{"id":2787,"date":"2013-03-29T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-29T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/thousands-pray-way-of-the-cross-with-pope\/"},"modified":"2013-03-29T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-29T22:00:00","slug":"thousands-pray-way-of-the-cross-with-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/03\/thousands-pray-way-of-the-cross-with-pope\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands pray Way of the Cross with Pope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Mar 29, 2013 \/ 04:00 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis presided over the Way of the Cross at the place where early Christians were martyred, recalling the Passion of Christ.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cChristians must respond to evil with good, taking the Cross upon themselves as Jesus did,\u201d the Pope said at Rome\u2019s Coliseum on March 29.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOne word should suffice this evening, that is the Cross itself,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Cross is the word through which God has responded to evil in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThousands gathered at the Coliseum, holding candles while the 14 stations of the cross were recalled. The Coliseum was lit up with torches and a giant cross stood at the main entrance lit up by several small torches.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe word of the Cross is also the answer which Christians offer in the face of evil, the evil that continues to work in us and around us,\u201d said Pope Francis.<\/p>\n

\tA group of people of different nationalities including seminarians from China, Franciscans from the Holy Land, Brazilian youth as well as Nigerian and Lebanese religious took turns carrying a black cross.<\/p>\n

\tThey walked inside the first floor of \u00a0the Coliseum, circling it and pausing to pray each station.<\/p>\n

\tA few in the group carried giant fire torches and some wore the Lebanese flag over their shoulders.<\/p>\n

\tDuring the fourth station, a disabled woman in a wheelchair joined the group and was given the black cross to lead the group.<\/p>\n

\tThe Sistine chapel choir sang during the procession, but a Maronite choir sung the last song.<\/p>\n

\tThe stations begin with Jesus being condemned to death and end with him being laid in the tomb after he dies on the cross.<\/p>\n

\tThe meditations, written by a group of Lebanese youth, recalled violence in the Middle East, abuse of women and children, Christian division and the promotion of abortion.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope said in his remarks after the stations that Christians now continue the Passion of Christ in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLet us walk together along the Way of the Cross and let us do so carrying in our hearts this word of love and forgiveness,\u201d the Pope said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cLet us go forward waiting for the Resurrection of Jesus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis also thanked his Lebanese \u201cbrothers and sisters\u201d for their witness and for writing the \"beautiful\" reflections that were read during the prayer.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWhen Pope Benedict visited Lebanon, we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThat occasion was a sign of hope to the Middle East and to the whole world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tHe acknowleged that sometimes it seems as though God does not react to evil, \u201cas if he is silent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAnd yet God has spoken, he has replied, and his answer is the Cross of Christ, a word which is love, mercy, forgiveness,\u201d said the pontiff.<\/p>\n

\tBut it is also reveals a judgment and that God, in judging us, loves us.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIf I embrace his love then I am saved, if I refuse it, then I am condemned, not by him, but my own self, because God never condemns, he only loves and saves,\u201d remarked the Pope.<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis thanked those present at the Coliseum for taking part \u201cin these moments of deep prayer,\u201d as well as the media, the sick and the elderly.<\/p>\n

\tHe will preside over Easter Vigil Mass tomorrow at 8:30 p.m., when he will baptize four people, including a 17-year-old Vietnamese American.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope will not give a homily on Easter Sunday, but he is expected to give the Urbi et Orbi greeting in 65 languages after the 10:30 a.m. Mass.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Mar 29, 2013 \/ 04:00 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis presided over the Way of the Cross at the place where early Christians were martyred, recalling the Passion of Christ.<\/p>\n

\t“Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the C…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nThousands pray Way of the Cross with Pope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 29, 2013 \/ 04:00 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis presided over the Way of the Cross at the place where early Christians were martyred, recalling the Passion of Christ. “Christians must respond to evil with good, taking the C...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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