Читать книгу Stations of the Cross Meditations for Moms - Anne Kennedy - Страница 3

“Now what?” I thought. Lent last year found me completely conflicted. Having just returned from a life-changing pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I found myself descending from that mountaintop experience into the valley of everyday life. I longed to convey the feeling of intimacy with God my fellow pilgrims and I had encountered but felt completely isolated. It didn’t help that I had given up coffee for Lent, too.

At a parish penance service, waiting for confession, I leafed through a Stations of the Cross booklet. You’ve probably seen a million of these. I felt like I was transported back to my Catholic grade school, circa 1975. There was nothing wrong with the meditations and prayers, but they were so general, so impersonal, that the connection to Christ was lost.

In frustration, I turned to a few of my pilgrim sisters with the idea of writing Meditations for Moms: real women, real dilemmas, real stories that open up the Stations of the Cross in a new way.

My intention was that we connect to Christ by seeing His struggles in our struggles. How could you use this booklet?

•Take these meditations with you to your parish this Lent for a series of miniretreats, pondering a few of these stations at a time.

•Share this booklet with friends at a weekly discussion group this Lent, and share your own mom experiences. Let these reflections challenge you to think about how Christ’s passion ties into your experience as a mom.

•Use these meditations to spark prayer time or journaling this season.

•Keep them in your car or bag for meditation in the pickup line, checkout line, or any other place moms spend a long time waiting.

Above all, realize you are not alone.

In viewing Christ’s passion through a different lens, I hope we can more fully share in His sacrifice and truly experience the joy of His resurrection at Easter.

Wishing you insight, inspiration, and Easter joy,

Anne Kennedy