Treasure Valley Prays

Jesus Accepts the Cross

A mother and daughter reach out to each other through a glass window at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington. The Seattle-area long-term care facility became ground zero for the West Coast's coronavirus outbreak.
A mother and daughter reach out to each other through a glass window at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington. The Seattle-area long-term care facility became ground zero for the West Coast's coronavirus outbreak.

Station Two – A mother and daughter reach out to each other through a glass window.

That perches in the soul -

Holy Parent and Loving Protector,
Heal us from the pain and trauma of separation from our loved ones. Make known the presence of your abiding love to our elders in long-term care facilities and nursing homes. By the power of your Spirit, free them from anxiety and console them with your grace. Strengthen their caregivers and encourage them when exhausted. Grant courage to family members unable to visit their elderly relatives. In the warm embrace of your love, we pray. Amen.

Who are some of the people who have been heroes in your life during the pandemic?

Think of someone you know who is a caregiver right now and connect with them in a way that shows your support for them (card, email, phone call, visit—if appropriate.)

Art by Mary Button – used with permission

The Stations of the Cross are a
series of artworks that bring people along
on a journey from Jesus’s condemnation
by Pilate to his crucified body being
removed from the cross and laid in a
tomb. Each of the artworks in Stations of
the Cross: Pandemic Hope combine an
image of tenderness and mercy in the
midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with a
moment in Jesus’s journey through
suffering to resurrection.

Underneath the station title you will find a
stanza from Emily Dickinson’s poem Hope
is the things with Feathers. Dickinson
was a deeply compassionate and
introspective writer who created beauty
out of isolation. The poetry is followed by
a prayer for the people featured in the
artwork as well as reflection prompts and
questions to consider as you write (or
record, or journal, etc.) your own personal
history of this unprecedented time.

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