Book Reviews and More: On the Way of the Cross with Saint Paul

Sunday, 23 April 2023

On the Way of the Cross with Saint Paul - Father Eugene LaVerdiere, S.S.S.

On the Way of the Cross with Saint Paul

Father Eugene LaVerdiere, S.S.S.

Emmanuel Publishing

This was a Stations of the Cross that we did during Lent in 2023 at our church on a Friday evening. It was a wonderful edition to pray corporately and it is one I will continue to pray privately. I tray and pray a Stations each Friday of the year, and I strive to pray a Stations each day during Lent. While researching this volume for this review I discovered it is one of 5 written by Father Eugene LaVerdiere, S.S.S., they are:

On the Way of the Cross with Saint Paul

The Way of the Cross According to Matthew

The Way of the Cross According to Mark

The Way of the Cross According to Luke

The Way of the Cross According to John

I do not recount encountering the works of Father Eugene prior to this devotion. But looking at the list of volumes he published I have added several to my wish list. I discovered that Father Eugene LaVerdiere, SSS, was a distinguished lecturer at Fordham University in New York and an adjunct professor at the Catholic Theological Union. He published numerous books and articles, he published works on Scripture are Luke from the New Testament Message series, The Eucharist in the New Testament and the Early Church, and The Beginning of the Gospel: Introducing the Gospel According to Mark Volumes 1 and He was also the senior editor of Emmanuel magazine. The publishing company that produces this and the other Stations composed by him. The description of this volume is:

“Paul’s very life was a real Way of the Cross, from his conversion on the Damascus road, onto Jerusalem, and finally to his Martyrdom at Rome. Paul the persecutor of Christians became Paul the persecuted. In baptism, Paul died to Christ and was buried with Christ. Let us follow with Paul as he takes up his cross and follows our Lord and Savior on the Way of the Cross.”

A sample station is:

“Third Station

Leader: Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time

Cross bearer: We adore you, 0 Christ, and we praise you.

All: Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

You may be seated.

Leader: For Paul, too, there would be many a fall. The first came in the moment of his conversion. When Christ appeared to him, as a brilliant flash from the sky, Paul fell to the ground. He stayed there until Jesus told him to get up. He was to go into the city. There he would be told what to do (Acts 9:4-6).

Saint Paul: I was on the way to Damascus, certain I was doing the right thing. I had "progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race," and "I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions" (Gal 1:14). That is when God revealed his Son to me (Gal 1:16).

A Corinthian: Paul kept reminding us of our tradition: Christ died, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve (1Cor15:3-5). A few years later, Christ appeared also to him (1 Cor 15:8). That is when God revealed his Son to him (Gal 1:16), transforming his life.

Leader: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

All: He destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ."

Ephesians 1:3a, 5

Please stand.

Leader: Let us pray.

All: Christ Jesus, obedient unto death, God greatly exalted you (Phil 2:8b-9a).

We thank you, Lord, and we bless you. Dying on a cross, you received from God the name above every name (Phil 2:8b, 9b). For this we praise you, our Lord and Savior, living and reigning for ever and ever.

Amen.”

I hope that sample station give you a feel for this version of this devotion. It was Wonderful to do this at church with a few different people playing the different roles. And it was just as wonderful to pray and reflect upon it on my own. This is another great Stations of the Cross. I look forward to tracking down other editions by Father Eugene and some of his other books. I just wish this and other volumes were available electronically, with my dual form of dyslexia I prefer eBooks so I can change the font, font and page colour to make books more accessible and easier to read.

This is a great resource for personal, family, or parish use. An excellent version of this devotion, I can easily recommend this volume.