大象传媒

Good morning. On several occasions when I was a parish priest, I watched some of the young children from my parish act out in the church the Stations of the Cross for their parents and the parishioners. These 'stations' recall fourteen different stops or scenes connected with Jesus' suffering and death. They are prayed during the season of Lent and especially during Holy Week. The stations traditionally begin with the condemnation of Jesus by Pontius Pilate and conclude with his burial in the tomb.

When these scenes are acted out by children they can be incredibly moving. The children sense the drama as the adult narrator reads an account of the significance of each station and the people around them kneel and pray. Seeing a child carrying a likeness of the cross and laid by their friends in a pretend tomb certainly used to make me well up with tears.

None of us wish to see the innocence and beauty of youth connected with suffering and death. We are appalled at the thought. Of course, the children knew that the story did not end with Jesus' burial and that he would soon rise from the dead and give the world hope and new life. For the adults though, watching the Stations of the Cross performed by these youngsters reminded us of the ugly reality that children do suffer, each day throughout the world; a terrible suffering from abuse, exploitation, poverty and neglect, sometimes even from people placed in a position of trust.

God the Father of mercy, we pray for all children and young people who are suffering. May your Holy Spirit move us to do all within our power to ensure that they are safeguarded and that their lives are given the opportunity to flourish. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.