Stations of the Cross

Every Friday during Lent the church has the Stations of the Cross. We got a babysitter because we wanted to really meditate and take in the Stations.
It is a beautiful devotion consisting of prayers and meditations before each of 14 crosses or images set up in a church or along a path commemorating the events of the Passion of Jesus. We try to go every year. It's one thing to ask our Lord to forgive us of our sins and recall that he died for us on Calvary, but it's another perspective to realize that my sins put the stripes on his back. My lying & swearing put the nails into his hands and feet. My gossiping pierced his heart. My hardened heart dug the thorns into his scalp. And I lose it when he meets his mother, weeping like a child. An innocent heart, sent to die like a thief. There is a moment of silence when he dies. Here, I bawl.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “the real aim of Lent is, above all else, to prepare men for the celebration of the death and Resurrection of Christ…the better the preparation the more effective the celebration will be. One can effectively relive the mystery only with purified mind and heart. The purpose of Lent is to provide that purification by weaning men from sin and selfishness through self-denial and prayer, by creating in them the desire to do God’s will and to make His kingdom come by making it come first of all in their hearts.”
So I implore you, take this time to humble yourself, spend time in prayer, thanking God for sending His only Begotten Son to teach us and to Jesus for accepting the Will of the Father and taking the cup that was given to him. Maybe give something up for Lent and fill it w/ something else to devote time to God.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/stations.html