Pope Francis - O Cross of Christ

On the evening of Good Friday, March 25, 2016, Pope Francis presided over the Stations of the Cross in the Coliseum in Rome. Of course, the setting is a fitting and dramatic one, since many Christians suffered martyrdom there in the days of imperial Rome. The practice of the pope leading the Good Friday Stations there was begun by Pope Benedict XIV in the mid-1700s. The tradition was abandoned for a long time, until Pope Paul VI revived it in 1964, and it has been continued by his successors. These days, the prayerful event is followed annually by millions of people around the world by television and social media. Typically, the pope invites a particular bishop or theologian to prepare original stational reflections each year.

For 2016, the honor went to Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia, Italy. As Cardinal Bassettis beautiful prayers were recited, people from various nationsincluding Syria, China, and the Central African Republiccarried a large cross from station to station. But as the praying of the Stations came to a close, the Holy Father added a new and unexpected element. As the thousands of Romans and pilgrims who were present stood, holding lighted candles, Francis recited the text of an original prayer that he had composed, titled O Cross of Christ. It prompts us to recognize Jesus cross in a series of contemporary circumstances and people, first in several negative ones and then in several that are positive. That is the prayer presented in this booklet.

With the Vaticans permission, we have included a responsory line after each stanza of the prayer, in order to make it more conducive to prayer in a group setting. We also commissioned the original art you see included on these pages, by the American artist Deborah Luke. In this useful booklet format, we recommend this prayer for use among families, youth groups, adult prayer groups, or parishes, especially during Lent. Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ!

You are the symbol of divine love and of human injustice, icon of the supreme sacrifice for love and of boundless selfishness even unto madness, instrument of death and the way of resurrection, sign of obedience and emblem of betrayal, the gallows of persecution and the banner of victory. Response: Save us, O Cross of Christ. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the faces of children, of women and people, worn out and fearful, who flee from war and violence and who often only find death and many Pilates who wash their hands. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in those filled with knowledge and not with the spirit, scholars of death and not of life, who instead of teaching mercy and life, threaten with punishment and death, and who condemn the just. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in unfaithful ministers who, instead of stripping themselves of their own vain ambitions, divest even the innocent of their dignity. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the hardened hearts of those who easily judge others, with hearts ready to condemn even to the point of stoning, without ever recognizing their own sins and faults. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in expressions of fundamentalism and in terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in those who wish to remove you from public places and exclude you from public life, in the name of a pagan laicism or that equality you yourself taught us. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the powerful and in arms dealers who feed the cauldron of war with the innocent blood of our brothers and sisters, and give their children blood-soaked bread to eat. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in traitors who, for thirty pieces of silver, would consign anyone to death. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in thieves and corrupt officials who, instead of safeguarding the common good and morals, sell themselves in the despicable marketplace of immorality. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the foolish who build warehouses to store up treasures that perish, leaving Lazarus to die of hunger at their doorsteps. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the destroyers of our common home, who by their selfishness ruin the future of coming generations. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the elderly who have been abandoned by their families, in the disabled and in children starving and cast off by our egotistical and hypocritical society. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. today too we see you in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas which have become insatiable cemeteries, reflections of our indifferent and anesthetized conscience. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ. image of love without end and way of the Resurrection, today too we see you in noble and upright persons who do good without seeking praise or admiration from others. Response: Help us to recognize you, O Cross of Christ.