A Brazilian Way of the Cross

March 2005

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1st station: Jesus is condemned

- REFRAIN -

Pilate uses water to wash his hands and free himself from responsibility for Jesus' death. Today, many are condemned to live without adequate water and even to die from thirst; condemned to leave their homes and their lands because of drought or to make room for dams. In Brazil, 3.4 million hectares of land have been flooded for reservoirs, directly impacting one million people. Little by little, Brazil is being taken from its people and handed over to others to exploit for profit.
Help us look after the fountains of life. Open our hands to bring water that quenches the body and the soul.

2nd station: Jesus carries the cross

- REFRAIN -

The cross is the instrument of pain and redemption. It is also the sign of commitment. However, only those crosses that are the consequence of commitment to the reign of God can liberate. At times we don't realize that we carry a cross. Other times we are the cross for someone else.
Look to those who accompany you today in your passion and follow you until death. Give us the wisdom and the serenity to carry our crosses.

3rd station: Jesus falls for the first time

- REFRAIN -

Alone and without help, Jesus cannot support the weight of the cross and falls. Our society also experiences many falls-weighed down by many financial, social and ecological scandals. These are social sins.
Have pity on your people suffering under the weight of oppression imposed by our many systems. Help us to accept our part of the responsibility for their suffering and to commit to those who suffer under the weight of the cross.

4th station: Jesus meets his mother

- REFRAIN -

Here we see the connection between an ache that is very painful and a consoling presence. How good it feels to know that you are not alone. There are struggling peoples in Brazil and around the world who have been joined by sympathetic people and organizations in their fight for life and dignity.
Mary stood courageously and without shame by her son Jesus in his time of suffering. Help us to follow her example of solidarity and courage in the face of pain.

5th station: Simon helps Jesus carry the cross

- REFRAIN -

Life has many moments of joy, comfort and encouragement. People have the capacity for compassion. Solidarity is a beautiful virtue. This station calls us to concrete action, to help those affected by drought and dams, those who cannot afford clean water or plumbing.
Thank you and bless you this day for water. Give us sensitive hearts with the capacity to value and respect water. Give us sympathetic hands to extend the right and the blessing of water to those who do not have it.

6th station: Veronica wipes Jesus' face

- REFRAIN -

Water also comes in the form of tears. We are invited to dry the tears of Jesus by reaching out to exploited children, marginalized youth, victims of discrimination and violence, the unemployed and underemployed, the elderly, and those without water-victims of water mismanagement rather than water shortage.
Allow us to dry the sweat and tears from the faces of our brothers and sisters who suffer. Grace us with compassion and gentleness to relieve, like Veronica, their tired bodies and injured hearts.

7th station: Jesus falls for the second time

- REFRAIN -

Jesus is attacked, whipped and injured until all his strength is lost. There are many ways to attack a person: infringe upon their dignity, kill their hope, disrespect their freedom. In harming one another, we harm God. As well, an assault on nature is an assault on its Creator and causes the suffering of others. Polluting or hoarding water is an attack on all life.
Free us from fear. Give us a courageous voice to denounce all that injures nature and humanity.

8th station: Jesus consoles the women

- REFRAIN -

The suffering of our brothers and sisters can make us want to cry. What humans have done to nature in the name of progress and profit also makes us want to cry. Irresponsible clearcutting of forests destroys springs of water; uncontrolled irrigation drains rivers and poisons water; dams flood fertile ground and eliminate biodiversity by killing entire species of fish that depend on the ecosystem. This leads to grave social disruption.
Strengthen us in our commitment to take part in initiatives aimed at conserving the environment and life.

9th station: Jesus falls for the third time

- REFRAIN -

Falling is part of life. What is important is not to stay down. His frailty tested, Jesus lifts his head and continues on the path.
Send messengers of hope to all who have lost direction in their lives because of downfalls and deception. Place in our hands the energy of your hands, so that we may raise the dispirited from the depths of misery and depression. May we demonstrate that salvation exists, because you are the God of Life.

10th station: Jesus is stripped of his garments

- REFRAIN -

Jesus never owned anything. He was born in a manger. In death, even his clothes were taken and divided. Yet he knew that no one could take his dignity, his love of humanity. Today we live in a material world. There are people who, in their pursuit of worldly goods, are willing to take away the dignity and peace of others. In our society we often miss the opportunity to act with dignity. We rob the poor of hope, taking away their most fundamental rights, leaving them empty.
Take from us our vanity and our ambition, which enslave us. Help us to understand what is truly essential and what is not. Help us to bring kindness and compassion to the humiliated. Let all those who suffer remember your suffering also. Let them recognize your solidarity with them and taste your hope.

11th station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

- REFRAIN -

They nailed his feet to the cross, but that did not stop Jesus from journeying with his people. They nailed his hands to the cross, but that did not stop him from embracing, blessing and healing his people. They immobilized his body, but not his love.
We want to act as your feet, to go to the suffering and announce the good news. We want to act as your hands, to bless, to protect, to alleviate suffering and to serve. Use us as instruments of your love.

12th station: Jesus dies on the cross

- REFRAIN -

Jesus accepts death as a consequence of his commitment, as the price of liberating humanity, as a reality of the path to a full life. Jesus loved us so much that he gave his life. Each year two million children die from illness due to contaminated water. One in five children dies before the age of five from disease carried by contaminated water. We remember them as we remember the broken body of Jesus.
Martyrdom and the cross were the consequences of your life of love and truth. Do we follow you on this same path?

13th station: Jesus is removed from the cross

- REFRAIN -

Today, mothers see their children die because of drugs, violence and poverty. Other children die because of government indifference and the greed and selfishness of others. How many tears are cried because human life is not respected? On the cross, Jesus ached for all. The last drops of blood and water that fell from his open chest are a sign of his total surrender.
Be present to all mothers who have powerlessly watched their children die from misery, hunger, violence and drugs. Make the hope of resurrection more powerful than the ache of loss.

14th station: Jesus is laid in the tomb

- REFRAIN -

Christ's victory is our hope as we struggle to transform dry lives into dignified lives, dry hearts into merciful hearts, and sin into grace.
Give us determination and compassion in times of suffering. Give us generous hearts and the courage to live in solidarity with those who suffer around the world.

15th station: Jesus is resurrected

- REFRAIN -

Sacred life does not end at death but in resurrection. In the water of his love, all of us pass from slavery to freedom, from sadness to happiness, from death to life.
Christ is resurrected! Life has triumphed! O God of Life, help us to accept your call to new life. We sing in thanksgiving as we trust in the resurrection of all our sisters and brothers who have been crucified with you.

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