified Jesus, strengthen in us a faith that does
not collapse in the face of temptations; awaken in us the hope that
does get lost following the temptations of the world. Preserve in us
the charity that is not fooled by the corruption of worldliness.
Teach us that the cross is the way to the resurrection. Teach us that
Good Friday is the way to the Easter of light. Teach us that God
never forgets any of his children, and never tires of forgiving us
and embracing us with His infinite mercy. But also teach us to never
tire of asking Him for forgiveness and believing in the boundless
mercy of the Father”.
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