THE CHRISTCHURCH STATIONS OF THE CROSS
I prepared this reflection a few days after the devastating earthquake which struck
Christchurch, New Zealand, on February 22nd, 2011.
I was overwhelmed by the images on media and the anguish of people throughout the world.
I had no words.
I could not pray.
Christchurch, New Zealand, on February 22nd, 2011.
I was overwhelmed by the images on media and the anguish of people throughout the world.
I had no words.
I could not pray.
INTRODUCTION
"I was profoundly affected by the story of a boy in a concentration camp during World War II.
He was hung by the neck, but being so malnourished,
his neck was not broken.
He hung there, writhing in pain.
A prisoner asked, “Where is God now?”
Something inside me replied, “He is there, hanging from a rope.” "
(Elie Wiesel)
I believe that in New Zealand’s greatest natural disaster, on Tuesday February, 2011,
God was made real in each person who suffered, died or survived the earthquake.
The compassion of God was revealed in each person who helped another;
who prayed for another;
who wept with another.
So when we ask God, “Were you there?”
God will say, “I was.”
PRELUDE
Ground me in your grace
Eternal one,
Silence
from whom my words come;
Questioner
from whom my questions arise;
Lover
of whom all my loves are hints;
Disturber
in whom alone I find rest;
Mystery
in whose depths I find healing
and myself;
enfold me now in your presence;
restore me to your peace;
renew me through your power;
and ground me in your grace.
Ted Loder " Guerillas of Grace"
Eternal one,
Silence
from whom my words come;
Questioner
from whom my questions arise;
Lover
of whom all my loves are hints;
Disturber
in whom alone I find rest;
Mystery
in whose depths I find healing
and myself;
enfold me now in your presence;
restore me to your peace;
renew me through your power;
and ground me in your grace.
Ted Loder " Guerillas of Grace"
STATION 1 JESUS PRAYS IN THE GARDEN
Where are you now, God?
I sat and on the step with you and listened as you asked, “Why?”
I held you.
I sat on the step with you and listened as you asked, “Why not?”
I strengthened you.
Agony in the garden
O God of shadows and of light,
we reach out to you
in our deepest need.
Do not let us be overwhelmed
by doubt or fear,
but come and walk beside us
in every valley of darkness,
our loving Father
and constant comfort.
Gemma Simmonds
Prayer
For those who question what has happened;
why it has happened;
and what will happen next:
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I sat and on the step with you and listened as you asked, “Why?”
I held you.
I sat on the step with you and listened as you asked, “Why not?”
I strengthened you.
Agony in the garden
O God of shadows and of light,
we reach out to you
in our deepest need.
Do not let us be overwhelmed
by doubt or fear,
but come and walk beside us
in every valley of darkness,
our loving Father
and constant comfort.
Gemma Simmonds
Prayer
For those who question what has happened;
why it has happened;
and what will happen next:
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 2 JESUS IS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED
Where are you now, God?
I stood with you when your world changed forever.
I embraced you as your safe and secure world disappeared.
I listened as you wondered what would happen next.
Strength to Endure
Enduring Love,
now is the time
for me to stand strong,
to remain vigilant,
to stay with the pain,
to continue to be present.
Giver of Strength,
firm up the wobbly legs
of my faltering faith,
reinforce my trust in you.
Intensify my ability to not give up.
With your grace I can remain faithful.
No matter how powerless
or hopeless I might feel,
I can be a compassionate presence
as I stand beneath the cross.
Joyce Rupp
Prayer
For those who feel cheated of life, of safety, of security, of a future
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I stood with you when your world changed forever.
I embraced you as your safe and secure world disappeared.
I listened as you wondered what would happen next.
Strength to Endure
Enduring Love,
now is the time
for me to stand strong,
to remain vigilant,
to stay with the pain,
to continue to be present.
Giver of Strength,
firm up the wobbly legs
of my faltering faith,
reinforce my trust in you.
Intensify my ability to not give up.
With your grace I can remain faithful.
No matter how powerless
or hopeless I might feel,
I can be a compassionate presence
as I stand beneath the cross.
Joyce Rupp
Prayer
For those who feel cheated of life, of safety, of security, of a future
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 3 JESUS IS CONDEMNED
Where are you now, God?
