{"id":134239,"date":"2025-04-19T03:12:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T03:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/popes-via-crucis-meditations-embrace-gods-economy-in-a-world-of-algorithms-vatican-news\/"},"modified":"2025-04-19T03:12:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T03:12:06","slug":"popes-via-crucis-meditations-embrace-gods-economy-in-a-world-of-algorithms-vatican-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/popes-via-crucis-meditations-embrace-gods-economy-in-a-world-of-algorithms-vatican-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope\u2019s Via Crucis meditations: Embrace God\u2019s economy in a world of algorithms – Vatican News"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tiziana Campisi<\/b>
A path offered to every human being\u2014a journey inward, a reckoning of conscience, pausing on Christ\u2019s sufferings on the way to Calvary. In his Via Crucis meditations, Pope Francis shows that the Way of the Cross is indeed the descent Jesus undertook \u201ctoward this world that God loves\u201d (Station II). It is also \u201ca response, an acceptance of responsibility\u201d by Christ. He who, \u201cnailed to the Cross,\u201d intercedes, placing Himself \u201cbetween conflicting parties\u201d <\/b>(Station XI), and carries them to God, for His \u201ccross tears down walls, cancels debts, quashes judgments, establishes reconciliation.\u201d Jesus, \u201cthe true Jubilee,\u201d stripped of His garments and revealed even \u201c<\/b>to those who watch Him die,\u201d looks upon them \u201cas beloved ones entrusted by the Father,\u201d showing His desire to save \u201call of us, each and every one\u201d (Station X).
Pope Francis invites us to break free from our own schemes and to understand \u201cGod\u2019s economy\u201d, which \u201cdoes not kill, discard or crush.  It is lowly, faithful to the earth\u201d\u2014and to follow the path of Jesus, that of \u201cthe Beatitudes,\u201d which \u201cIt does not crush, but cultivates, repairs and protects.\u201d (Station III). Yet it is the \u201cdivine economy\u201d (Station VII)\u2014so unlike today\u2019s economies \u201cof calculation and algorithms, of cold logic and implacable interests\u201d\u2014on which Francis dwells. For humanity, Christ accepted the cross, and its weight speaks of the breath of the Spirit, \u201c\u2018<\/b>who is Lord and gives life\u201d (Station II). We, by contrast, \u201crun out of breath from avoiding responsibility.\u201d But, the Pope urges, \u201cis to stop running away and to remain in the company of those you have given us, in the situations where you have placed us\u201d; only then do we cease \u201cto be prisoners\u201d of ourselves. What truly burdens us are \u201cselfishness\u201d and \u201cindifference.\u201d
In his introduction to the fourteen Stations, Francis writes that in Jesus\u2019 steps toward Golgotha \u201cour exodus to a new land\u201d is reenacted, for Christ \u201ccame to change the world,\u201d and we too must \u201cchange direction, see the goodness of His traces.\u201d Thus, \u201cThe Stations of the Cross is the prayer of people on the move.  It disrupts our usual routine.\u201d It is a costly way in \u201cthis world that calculates everything,\u201d where \u201cgratuitousness comes at a dear price.\u201d Yet \u201cin the gift,\u201d the Pope observes, \u201ceverything blossoms anew: a city split into factions and torn by conflict can move towards reconciliation; an arid piety can rediscover the freshness of God\u2019s promises; and a heart of stone can turn into a heart of flesh.\u201d
Jesus\u2019 sentence of death prompts reflection on \u201cdramatic interplay of our individual freedoms\u201d (Station I). From the irrevocable trust with which God places Himself \u201cin our hands,\u201d bringing a \u201choly restlessness,\u201d marvels can spring forth: \u201cfreeing the unjustly accused, discerning the complexities of situations, countering judgments that kill.\u201d Yet we remain \u201cprisoners\u201d of the roles we cling to, afraid of the inconvenience of a change in our life\u2019s direction. Often we let slip the possibility of the Way of the Cross. Christ, \u201csilently before us in every sister and brother exposed to judgment and prejudice,\u201d challenges us\u2014but a thousand reasons (\u201creligious arguments, legal quibbles,\u201d and \u201cthe so\u2011called common sense that avoids involvement in others\u2019 destinies\u201d) drag us to the side of Herod, the priests, Pilate, and the crowd. Still, Jesus does not wash His hands of it; He loves \u201cin silence.\u201d In Station XI, nail\u2011ridden, He \u201cshows us that in every circumstance there is a choice to be made\u201d\u2014the \u201camazing reality of our freedom\u201d\u2014as He attends both criminals, letting one\u2019s insults pass and welcoming the other\u2019s plea, even interceding for those who crucify Him: \u201cFather, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.\u201d
