The Way of the Cross Continues On

by Admin · February 11, 2016

By Tony Magliano -�In his strong identification with the poor and vulnerable, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that when we meet the needs of these least brothers and sisters, we are ultimately serving him. And when we � as individuals, churches, states and nations � do not adequately meet the needs of the down-trodden, we have failed to do good to Jesus (Matthew 25:31-46).

A man sleeps on a sculpture titled “Homeless Jesus” in front of the offices of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington Sept. 16. During his visit to the U.S., Pope Francis will highlight the work of the charities, which help more than 100,000 clients annually with services including food distribution, medical and dental care, and legal assistance. (CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

With so many countless fellow human beings needlessly suffering, Jesus� own suffering continues on to this very day � in them and with them.

The First Station of the Cross: Jesus is homeless.

Hundreds of thousands of women, men and children have no place to call home. Often exposed to the harsh elements, they are literally living on our streets. We often see them, and yet we fail to see Jesus in them.

The Second Station of the Cross: Jesus is a stranger and not welcomed.

This is a universal crisis. Looking at my own country, tens of thousands of children fleeing to the U.S. from Central American drug gangs are being deported back to the violence. Millions of undocumented US workers denied legal protection are forced to live in the shadows of society.

And millions of other human beings running for their lives from terrorists� death threats are often confined to inhumane refugee camps. We fail to see Jesus in them.

The Third Station of the Cross: Jesus is poor.

Over 895 million fellow human beings throughout the world barely exist in extreme poverty, struggling to survive without adequate and safe water, food, sanitation, health care, education, employment and housing. We are not fully committed to quickly meeting their needs. We fail to see Jesus in them.

The Fourth Station of the Cross: Jesus is aborted.

Millions of unborn human beings erroneously classified by abortion proponents as �parts of a woman�s body,� or �blobs of protoplasm,� or simply �products of conception� are murdered by means of legalised abortion in many countries throughout the world.

Like other vulnerable people, the unborn are often victims of what Pope Francis calls a �throw-away culture.� We fail to see Jesus in them.

The Fifth Station: Jesus is euthanised.

Growing numbers of people who are cruelly seen as a burden � often due to serious illness � are persuaded to take their own lives with the assistance of a physician (physician-assisted suicide). Instead of providing adequate psychiatric, palliative and hospice care, society is increasingly choosing this more subtle form of euthanasia to kill various people who are hurting. We fail to see Jesus in them.

The Sixth Station: Jesus is brutalised by war.

In over two dozen countries wars and armed conflicts are destroying virtually everyone and everything in their path. So called developed nations like the US, the UK and Israel are fuelling these bloody conflicts through arms sales and weapon grants. Countless war-torn innocent children, women and men continue to be maimed and murdered. We fail to see Jesus in them.

In Catholic tradition there are 14 Stations of the Cross. I have listed here six modern versions of them. But sadly, many more could easily be added. For suffering throughout our endangered fragile planet is monumental.

Jesus is urgently calling us to see him in our suffering brothers and sisters.

Lent is the perfect time for individuals and nations to begin fasting from what Pope Francis calls a �globalisation of indifference,� and to begin feasting in the ways of Jesus: nonviolence, forgiveness, solidarity, social justice, and active compassionate love for all those who suffer.

Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist.