BRAZIL; Sr. M. Denise. On 17 February, the first Sunday of Lent, about 150 people prayed the Stations of Cross as penance, sacrifice and prayer as they gathered around the Tabor Shrine in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul state. A group of pilgrims from Argentina, who were visiting Tabor, also joined in the time of prayer.
Continuing in the tradition of the Servant of God, Deacon João Luiz Pozzobon – the saint of the “new evangelization” – who prayed the Stations of the Cross on the first Sunday of Lent – the group followed singing and reflecting on the sufferings of Christ and his Mother.
To meditate better on the sufferings of Christ and that of our brethren
The tradition to pray the Stations of the Cross on the first Sunday of Lent, beginning at the Shrine and ending at Vila Nova da Caridade [social housing project], was an initiative by João Pozzobon, but was completed in the year of his death in 1985.
He wanted the Pilgrim Mother to leave the Shrine and go to Vila Nobre da Caridade, so that we be able to meditate better on the sufferings of Christ and our brethren (words by Pozzobon when he referred to the Way of the Cross).
Real life
In this spirit of sacrifice and fraternity, the group prayed, united with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, offering prayers and meditations for him. They also especially included those who are suffering so that their pain may be soothed. Everyone offered the intense heat, the sun and the long walk.
During the walk, reflecting on the words of the Servant of God, João Pozzobon, at each station united with the pain of the Lord Jesus, they remembered those who suffered the tragedy of Santa Maria, young people, mourning families and those needing help, as well as the youth preparing for the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro. The Stations of the Cross concluded with Holy Mass in the Little Blue Chapel.
Original: Portuguese. Translation: Sarah-Leah Pimentel, Pretoria, South Africa
