For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World

This is the Way of the Cross (Stations of the Cross). The pictures are from the web and do not represent the stations themselves, but just pistures of the crucifixion--although I did try to pick ones that were appropriate for each station--some worked, others didn't.

The first set of station titles is the traditional Way of the Cros with all its more traditional stations (non-Scripture based: three falls, Veronica, etc.). The second set is the Way of the Cross as composed by Pope John Paul II to reflect more Scripturally accurate stations.


STATION I
Jesus is Condemned to Death
or
The Agony in the Garden
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You,
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.

STATION II
Jesus Receives the Cross
or
Jesus is Betrayed and Arrested
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION III
Jesus Falls for the First Time
or
Jesus is Condemnd by the Sanhedrin
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION IV:
Jesus Meets His Mother
or
Jesus is Denied by Peter
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION V:
Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross of Christ
or
Jesus is Condemned to Death by Pontius Pilate
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION VI:
Veronic Wipes the Face of Jesus
or
Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed the World.
STATION VII:
Jesus Falls for the Second Time
or
Jesus is Made to Carry His Cross
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION VIII:
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
or
Simon of Cyrene Carries the Cross of Christ
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION IX:
Jesus Falls for the Third Time
or
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By You Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION X:
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
or
Jesus is Crucified on the Cross
We Adores You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.






STATION XI:
Jesus is Nailed to His Cross
or
Jesus Promises Paradise to the Thief
We Adore You O Christ and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION XII:
Jesus Dies on the Cross
or
Jesus Speaks from the Cross to His Mother and the Disciple Whom He Loved
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.
STATION XIII:
The Body of Jesus is Removed from the Cross
or
Jesus Dies on the Cross
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.













STATION XIV:
Jesus Christ is Laid in the Tomb
or
Jesus Christ is Laid in the Tomb
We Adore You O Christ, and We Bless You
For By Your Holy Cross You Have Redeemed Our World.











I send you many blessings and prayers for this Holy Week.

Reflection...

"When I survey the wondrous cross/On which the Prince of Glory died/My richest gain I count but loss/And pour contempt on all my pride."

"Forbid it Lord, that I should boast/Save in the death of Christ, my God/All the vain things that charm me most/I sacrifice them to his blood."

"See, from his head, his hands, his feet/Sorrow and Love flow mingled down/Did e'er such love and sorrow meet/Or thorns compose so rich a crown."

"Were the whole realm of nature mine/That were a present far too small/Love so amazing, for divine/Demands my soul, my life, my all."

Getting a Bad Reputation...

So I was looking for a t-shirt that I have seen on several people in passing but never cared enough until now to actually ask any of them where they got it.

In the process I found this bumper sticker. I like it. Because it is true, there are so many things that get started for the wrong reasons and Jesus, inevitably, is used as the driving force. I want it to stop! I am sick of feeling awkward to tell people that I am Christian, or to talk about my beliefs because I feel like if I talk about it too much people are going to think I'm going to convert them, suck them into some huge militant campaign (or military compaign for that matter), chide or degrade, or persecute them. And quite frankly, I am too busy worrying about my own inequities and sinfulness that I do not have time to chide others. And I'm sick of people thinking they're Christian when they are the most bigoted, small minded, exclusionary, blind people I know. Quite frankly, it does not matter who you love, who you hate, who you voted for, or who you work for, Jesus would rather we all get along than to see there be a "right" side to anything! Love is so much more important. And in the world today it is just a rarity that should be seen more.

People can use Jesus as the reason for many things, but the persecution of people--some of whom are, themselves, devout Christians--for any reason is NOT one of them. And a war certainly is not either!

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."--Mahatma Gandhi

oh, and by the way, the t-shirt was one that said: ___________________(name of fallen soldier) will not be voting. something, something, something, end war, vote, blah, blah, blah...if you know where I can get one PLEASE let me know!

Could It Be?

Could it be that I finally figured out what I want to do? I was researching a man who wrote a review for one of the books I have to read for my Anatomy of I dentity class. He was at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard. In looking it up, I found that this is part of the Harvard Divinity School. Hmmmmm....so I looked it up. Apparently my new goal is to get a ThD (Doctor of Theology) from Harvard. It is interesting, in talking to several people about my new goal they all seem to think that it is just what I had been seeking. That is, apparently unbeknownst to me, I have more than a passion for religion(s) (which I do) but more of a passion for theology: not the what of the religion but more the why.

And I think they're right. I was looking at the comparative chart and I think it is exactly what I've been looking for.

For now, at least...because it will inevitably change within the next year, I'm sure.

JCM

What I've Been Looking For...

This is the perfect way to descibe how I look at religion:

In striving to recognize the primacy of Fire and Light,
I feel kinship with my Zoroastrian brothers and sisters.
In striving to obey the Ten Commandments,
I feel kinship with my Jewish brothers and sisters.
In striving to be kind to neighbor and the needy,
I feel kinship with my Christian brothers and sisters.
In striving to be compassionate to creatures great and small,
I feel kinship with my Buddhist-Jaina brothers and sisters.
In striving to surrender myself completely to God Almighty,
I feel kinship with my Muslim brothers and sisters.
In the recognition that wisdom flows from enlightened masters,
I feel kinship with my Sikh brothers and sisters.
In remembering that serving people should be the goal of religion,
I feel kinship with my Baha'i brothers and sisters.
In my respect and reverence for Nature that sustains us,
I feel kinship with my Native American brothers and sisters.
In feeling that these and more are all paths to the same Divinity,
I feel kinship with my Hindu brothers and sisters.
In my love and laughter, joy and pain,
I feel kinship with all my fellow humans.
In my need for nourishment and instinct to live on,
I feel kinship with all beings on the planet.
In my spiritual ecstasy with this wondrous world,
I feel kinship with the Cosmic Whole.

universal reflection - v. v. raman - cape of good hope - 1999

http://www.worldprayers.org

March 18th...

