WAY OF THE CROSS FOR THE BEREAVED, A

WAY OF THE CROSS FOR THE BEREAVED, A

The Way of the Cross is the story of Jesus’ agony and death. When we participate in his journey, we are provided ways to relate our life story to his own in the context of our faith. The story of Jesus’ passion and death — told and retold in every generation — becomes for us a source of consolation and hope. When we join him in his journey to the cross, we find meaning in our own times of suffering and pain. This Way of the Cross has been compiled especially for those who are suffering the recent loss of a loved one. When someone close to us passes away, it is as though some part of ourselves has died in the process. Our grief is often so painful that it defies any complete description; it is intensely personal, agonizing and inescapable. It is, in every spiritual sense of the word a crucifixion, a journey to the cross we all must make at one time or another. Praying the Way of the Cross enables us to enter into the spirit of acceptance which characterized Jesus’ embrace of the cross. Accepting our loss in the context of faith brings new meaning to our lives as we journey through this valley of tears. This is the beginning of the healing process which has its culmination in the triumph of life over death in the Kingdom of our Lord and God.

About the Author: Terence P. Curley, D.Min. is pastor of St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, MA. He has written Console One Another: A Guide for Christian Funerals (Sheed & Ward, 1993), and the Alba House titles, The Ministry of Consolation: A Parish Guide for Comforting the Bereaved, Healing the Broken-Hearted: Consoling the Grief-Stricken, Six Steps for Managing Loss, and Healing: Questions and Answers for Those Who Mourn. They are the outcome of his pastoral experience in ministering to the bereaved.