At the end of the upcoming events there is a request to pray for everyone on the parish's prayer list.  This week we also ask for your special prayers for Bob Hargest, Diana Peyton, and Fr. Roddy's brother Howard.

The Way of the Cross

I am sure that most of you have at least some knowledge of The Way of the Cross, the devotion that is offered at 7PM every Friday night in Lent here in this parish. It is an extremely ancient Christian practice, probably dating back as far as 313 AD when the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan making Christianity a legal religion within the Roman Empire. The very earliest written account of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, usually dated to some time in the 380s, is that of Egeria, a woman from Gaul who describes a Maundy Thursday ceremonial procession from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At about the same time Saint Jerome, who was then living in Bethlehem, wrote about the large number of pilgrims who made their way from many parts of Europe to visit the holy places and to walk the Way of the Cross. This involved, as it does today, walking through the streets of Jerusalem and stopping to pray, sing, or meditate at a number of locations associated with the events of Good Friday. This is why the 1462 English pilgrim William Wye applied the term “stations,” derived from the Latin stare, meaning “to stand” to each of the stopping points.

Those of us who have visited Jerusalem and walked the route in modern times have not followed the same route as those earlier pilgrims, because the route, with the exception of the last five stations, has in fact been changed many times through the centuries. In fact, even the number and incidents associated with the other stations varied considerably before being settled at the fourteen that we know today.

After the Moslem conquest of Jerusalem in 637 Christians were no longer able to visit the Holy Land and the practice of placing stations either inside or outside churches became widespread throughout the West. This allowed Christians forbidden to visit Jerusalem itself to nevertheless derive spiritual value from remembering and meditating upon the events of Jesus' condemnation, torture, and execution. Eight of these fourteen stations are attested to in at least three of the Gospels, with the other six being based on traditions of great antiquity derived mostly from the Church in Jerusalem.

The first nine stations are located in the streets of Jerusalem and are as follows:

Jesus is Condemned To Death. Pontius Pilate condemns a man whom he knows to be innocent because he fears mob violence if he does not.

Jesus Takes Up His Cross. By the very fact of becoming human the divine Christ accepted the weight of all sinful humanity's sinful thoughts, words and deeds. Here He accepts the weight of His Cross, the price of our redemption from the consequences of those deeds.

Jesus Falls For The First Time. The three falls that are traditional additions to the Biblical accounts are reminders of the crushing weight that Jesus bore.

Jesus Meets His Holy Mother. The Gospels show Mary at the site of the actual Crucifixion, but this station is based purely on local tradition.

Simon of Cyrene Carries The Cross. This refers to the incident recounted in Mark 15:21: “And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.” This Rufus may well be the Rufus whom Saint Paul sends greetings in Romans 16:13.

Saint Veronica Wipes The Face of Jesus. Another tradition tells that a woman named Veronica (from the Greek veron eikon, meaning “true image” ) wiped the sweat and blood from Jesus' with her veil and found His likeness imprinted on it. A cloth purported to be the veil is of such importance to Saint Peter's Basilica that a Bernini statue of the saint is one of the four main statues on the bases of the pillars supporting the basilica's dome.

Jesus Falls For The Second Time. Another reminder of the weight of The Cross.

Jesus Meets The Women Of Jerusalem. Luke 23: 27-28 “And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Even in the hour of His utmost extremity, Jesus' concern is for others.

Jesus Falls For The Third Time. Jesus falls to the earth which will soon receive his broken body.

I will discuss the final five stations, all located within The Church of The Holy Sepulchre and all explicitly Biblical, next week.

--Father Bragg+

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal.

Please click here to donate to St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
Upcoming Events

Sunday Services, 7:45, 9:00 & 11:15 AM nursery care provided during 9 & 11:15 AM services  (for online participation for the services go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland/ ) 

Sunday school, 10:30 AM
 
Wednesday Service 12 noon  (can be seen also at https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland/)

Stations of the Cross & Lenten Suppers, Every Friday during Lent at 7:00 PM (except Good Friday) If you can provide a soup without meat and a bread supper for one or more of these Fridays, please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board in the undercroft.

Men's Group, Saturday March 19, 8:30 AM, undercroft, great breakfast, fellowship, and Bible study

Vestry meeting, Monday March 28, 7:30 PM, undercroft

Please remember to pray for everyone on the parish's prayer list that is in the attached bulletins. 
 
Your Food Donations are Greatly Needed
Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Christ House is very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar).  Current needs include the following:
• canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
• peanut butter
• jelly
• tuna
• canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
• individual fruit cups (low sugar)
• canned fruit (low sugar)
• cereal (low sugar)
• pasta (regular and gluten-free)
• instant potatoes
• Macaroni & cheese kits
• Coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar 

MaRIH Center is also in great need of our help  (crisis pregnancy center)
MaRIH Center with its all volunteer staff has been providing help to mothers-to-be and mothers in need.  If you can provide some of the items that are needed, please do so. (You can leave the donations where the food for the food bank is collected on the pew in the undercorft.)

Especially Needed
Baby wipes (an ongoing great need)
Diapers (sizes 1, 4, 5, & 6)
Similac Advanced Formula
Batteries (all sizes)

Winter Clothing  Boy/Girl (new only please)
Sizes
Clothing (0-6 months, boys and girls)
Winter jackets(24 months to 2T, boys and girls)
 
Copyright © 2022 St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625