I ran with you along a crumbling street.
I encouraged you as you escaped from the window.
I talked with you on your mobile phone.
I held your hand as you waited.
22
God, I feel abandoned even by you.
I cry in the dark,
My pain seems endless.
I recall the trust placed in you
by people through the ages.
You have brought them comfort in the most difficult times.
Fear and pain make me feel that I am nothing.
Others seem to mock me;
they don’t see my despair.
Yet I know that you too have mothered me.
In my mother’s womb and at her
breast you have watched over me.
This loving closeness I need to feel,
now!
Patricia Stevenson rsj
Prayer
For those who are condemned to pain or injury or death by natural disaster
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I ran with you along a crumbling street.
I encouraged you as you escaped from the window.
I talked with you on your mobile phone.
I held your hand as you waited.
22
God, I feel abandoned even by you.
I cry in the dark,
My pain seems endless.
I recall the trust placed in you
by people through the ages.
You have brought them comfort in the most difficult times.
Fear and pain make me feel that I am nothing.
Others seem to mock me;
they don’t see my despair.
Yet I know that you too have mothered me.
In my mother’s womb and at her
breast you have watched over me.
This loving closeness I need to feel,
now!
Patricia Stevenson rsj
Prayer
For those who are condemned to pain or injury or death by natural disaster
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 4 JESUS IS DENIED BY PETER
Where are you now, God?
I am in your fear.
I am in your terror.
I am in your desire to flee.
The Pain of Peter
I felt what he felt,
The failing,
The pain,
Failing a friend
Denying his love,
Again and again and again.
I cried
When I saw Peter cry ...
And our crying was good.
Norman Habel
Prayer
For those who are afraid.
For those who feel they failed
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I am in your fear.
I am in your terror.
I am in your desire to flee.
The Pain of Peter
I felt what he felt,
The failing,
The pain,
Failing a friend
Denying his love,
Again and again and again.
I cried
When I saw Peter cry ...
And our crying was good.
Norman Habel
Prayer
For those who are afraid.
For those who feel they failed
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 5 JESUS IS JUDGED BY PILATE
Where are you now, God?
I was beside you when the earthquake sentenced you to fear and grief.
I stood with you as you confronted injustice face to face.
I trembled with you as the sentence was pronounced.
Jesus stands surrounded yet alone.
Who will pray for him?
Who will pray for us?
Who will stand up for him?
Who will stand up for us?
Who but us.
And our God.
Diana L. Hayes
Prayer
For all those who experienced the earthquake
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I was beside you when the earthquake sentenced you to fear and grief.
I stood with you as you confronted injustice face to face.
I trembled with you as the sentence was pronounced.
Jesus stands surrounded yet alone.
Who will pray for him?
Who will pray for us?
Who will stand up for him?
Who will stand up for us?
Who but us.
And our God.
Diana L. Hayes
Prayer
For all those who experienced the earthquake
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 6 JESUS IS SCOURGED AND CROWNED WITH THORNS
Where are you now, God?
I was the doctor who summoned the courage to amputate your legs in order to free you.
I am the anaesthetist who used all his knowledge to dull your pain.
I am the victim, full of fear and pain, full of trust and hope.
Set to the Music of Spheres
Pain is a partner I did not request;
This is a dance I did not ask to join;
whirled in a waltz when I would stop and rest.
Jolted and jerked, I ache in bone and loin.
Pain strives to hold me close in his embrace;
If I resist and try to pull away
His grasp grows tighter; closer comes his face;
hotter his breath. If he is here to stay
Then must I learn to dance this painful dance,
Move to its rhythm, keeping my lagging feet
In time with his. Thus have I a chance
To work with pain, and so my pain defeat.
Pain is my partner. If I dance with pain
Then may this wedlock be not loss but gain.
Madeleine L’Engle
Prayer
For all those injured physically,
psychologically, emotionally, financially by the earthquake
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I was the doctor who summoned the courage to amputate your legs in order to free you.
I am the anaesthetist who used all his knowledge to dull your pain.
I am the victim, full of fear and pain, full of trust and hope.
Set to the Music of Spheres
Pain is a partner I did not request;
This is a dance I did not ask to join;
whirled in a waltz when I would stop and rest.
