It has come to the Friday in the first week of Lent and just this morning as I was praying I began to reflect on how I was treated to Lent as a young child. Thoughts of "Fish Fridays," "Wednesday night mass" and "Stations of the Cross" flooded into my mind.Lent certainly had a flavor of its own. It was a season that made you feel there was 'change' in the air. You couldn't help but be made aware that you were part of a greater movement that was embracing the whole Church...a time to "turn away from sin, and be faithful to the Gospel." (Ash Wednesday Liturgy)
I came to thinking this morning that a devotion that I looked forward to every week was the Friday evening "Way of the Cross" (or Stations of the Cross as it was known.) My father used to take us to Church every Friday during Lent to follow our parish priest as he 'walked' with us in the person of Christ the steps Our Lord walked to Calvary.
It was a mystical walk for me. To follow in Our Lord's steps ritually allowed me to become firmly rooted in His Passion. I could feel, distantly, what it was like for Him to walk this journey to His death. It made me feel a part of it. This involved me in some special way. It was for me...for us.
I look forward to walking the Way of the Cross as a pastor. Although are numbers are small as it is a forgotten devotion, we carry on. We move forward toward Easter while remembering that Jesus, our Master, walked the ultimate journey for our sake.
If you have a chance this Lent, I invite you out to journey with Christ on His walk towards His death. Allow yourself to get in touch with the mystery which this season of Lent offers. Allow yourself to be changed by it.
Let us meet Our Lord at the beginning of His Passion, and together, walk forward to be changed and transformed by this beautiful walk towards "Resurrection & Eternal Life."
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