The Way of the Cross by Cardinal Ratzinger

[contemplative]

Back in April I was boarding vacation cruise ship just as the Cardinals were starting the process of choosing a new pope. I really hated to get onboard when I new so much would happen while I was out on the ocean. I knew my communications would be limited and intermittent. It was still Easter weeks and I had not yet read computer generated Stations of the Crossauthored by Cardinal Ratzinger. I had this and my shorter morning and evening prayerbook folded into my suitcase. Each day I was out on the water I read a little of these prayers. I never imagined that Cardinal Ratzinger would be elected Pope! Imagine how I felt as I sat in my ship cabin when I heard from the intermitten TV transmission that Cardinal Ratzinger was elected. There I sat with this beautiful Way of the Cross…out on the dark blue ocean.
Here is a link to WAY OF THE CROSS AT THE COLOSSEUM
I hope you print it out and pray and meditate on the Way of the Cross.

 

[Agricola]

Contemplative,

I have a nice little story about Pope Benedict XVI’s Way of the Cross. My girlfriend and I decided to go on a little mini-retreat about an hour from where we live (separately, don’t worry). The morning of everything seemed to go wrong. My alarm didn’t go off, my girlfriend had realized that she had forgotten a big university assignment, and it there was rain and high winds outside. Meeting at the bus station for our trip out of town (to a parish we are both familiar with… it has outdoor stations and happens to be the former parish of our current parish priest) we find that we have missed the time that the bus was supposed to go by by about 15 minutes. Quite discouraged we make our way through the unclement weather toward the local cathedral as a trip on the next bus would mean that we would not have enough time to say the stations once we reached our destination (we were both on a tight schedule that day). Just as we were walking away from the bus stop our bus pulls up. We thought that was providential. : )

When we got to our destination the weather had worstened. I had brought Pope Benedict’s Way of the Cross wrapped in a plastic bag so we could keep it from getting wet. We started saying the Stations, reading the text through the plastic bag. When the time came to flip the page… LO AND BEHOLD! the rain and the wind ceased! This continued when we needed to flip a page after every station. The wind would stop, the rain would stop, and our pages were still dry at the end. We thought that was providential.

When we wer finished the entire Way of the Cross we started walking up to the bus stop (about 500 yds or so). The wind was incredibly fierce, and the rain was being driven into our faces so hard that it stung. As soon as we reached the bus stop the bus came up the road (15 minutes late). We thought that was providential.

We prayed a chaplet of the rosary on the way home, and talked, and tried to warm up a bit. When we got back home I had just enough time to catch my afternoon class. We thought that was providential.

We still laugh about it sometimes, and we are still enjoying God’s providence. He has blessed us individually and together, much more than we deserve. We are now considering marriage and look forward to living our lives for Him, as He lived His for us.

God bless… and provide,

Agricola