Jolted and jerked, I ache in bone and loin.
Pain strives to hold me close in his embrace;
If I resist and try to pull away
His grasp grows tighter; closer comes his face;
hotter his breath. If he is here to stay
Then must I learn to dance this painful dance,
Move to its rhythm, keeping my lagging feet
In time with his. Thus have I a chance
To work with pain, and so my pain defeat.
Pain is my partner. If I dance with pain
Then may this wedlock be not loss but gain.
Madeleine L’Engle
Prayer
For all those injured physically,
psychologically, emotionally, financially by the earthquake
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 7 JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS
Where are you now, God?
I am the father who must now parent alone.
I am the children who grieve for their mother.
I am the compassion which unites them.
Did You Know?
Did you know
where you were going on Tuesday,
in the car, along the corridor and on to the bed?
Did you know
the world stopped in hearts and homes in places
far from you
and that the trees of the forest became still?
Did you know
the branches of the kauri dripped with tears,
the rimu hung its head in grief
and the kahikatea shook in disbelief?
Did you know
how you inspired us
with tales from the farm and pictures in the sand?
Did you know
how much your help meant –collecting plants,
baiting a hook or making magic through a microscope?
Did you know
as the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves
carried you along on a tide of tears,
that your spirit was lifted to the treetops?
Did you know
that your memory is raw in our –
your hands and face still vivid in our minds?
Did you know
we still look back with thanks
for all that you were, to each of us
in different ways?
Did you know
we miss you?
Rod MacLeod
Prayer
For all those who now carry unexpected burdens.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I am the father who must now parent alone.
I am the children who grieve for their mother.
I am the compassion which unites them.
Did You Know?
Did you know
where you were going on Tuesday,
in the car, along the corridor and on to the bed?
Did you know
the world stopped in hearts and homes in places
far from you
and that the trees of the forest became still?
Did you know
the branches of the kauri dripped with tears,
the rimu hung its head in grief
and the kahikatea shook in disbelief?
Did you know
how you inspired us
with tales from the farm and pictures in the sand?
Did you know
how much your help meant –collecting plants,
baiting a hook or making magic through a microscope?
Did you know
as the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves
carried you along on a tide of tears,
that your spirit was lifted to the treetops?
Did you know
that your memory is raw in our –
your hands and face still vivid in our minds?
Did you know
we still look back with thanks
for all that you were, to each of us
in different ways?
Did you know
we miss you?
Rod MacLeod
Prayer
For all those who now carry unexpected burdens.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 8 JESUS IS HELPED BY SIMON TO CARRY HIS CROSS
Where are you now, God?
I am the ten thousand students mobilised to help the Civil Defence.
I am the firemen carrying a stretcher.
I am the Urban Search and Rescue teams bravely looking where you cannot.
I am the stranger embracing you.
I am the housebound pensioner praying for you.
Vulnerable
Vulnerable we are, like an infant.
We need each others care
or we will
suffer.
Daniel Ladinski
Prayer
For all those who willingly helped another, friend or stranger
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
I am the ten thousand students mobilised to help the Civil Defence.
I am the firemen carrying a stretcher.
I am the Urban Search and Rescue teams bravely looking where you cannot.
I am the stranger embracing you.
I am the housebound pensioner praying for you.
Vulnerable
Vulnerable we are, like an infant.
We need each others care
or we will
suffer.
Daniel Ladinski
Prayer
For all those who willingly helped another, friend or stranger
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
STATION 9 JESUS MEETS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM
Where are you now, God?
I wrapped a blanket around your shoulders.
I gave you a cup of tea.
I cried with you.
I held you.
In the godforsaken, obscene quicksand of life,
there is a deafening alleluia
rising from the souls of those who weep,
and of those who weep with those who weep.
If you watch, you will see
the hand of God
putting the stars back in their skies
one by one.
Ann Weems
Prayer
For all the comforters, all the nurturers, all the enablers
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I wrapped a blanket around your shoulders.
I gave you a cup of tea.
I cried with you.
I held you.
In the godforsaken, obscene quicksand of life,
there is a deafening alleluia
rising from the souls of those who weep,
and of those who weep with those who weep.
If you watch, you will see
the hand of God
putting the stars back in their skies
one by one.