At the Third Station, Jesus \u201cfalls the first time,\u201d teaching that \u201cthe Way of the Cross is traced close to the earth: the mighty withdraw from it, yearning for heaven. Yet heaven hangs low, and we can find it even in our falls.\u201d At His second fall (Station VII), Christ shows us \u201cfall and rise again; fall and rise again,\u201d the human adventure of sin and conversion. \u201cWe hesitate, stray, become lost,\u201d yet we also experience joy\u2014\u201cthe joy of new beginnings, the joy of rebirth.\u201d Humans are \u201chandcrafted\u201d\u2014unique mixtures of grace and responsibility. Jesus, made \u201cone of us,\u201d did not fear to stumble. We, however, often hide our falls, rejecting the path Christ chose. God\u2019s economy, in which \u201cninety\u2011nine matter more than one,\u201d is inhumane: today\u2019s world is built on such logic \u201cof calculation and algorithms, of cold logic and implacable interests.\u201d The \u201cdivine economy,\u201d by contrast, \u201cis different.\u201d Turning to Christ, who falls and rises, is \u201ca change of course and a change of pace\u2014a conversion that restores joy and brings us home.\u201d
In Simon of Cyrene (Station V), returning from the fields, \u201cthey laid the cross on him,\u201d illustrating how we can stumble upon God unexpectedly. Though Simon did not ask for the cross, he bore it. Christ\u2019s yoke is \u201ceasy, and His burden is light,\u201d and He loves involving us in His work that \u201cwhich ploughs the earth so that it may be sown anew.\u201d We need that surprising lightness. Without God, toil is in vain; \u201cOn the way of the cross, the new Jerusalem is rising.\u201d
Stations IV, VI, and VIII highlight women: Mary, Veronica, and the daughters of Jerusalem. Mary\u2019s discipleship is \u201cnot a sacrifice but a continuous discovery.\u201d She, \u201cthe first disciple,\u201d shows that \u201cIn God, words are deeds, promises are realities.\u201d Veronica\u2019s veil bears Christ\u2019s face\u2014the proof of \u201cHis decision to love us to the last breath, and even beyond,\u201d for \u201clove is as strong as death.\u201d And the daughters of Jerusalem, moved to weep, are urged to weep \u201cfor themselves and their children,\u201d for our wounded coexistence, our broken world calls \u201cfor tears that are heartfelt and not merely perfunctory\u201d
At Station XIII, Joseph of Arimathea, \u201ca good and righteous man \u2026 waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God,\u201d takes Jesus\u2019 body. Christ is \u201cin the hands of someone who continues to hope, one of those who refuse to think that injustice always prevails,\u201d granting \u201cgreat responsibilities,\u201d emboldening us. Finally, at Station XIV, the Sabbath silence of Holy Saturday: \u201cTeach us how to do nothing at those times when it is asked of us only to wait.  Teach us sensitivity to the seasons of the earth.\u201d Jesus, \u201claid in the tomb,\u201d shares in our human condition, descending into the depths we fear, teaching rest, anticipation, and preparing all creation for resurrection peace.
Concluding Prayer
\u201c\u2018Laudato sì, mi\u2019 Signore\u2019\u2014\u2018Praise be to you, my Lord.\u2019 In Saint Francis of Assisi\u2019s canticle, our common home is a sister who cries out because of the harm we have inflicted on her. \u2018Fratelli tutti\u2019\u2014\u2018Brothers and sisters all,\u2019 the Pope writes, calling us to be marked by the flavour of the Gospel, \u2018He loved us,\u2019 wrote Saint Paul, \u2018to make us realise that nothing can ever \u2018separate us\u2019 from that love.\u2019
We have walked the Stations of the Cross.  We have turned towards the love from which nothing can ever separate us.  Now, as the King sleeps and a great silence descends upon all the earth, let us pray, in the words of Saint Francis, for the gift of heartfelt conversion:
\u201cMost High and glorious God, Cast your light into the darkness of my heart. Grant me right faith, firm hope, perfect charity, and profound humility. Grant me, Lord, wisdom and understanding, so that I may do your true and holy will. Amen.\u201d
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By Tiziana CampisiA path offered to every human being\u2014a journey inward, a reckoning of conscience, pausing on Christ\u2019s sufferings on the way to Calvary. In his Via Crucis meditations, Pope Francis shows that the Way of the Cross is indeed the descent Jesus undertook \u201ctoward this world that God loves\u201d (Station II). It is also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}