Fourteenth Station - Jesus is placed in the tomb

We live in a complex world. Sometimes you see many good things and feel full of peace. That inspires your decisions and guides your actions. Filled with love, you want to just keep on sharing it. Other times, however, it is the exact opposite. As if somebody in this world wanted not only to forbid and destroy love, but even to erase its foundations.

That is what happened to the priests and the faithful in the parishes in eastern Ukraine, occupied by Russia. Before the beginning of the full-scale invasion, life sizzled with all sorts of excitements. The priests, who formed a group of friends, would travel by minibus from church to church, gathering the people of God in prayer, listening to confessions and administering the Eucharist, providing spiritual direction and consoling those who suffered and mourned. Student residences, retreat centres, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, youth centres… these were just a part of the variety of activities which lit up each day, including the darkest corners of human existence.

And then, suddenly, a day came when sirens took the place of church bells; explosions and screams of the wounded instead of chanting. Rather than children happily running off to school, one could now see tanks, destroying everything in their path…

One morning, during the celebration of Mass, Russian soldiers burst into the church and interrupted the prayer, not allowing it to proceed. The priest was hauled off to an unknown location, and the faithful were threatened, lest they return. Following hours of interrogation and beatings, faced with the most absurd accusations and humiliating abuse, the verdict was pronounced: “You have no right to live, there is no place for you in our world.” And through the silent and deserted streets of the terrified city, a black car drove him to oblivion. Since then, the people never saw their priest again. His voice no longer rings out in the church for the daily prayer: “Let us pray to the Lord for peace.”

And pain and nostalgia were all that was left in front of that church where you, Jesus, were sealed up, as in your tomb. 
 

Prayer

Jesus, your lifeless body still feels the warmth of your mother’s tender embrace. Her tears wash your cold wounds. Her gaze accompanies you until the last moment, when the stone is rolled over the entrance to your tomb. The greatest of pains pierces her heart, the pain of which the elder Simeon spoke in the temple, when she held you in her arms, as a baby (Lk 2:35).

By your side, Mary, are many families that feel the bite of despair at the suffering and death of their loved ones. Your maternal consolation and loving support in the most difficult of times give us the strength to carry on and adopt your prayer for the conversion of hearts.

Jesus, heal our world, fill it with love, peace and respect in the hearts of men. May the experience of “lying in rest” in our world be transformed into the resurrection of each fallen human life. Amen.