Ann Weems
Prayer
For all the comforters, all the nurturers, all the enablers
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 10 JESUS IS CRUCIFIED
Where are you now, God?
I am the soul of the family now changed forever.
I am the man without a livelihood.
I am the soul of the beloved buildings destroyed.
Hope
You spoke of hope
how we must identify with it –
be it for an unbelieving world.
Can you tell me how to live
that hope in Christchurch?
Can you bring that hope out of
the pulpit and explain it
so that those without money, without homes,
without jobs, without power, without purpose can understand?
Can you tell me what hope there is
for the old folks too frightened to walk to the shops,
for men and women whose jobs
have gone – and with them their dignity.
I read, long ago, that only a
suffering Christ makes sense.
Today the suffering in Christchurch
is around me and in me
and a triumphant risen Christ is offensive,
for Christchurch is an eternal Good Friday
and even Jesus broke down on the cross.
We are not ready for hope – not yet-
and some of us are not sure that we
will recognise it when it comes.
Ruth Burgess
Prayer
For all that is broken
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I am the soul of the family now changed forever.
I am the man without a livelihood.
I am the soul of the beloved buildings destroyed.
Hope
You spoke of hope
how we must identify with it –
be it for an unbelieving world.
Can you tell me how to live
that hope in Christchurch?
Can you bring that hope out of
the pulpit and explain it
so that those without money, without homes,
without jobs, without power, without purpose can understand?
Can you tell me what hope there is
for the old folks too frightened to walk to the shops,
for men and women whose jobs
have gone – and with them their dignity.
I read, long ago, that only a
suffering Christ makes sense.
Today the suffering in Christchurch
is around me and in me
and a triumphant risen Christ is offensive,
for Christchurch is an eternal Good Friday
and even Jesus broke down on the cross.
We are not ready for hope – not yet-
and some of us are not sure that we
will recognise it when it comes.
Ruth Burgess
Prayer
For all that is broken
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 11
JESUS PROMISES THE KINGDOM TO THE REPENTENT THIEF
Where are you now, God?
I was there when disaster showed a different way.
I was there when disaster revealed the way of compassion.
I was there when disaster revealed the way of courage.
I was revealed.
I am the Way.
The darkness exists to serve the light.
Joy Cowley
Prayer
For all those who can see the light
and for all those who can only see the shadow.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
I was there when disaster showed a different way.
I was there when disaster revealed the way of compassion.
I was there when disaster revealed the way of courage.
I was revealed.
I am the Way.
The darkness exists to serve the light.
Joy Cowley
Prayer
For all those who can see the light
and for all those who can only see the shadow.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
STATION 12 JESUS ENTRUSTS MARY AND JOHN TO EACH OTHER
Where are you now, God?
I am in your arms.
I am carrying you.
The Warmth of Love
May we take time to look around us at this
beautiful world
and to see the touch of your hand.
in friend and neighbour, in plant and
tree, in sky and sea;
And may we find the community that will
refresh us with the warmth of your love
and then ...
restored to life may we reach out to others
with that same love.
Garth Hewitt
Prayer
For all those who are entrusted with the care of
the orphaned, the widowed, the grieving, the traumatised
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I am in your arms.
I am carrying you.
The Warmth of Love
May we take time to look around us at this
beautiful world
and to see the touch of your hand.
in friend and neighbour, in plant and
tree, in sky and sea;
And may we find the community that will
refresh us with the warmth of your love
and then ...
restored to life may we reach out to others
with that same love.
Garth Hewitt
Prayer
For all those who are entrusted with the care of
the orphaned, the widowed, the grieving, the traumatised
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 13 JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS
Where are you now, God?
I lie in a temporary morgue.
I lie under rocks.
I lie in the ruins of a building.
See in me the face of God.
He tangi
Ra te haeata
Takiri ana
Ki Tauwhara ra;
Pae tauarai ki a koe
E amo e aroha nei au
Waiho ea mata,
Kia mihi au –
Kia roa te mihinga
Ka tuku tenei
Ki te tai pouri
Ki taku makau mate.
Te Uira
A lament
The first light of dawn
Has touched the high ridge
Of Tauwhara which blocks you
From my love;
Remain there, on the edge
Of my sight, let me weep
Long for you, grieve
Until I go down
To the dark shore
Where you wait,
My love.
