Carrying: The Second Station

 A reading from the gospel of Mark.
Jesus called to the people and said, “If you want to come after me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it, and if you lose your life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, you will save it.”



We are called to love one another as Jesus loved us.


“Take up the cross and follow me,” he said.


We are called to take up the burdens of God’s people, to carry the cross as Christ did.

The response will be “Help us to love in the image of Christ.”
For the widows and widowers who bear burdens of loneliness and grief, we pray….

For justice systems that act out of self-interest, vengeance and self-righteousness to be renewed in the image of compassion and wholeness, we pray….

For single parents bearing sole responsibility for raising and supporting their children, we pray….

For those burdened with mental illness and physical illness, we pray…..

For the victims of sexual abuse struggling to heal and recover, we pray….

For the people of war torn nations, victims of terrorism, those who live with the burdens of fear, poverty and powerlessness, we pray….

For those who are weighed down by prejudice, poverty and systematic injustices, we pray….


For those whose lives are limited by the materialism and greed of corporate profiteering, we pray….

For those who are alone, lost, left out or excluded, who most need the healing power of God, we pray

We thank you, Jesus, for bearing our burdens and never leaving us alone with a weight too heavy to carry. Open our hearts and our hands that we may respond to your call. Help us to be your hands, your feet and your voice in the world. Give us the strength to love in your image. Amen.