Stations of the Cross:
In Light of the Work of the Society of St Vincent De Paul
Father Gerard Bogan
ISBN 9781784697549
eISBN 9781784697068
ASIN B0BTHSVPL2
CTS Booklet D846
As of the reading of this book over the last few years I have read 340 volumes from the Catholic Truth Society. I stumbled upon them while doing research on an author, and have been hooked ever since. I have read many in the CTS Biographies and also Saints of the Isles Series, and I loved the books in the CTS Great Saints Series. I love reading about so many saints, their lives and their times. My other favourite books form the CTS are the Prayers and Devotions books which now look to be rebranded as Prayer Guides. This is the fourteenth Stations or Way of the Cross from the CTS I have read. I try and pray a Stations each day during Lent, and each Friday the rest of the year. This is one I I know I will return to often, especially having the eBook on me at all times.
The description of this booklet is:
“Walk alongside Jesus in his passion and Cross and be prepared to walk with compassion alongside our suffering brothers and sisters, with these meditations on the Way of the Cross in light of the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
This meditation on the Via Crucis – the Way of the Cross – reflects on Jesus’ suffering through the inspiration of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and the society he founded to help the poor and those in need: the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Walking alongside Jesus in his Passion and Cross prepares us to walk with compassion alongside our suffering brothers and sisters, to learn to love them as Christ loves them, and to enter more deeply into the mystery of God’s mercy revealed in his holy cross.”
The forward to this volume informs us that:
“Frédéric Ozanam was the founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. While he was a student in Paris he gathered together a few friends with the aim of responding to the needs of the poor. They decided that they would not promote any political viewpoint. Their motivation was to help people in need, regardless of who they were, or what they believed. If they were in need, then the society would respond to them. They placed their new society under the patronage of St Vincent de Paul. This work is continued today, all over the world, by the sisters and brothers of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.”
And right before the first station we are told:
“During this meditation on the Way of the Cross we will reflect on Jesus’s way of suffering through the inspiration of Frédéric Ozanam and the society he founded to help the poor and those in need, the Society of St Vincent de Paul.”
A sample station is:
“3RD STATION
Jesus falls the first time
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you.
Because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Jesus had been weakened. Then he was forced to carry the heavy cross. It was too much for his frail human body. He fell. Even now, across the centuries, you can almost hear the wails let out by his family and his followers as his battered body hit the ground. They were beginning to feel the pain of Jesus. His pain was becoming their pain. They too had begun to walk the Sorrowful Way, the Via Dolorosa.
Frédéric did not want thanks for his help to those in need. For him, it was a privilege to do the work, and seeing first-hand the sufferings of the poor was a way to strengthen his own faith. Life had to be real. Indeed, he wrote that it would help the faith of many of his fellow Catholics if they had the opportunity to see the difficulties suffered by the poor. In this way their faith would stop being one bolstered by holy pictures: they would see the suffering Christ in the reality of the lives of the poor.
I love you Jesus
my love above all things.
I repent with my whole heart
for having offended you.
Never permit me
to separate myself from you again.
Grant that I may love you always
and then do with me what you will.
Holy Mother, pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Saviour crucified.”
Personally, I like when it had the V. and R for the opening prayer and when it lists the three prayers at the end of the stations. This volume does not do either as can be seen in the sample station above. But the reflections and prayers at the end of each of the stations are excellent. Also, the titles of the stations are not capitalised either in the table of contents or on each station.
1st Station Jesus is condemned to death
2nd Station Jesus takes up his cross
3rd Station Jesus falls the first time
4th Station Jesus meets his mother
5th Station Simon helps Jesus carry the cross
6th Station Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7th Station Jesus falls the second time
8th Station The Women of Jerusalem weep for Jesus
9th Station Jesus falls the third time
10th Station Jesus is stripped of his garments
11th Station Jesus is nailed to the cross 1
2th Station Jesus dies on the cross
13th Station The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
14th Station The body of Jesus is buried in the tomb
But it does follow the traditional 14 stations as opposed to the newer 14 Biblical stations introduced as an option by Saint John Paul II. It is the same prayer at the end of each station. Therefore in some ways this is very modern Stations and in others still traditional.
I really enjoyed praying this version my first 2 times through, before I wrote this review. I know this is a version I will return to often. The meditations or reflections for each station are very well written. Another example from the 9th Station Jesus falling the third time i:s
“Does this third fall of Jesus remind us that Peter denied Jesus three times? Would Peter have been aware of that? After the Resurrection Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, and three times he answered that he did love him. What matters is not the number of times we fall into sin; what matters is the number of times we lovingly return to Jesus. Frédéric Ozanam understood that the life of faith involved both prayer and good works. Some people will devote themselves more to one area than another, but it is for all Christians to be involved to some extent with both.”
I hope the sample station and the extra reflection give you a feel for this volume. This is another excellent Stations of the Cross from the Catholic Truth Society. I am very thankful I picked it up and know it is one I will use often. A great resource I can easily recommend for church, home, school, or small group use.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
For all other reviews of Stations of the Cross click here.
Books by Father Gerard Bogan:
A Rule for the Clergy: Meditations on Ordained Pastoral Ministry
…
Other Stations of the Cross from the Catholic Truth Society:
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