Te Uira, translated by Richard Taylor
Prayer
For all those who have died in the earthquake.
For all those who love them and will miss them.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I lie in a temporary morgue.
I lie under rocks.
I lie in the ruins of a building.
See in me the face of God.
He tangi
Ra te haeata
Takiri ana
Ki Tauwhara ra;
Pae tauarai ki a koe
E amo e aroha nei au
Waiho ea mata,
Kia mihi au –
Kia roa te mihinga
Ka tuku tenei
Ki te tai pouri
Ki taku makau mate.
Te Uira
A lament
The first light of dawn
Has touched the high ridge
Of Tauwhara which blocks you
From my love;
Remain there, on the edge
Of my sight, let me weep
Long for you, grieve
Until I go down
To the dark shore
Where you wait,
My love.
Te Uira, translated by Richard Taylor
Prayer
For all those who have died in the earthquake.
For all those who love them and will miss them.
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
STATION 14 JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB
Where are you now, God?
I am lying there, in the dark.
I am lying there in the silence.
Your tears anoint me.
Your prayers rise up as incense and set me free.
I am ready to walk into the light.
Crossing XVII
Pick up this life of mine from the dust.
Keep it under your eyes,
in the palm of your right hand.
Hold it up to the light,
hide it under the shadow of death;
Keep it in the casket of the night with your stars,
and then in the morning
let it find itself among flowers that blossom in worship.
Rabindranth Tagore
Prayer
For all those who are waiting
For all those who are longing for the light
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
I am lying there, in the dark.
I am lying there in the silence.
Your tears anoint me.
Your prayers rise up as incense and set me free.
I am ready to walk into the light.
Crossing XVII
Pick up this life of mine from the dust.
Keep it under your eyes,
in the palm of your right hand.
Hold it up to the light,
hide it under the shadow of death;
Keep it in the casket of the night with your stars,
and then in the morning
let it find itself among flowers that blossom in worship.
Rabindranth Tagore
Prayer
For all those who are waiting
For all those who are longing for the light
God in your mercy
Hear our prayer
POSTLUDE
Starting Over – Fighting Back
And so we must begin to live again,
We of damaged bodies
And assaulted minds.
Starting from scratch with the rubble of our lives
And picking up the dust
Of dreams once dreamt.
And we stand there, naked in our vulnerability,
Proud of starting over, fighting back,
But full of weak humility
At the awesomeness of the task.
We, without a future,
Safe, defined, delivered
Now salute you God.
Knowing that nothing is safe,
Secure, inviolable here.
Except you,
And even that eludes our minds at times.
And we hate you
As we love you,
And our anger is as strong
As our pain,
Our grief is deep as oceans,
And our need as great as mountains.
So, as we take our first steps forward into the
abyss of the future,
We would pray for
Courage to go places for the first time
And just be there.
Courage to become what we have
Not been before
And accept it,
And bravery to look deep
Within our souls to find new ways.
We did not want it easy God,
But we did not contemplate
That it would be quite this hard,
This long, this lonely.
So, if we are to be turned inside out,
And upside down,
With even our pockets shaken,
Just to check what’s rattling
And left behind,
We pray that you will keep faith with us,
And we with you,
Holding hands as we weep,
Giving strength to continue,
And showing beacons
Along the way
To becoming new.
We are not fighting you God,
Even if it feels like it,
But we need your help and company,
As we struggle on.
Fighting back
And starting over.
Anna McKenzie
Prayer
And, now, may each of you
Go from this place with God at your right hand,
Go from this place with the Christ of courage,
Go with Spirit, enough for the rest of your life.
POSTSCRIPT ...
The Christchurch Stations of the Cross were first published in the Marist Messenger in April, 2011.
Later that year,
The Christchurch Stations of the Cross were awarded
'Best Devotional Article Applying Faith to Life'
by the Australasian Catholic Press Association.
The Christchurch Stations of the Cross were first published in the Marist Messenger in April, 2011.
Later that year,
The Christchurch Stations of the Cross were awarded
'Best Devotional Article Applying Faith to Life'
by the Australasian Catholic Press Association.
