Christ is to be found in all those
who are stripped of their dignity and demeaned by arrogance,
injustice and power says Pope Francis in his meditations for the
Via Crucis, released ahead of the Good Friday liturgy at the
Colosseum in Rome on Friday evening.
"Teach me to see you in those who suffer, for you are there, and
in those stripped of their dignity, demeaned by the arrogance,
injustice and power of those who exploit the poor amid general
indifference," prays the pope in his reflection for the ninth
Station of the Cross. .
"Now I know why you insisted on identifying yourself with those
in need," continued Francis.
"You too were imprisoned; you too were a stranger, led outside
the city to be crucified. You too were naked, stripped of your
clothes. You too were sick and wounded; on the cross, you too
were thirsty and hungered for love," he added.
The Pope also reflects on the "women of Jerusalem", who "have
no voice, yet they make their presence felt".
"Help us to recognize the dignity of those women who remained
faithful and stood by you in your passion, and those who in our
own day are exploited and endure injustice and indignity," he
says.
In his closing invocations the pope also prays for all those who
are suffering persecution and war.
"May this prayer of intercession embrace our brothers and
sisters who in so many parts of the world are suffering
persecution on account of your name; those who experience the
trauma of war, and all those who look to you for the strength to
bear their heavy crosses," says Francis.
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