Stations of the Cross

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

1:
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

Are you all finished?

Good, let's put our notes away

and return to them later.

First we want to recap

all we've learnt in the last weeks.

We'll start with a simple question:

What happens next Sunday?

Fine, that's too easy.

I'll answer myself:

Bishop Rabelais

will administer Confirmation to you.

What is Confirmation?

Confirmation is a sacrament.

What is a sacrament,

and how many are there?

The seven sacraments are the graces

God gives man through the church.

Right. Would someone list them?

Baptism,

Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation,

Marriage, Holy Orders,

and Anointing of the Sick.

And what exactly happens at Confirmation?

Maria,

I'd prefer someone else to answer.

The Holy Spirit descends.

The Pentecostal event is repeated.

Precisely.

And finally...

What does Confirmation

mean in your lives?

Which passage are we celebrating here?

The passage to adulthood.

Right. And that's what I'd like

to talk about today in our final class.

If we look back,

what did our lives begin with?

At birth?

Wrong.

- Conception.

Precisely.

Human life begins

at the moment of conception.

But we're talking about spiritual life,

and that starts when?

At baptism.

- Exactly.

It begins when original sin

is washed away by baptism,

that the love of God

may grow unfettered.

What's the next age in life?

School?

- No.

School doesn't start at baptism.

Who goes to school?

Children go to school.

Childhood! Confirmation is its end.

- Exactly.

Childhood begins at baptism.

As the child grows,

the love of God grows within him.

Then the young person

is assailed by new challenges,

and receives spiritual nourishment

in the form of the Eucharist.

At the threshold to adulthood, then,

it's important that the flame of faith

should grow into a large fire

to illuminate this dark world

so everyone can see:

This is a very special person.

Not someone who sold his soul.

This person is a warrior for Christ.

The sacrament of Confirmation

will help you in this.

It's a grace that can enable you

to show great proof of faith.

At the seminary several weeks ago,

we had a brother from Mexico as a guest.

He told us the story of the Christeros.

In the 20s the president of Mexico

attempted to eradicate the Church,

but Catholic families resisted.

Among them were children of your age,

12, 13, 14.

They've fought alongside their parents,

and were captured,

martyred and killed.

They'd received the grace of Confirmation

and the Holy Spirit gave them courage

to fight next to their parents

and die for their faith.

They were warriors for Christ,

and that's what...

you'll become at Confirmation:

warriors for Christ.

But what does that mean for you?

If you step outside,

you see people, cars and houses

but no enemies, no army,

and you may think:

How am I to be a warrior?

Where is the battle? So where is it?

At school?

- Yes, but where else?

In front of the TV?

- There, too.

Everywhere.

- And in one place in particular.

In our hearts.

- In our hearts...

where a battle

between good and evil is fought.

You look at yourself in the mirror

and think:
I look good,

my classmates will admire me.

A tempting scenario, right?

Or is it righteous to look away

and pray to Saint Mary?

Or when the radio plays a song

with an agitating rhythm,

those sounds are seductive.

They invite you to dance and sin.

They tell you:
Have fun! You live now!

Do you surrender?

Or do you remember it is bad music

tempting you to do wrong?

Be it provocative clothing,

obscene advertising,

satanic music or harmful films,

we meet dozens of temptations a day,

and each time it is a small battle

between God and his adversary, Satan.

We are warriors in that battle.

But what does a warrior need to know?

Who the enemy is.

- Precisely.

A warrior who can't tell friend

from enemy is lost.

Our enemy appears in disguise

and fights under many flags.

and even creeps into our hearts,

in the guise of temptation.

But when we pray to the Holy Spirit,

we can recognise him,

Satan.

He is our enemy.

Now that we've identified our enemy,

we should also know

what we're fighting for, right?

What does a warrior fight for, Sabine?

His country?

- Matthias?

For his king?

- Helena?

For his girlfriend, maybe?

Any other ideas?

For his family.

All of that is right.

A warrior fights for his king,

for his country and for his family.

And if we are the warriors,

who is our king?

Jesus.

- And our country?

The church.

- And our family?

I'll help you.

Jesus said:

Love God and thy neighbour as thyself.

All people.

- Exactly.

Our families is all mankind,

and even if they are our enemies,

and fight beneath Satan's flag

we must try to save their souls.

For we are special warriors:

Warriors of brotherly love.

Our neighbour is whoever is next to us,

and we fight for him,

for when the final judgement comes,

Jesus will ask how many souls we saved,

and whether it could have been more.

"See the poor sinner

in hell's torment forever?

He went to school with you.

Did you try hard enough to save him?"

How many of your classmates

read teen mags?

A couple.

- Did you tell them it's evil?

No.

- Maria...

If your friends listen to satanic music,

are you courageous

and speak up?

No.

- But now this is your duty.

You're grown up now,

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