Madrid: Via Crucis
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On Friday evening Pope Benedict led The Stations of the Cross. The service used traditional Holy Week Spanish statues for each station. The prayerful hush of the crowd was as amazing as the variety of music which accompanied the carrying of the World Youth Day Cross to each station. In his reflection following the final station, Pope Benedict reminded the pilgrims that:
The Cross was not a sign of failure, but an expression of self-giving in love that extends even to the supreme sacrifice of one’s life. The Father wanted to show his love for us through the embrace of his crucified Son: crucified out of love. The Cross, by its shape and its meaning, represents this love of both the Father and the Son for men. Here we recognize the icon of supreme love, which teaches us to love what God loves and in the way that he loves: this is the Good News that gives hope to the world.
(full text available here)
