Stations of the Cross and Lenten Dinners: Join Our Parish Community On Fridays This Lent

In Pope Francis’s 2021 Ash Wednesday address, he quoted Joel 2:12, which says, “Return to me with all your heart.” He tells us Lent is a time to return to the Lord. We can’t say we will pray later or do a good deed next week — the time is now.

“In this life, we will always have things to do and excuses to offer, but right now, brothers and sisters, right now is the time to return to God,” Pope Francis said.

Here at St. Francis Xavier, let’s use this Lent to return to the Lord with our whole hearts. One way we can do that is by attending the Lenten Stations and dinner, held each Friday in Lent, except for Good Friday. A meatless dinner is served after the praying of Stations in the Parish Hall. Various parish ministries and families prepare the meal, which is funded by free-will donations.

Praying the Stations will undoubtedly help us grow in faith, says Fr. Brian O’Brien. Stations of the Cross are prayed at 11:30 a.m., 6 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., they are prayed in Spanish.

“The Stations of the Cross devotion unites us with the suffering of Our Lord,” he says. “We walk in His footsteps and those of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

The Lenten Dinner is a parish tradition going back many years. Gina Agnew is leading the dinners this year, and she loves the opportunity for fellowship. After the separations and isolation of the pandemic, this year, the dinners will be a welcome relief. There were Stations last Lent, but no dinners. At dinner, people can see old friends and make new ones, and the children can have a little fun together.

Fr. O’Brien says we should also invite our non-Catholic friends and family to attend. It’s a short and easy way to introduce an important part of our faith. We can reflect on what our Lord experienced before His crucifixion.

“This devotion builds the faith of our people and allows us to invite others into the life of the parish,” he says.

Please join us for Stations of the Cross on the Fridays of Lent at 6 p.m., with dinner to follow, 7:30 p.m. in Spanish or 11:30 a.m.