Okay, so there is a song by the Highland Rovers (a local CT celtic band) called March 18th, and it is all about te after effects from St. Patrick's Day. It's really quite funny. And, for someone who is (unfortunately) still in the "illegal" category for drinking, it never made much sense.

I have a hangover of a different sorts. Mine is one of regret. There are so many seeming lasts this semester. With me going to Rome, and everyone living different places next semester (I love Temple but they only give us two years of housing...which blows), and a bunch of people going abroad next Spring, and all of us coming back to homes which are ours, but not ours, life is going to be completely different. Do not get me wrong, I am not regretting going to Rome, and I certainly am not going to back out, but I can't help but think that this is possibly the last St. Patty's Day we'll have.

Ah well, life goes on...and like the song goes (sung at every SHHS graduation Mass) Persons come into the fabric of our lives and then their shadows fade and disppear.

Happiness for y'all!

JCM

Something Nice...

This brightened my day...hope it does yours as well:

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water, at the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."The old woman smi! led, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That' s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Yippee! Tempered with Stress!

I GOT INTO TEMPLE ROME!

I'll be there for the whole year!

That's the good news.

The bad news is that I still cannot find my passport. However, this apparently happens enough that there are directions on what to do in such situations, and hopefully everything will go well. I mean, I know no one stole it, I just cannot find it. And both of my apartments have been torn asunder looking for it.

Happiness like mine (without the stress)...

JCM

Maybe it's not so bad (or it is and I'm just fooling myself)

So I am technicaly on break until Sunday. But I came back to campus to do a lot of work and etc. until then. I returned on Tuesday (and realized on the train that I did not have my key--but then, that's the reason there's RAs). I spent Wednesday doing laundry, some work, relaxing in my solitude which quickly got boring, but was nice nonetheless. Yesterday I went to visit a friend of my who lives in the 'burbs (as much as she insists it is still the city). That too, was peaceful. We went to dinner and a movie (Zodiac...definitely go see it, but it's long). We got up late and just lounged around until I had to get on teht rain to come back.

I'm back now and returned to over 60 new e-mails (I never knew I was so popular). The only one that caught my attention (and freaked me out) was one from my mother who told me that she had no idea where my passport is. Now, she also told me not to freak out. That is my term to her when I tell her things like I'm not feeling well and to which she responds with two e-mails and four phone calls to make sure I'm still alive. It's funny she tells me (and actually argued with me about) to not freak out when it is my passfreakinport that is missing. This does not seem like a big deal, I'm sure, but I do have an application to go to Rome for next year and International Studies sent out an e-mail that said that Passport applications are taking longer than ever and that the deadline is quickly approaching. And what does my mother tell me but to stay calm? Ha! I am NEVER one to stay calm when it is most necessary. I'm REALLY hoping (and aasking for your prayers) that is right where I think it is. But, considering that never happens when I need it to, I also need prayers for sanity in the face of what is sure to be increased stress.

P.S. Still nothing about Rome and whether I will be there or not!

JCM

Powerful Things...

So I realized this weekend whilst I was on my brief but well spent break that there are some very powerful things over which I hold control.
(1) And this one if quite cliche by now: prayer. Prayer is quite powerful. I wrote prayers this weekend instead of giving a temple talk (and I think it worked), I asked to pray before a very controversial vote at the congregational meeting (for no other reason than to give people a chance to breathe and calm-down), I was asked for (and returned) prayers for my cousin who has surgery on her vocal chords to allow her to not only speak again but also to swallow properly after a surgery on her lymphnodes left her without her vocal chords.
(1a) I learned from these experiences the following: It's easy to ask people to pray for you, and its easy to say you will pray for someone, but to ACTUALLY pray for them is quite different--my prayers included a good many things that I'm SURE my congregation has not prayed for specifically in a while if ever (which I gathered from the reaction I got) and I think I got my point across. Also, apparently there are people who do not think that prayer is very necessary before a big vote in a congregational meeting which is for the use of a HUGE sum of money which is for the betterment of the congregation and the Church at large, (also which I gathered from the attitude I got in return for asking to pray before the vote). And, pray does work, my cousin is fine although she still faces more radioactive iodine for the last two lymphnodes which are attached to her heart (or something like that).
(2) Food. Food is quite powerful. It is how I both formed, sustained, and repaired many a friendship. It's my NUMBER ONE social activity.
(3) Solitude. It can certainly break a man. I have only been back for 24 hours but already I am bored and quite miserable. I need people.

I have learned alot about myself this past week. Some of it I like, some of it I don't. Ah well, life goes on I suppose.

May many powerful things come your way!

JCM

Don't Hold Your Breath!

So don't expect news about Rome to be posted here for now. I called over to the office and politely (VERY POLITELY) asked if everything was in order with my application which I turned in on the 7th of February. They came back and told me that it was their fault that my one transcript (the one that gave me so much trouble before) was not put with my application but that it would be put together now and placed under review. This is OVER THREE WEEKS after I firts turned in my application. Hopefully I'll know by some time next week. BUT, if they go on break like we do, God only knows when I'll hear back.

Prayers for my sanity are greatly appreciated!

JCM

p.s. do not think that the manager at International Programs isn't going to hear about this...eventually!