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  • Bisley Benefice

Stations of the Cross XI and XII – 19th March

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed

the world.


I love you, Lord Jesus, my love, above all things. I repent with my whole heart for having

offended you. Never permit me to separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love

you always and then do with me as you will.


XI Jesus is nailed to the cross


We remember the cross of Jesus

Arms out-stretched, hands nailed – these are the signs of the perpetual welcome that our redeeming Lord has for sinners. Huge iron nails are hammered through his wrists and through his ankles. Iron through human flesh, the flesh must yield, there is no defence. Jesus, nailed to the cross, cannot move. The hand that has wiped blindness from the eyes; the hand that opened the seal of deafness, the hand that touched a heart, cured a leper; the hand that blessed children and many others; the carpenter’s hand is joined to the wood again. As the cross is put in place, he hangs there between us and God, a blood-stained victim for love. We adore you, O Christ …


We name the crosses of today: We too are nailed to the cross of Jesus in the circumstances of our lives and we can either resist or accept it lovingly. When we freely accept it, we die and rise again with him to the life he has won for us, healed and forgiven. Jesus continues to be crucified in the people who die of hunger in our world. He is crucified in all who are maimed, damaged and displaced because of war. He is crucified in all who are marginalised in our society because of their race, sexuality or gender. He is crucified in those who are abused physically, sexually or emotionally. He is crucified in those who are trafficked and enslaved. He is crucified in the exploitation of the earth and its resources.


We Pray: Jesus, we pray on behalf of those who cannot reach out to you at this moment. We pray for all victims of violence; those who suffer it and those who inflict it. We pray especially for children, for the elderly and those too vulnerable to defend themselves. May victims of cruelty and oppression know that you are always with them. Jesus, have mercy on us and forgive us.. I love you, Lord Jesus ….


XII Jesus dies on the cross


We remember the cross of Jesus

As the life of Jesus ebbs away his words are not of condemnation or of pity for himself, but of forgiveness; ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do’. In the midst of his anguish and suffering Jesus calls upon his Father to forgive those who are putting him to death. This is the real challenge of the cross, forgiveness even of those who hurt us most. We adore you you, O Christ …


We name the crosses of today: There is much to seek forgiveness for in our world today: hunger, poverty, violence, abuse, war, neglect, corruption, the list seems endless. As Jesus dies on the cross, he challenges us to love our enemies, to let go of hurt, to ask for forgiveness and - when we cannot find it in our hearts to forgive - to ask God to do it for us. St Paul wrote it is almost unthinkable that one person should die for another but, when it happens, it shows an unspeakable and almost unimaginable loving; there is no greater love.


We Pray: Let us stand with those who watched and prayed while Jesus breathed his last. As we cannot measure love, so we cannot dilute this ultimate act of love and forgiveness with words. Let our love span the silence. Lord - let our love speak your praise. I love you, Lord Jesus…

 

11. St Andrews, Holt. 12. St Mary of All Angels, Bisley

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