The Stations of the Cross in St German's and St Saviour's Churches
Traditionally during Lent our communities once a week do 'The Stations of the Cross'. In normal years this would involve a walk around the walls of our church following the images and icons of the 14 stations of the cross and reflecting on the final walk and suffering of Jesus on Good Friday. Indeed, the whole Lenten season is a walk with Christ to Golgotha and beyond. As we walk with Jesus we discover that he is actually walking with us and our prayer life deepens. Below can be found recordings of the stations of the cross from each of our churches. They express the walk with Christ slightly differently and the images are different as well. St German's 'Stations' are painted icons and the recording uses music by Cesar Franck, scripture passages and excerpts from 'The Stabat Mater'. For a simpler more meditative following then St Saviour's path dwells on the prayer of Charles de Foucauld as an expression of abandonment and surrender to God that Jesus himself would have prayed and the those looking on (including us) still pray.
Each Monday during Lent a new reflection by Margaret Silf will appear for those who want a very quiet and peaceful retreat to help them through Lent. Growing Back Better is inspired by the prayer and spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola and especially his reflective practice called 'The Examen'. For more details on the retreat and the author please clickhere. It asks for 15-20 minutes of prayer time each day and speaks to the heart not the head.
Online Lent Courses
Again, in normal years, because of our communal praying of the stations, our communities normally prefer an Easter Course rather than a Lent course. This year we have selected three possible Lent courses and an online retreat from Sacred Space for people to follow if they so choose.
Our own diocesan Lent course can be foundhere and is written and presented by our neighbouring priest, The Rev'd Trystan Hughes, from St Padarn's and the parish of Christ Church in Roath Park. Trystan has written a book to accompany this if people want to order it.
An aspect of Lent is always solidarity with the poor, marginalised and downtrodden. This coursefrom 'The Clewer Initiative' courageously 'goes there' and it is rooted in the plight of women who are victims still in our world of abuse and modern slavery and aims to shed light on this and how God hears the cry of these women in the shadows. There are films that accompany the course and some of these can be upsetting and so care must be taken.
This is a series of six reflections exploring physical aspects of the Bible lands (using videos from YouTube) that have been prepared by the Very Rev'd Canon Richard Sewell, the Dean of St George's College in Jerusalem. His course is entitled 'A River Through The Desert: A Lent Pilgrimage', and it explores the physical aspects of the Holy Land that become prominent for Christians during the season of Lent. Each week a different video can be viewed and we've embedded them below for ease of navigation. They are an immense and generous gift to the Church by Canon Robert and his colleagues. It is also worth exploring St George's website if you are planning on a pilgrimage or study visit once it is safe and viable over the next year or so.