Introduction: The Stations of the Cross allow us to spiritually share in the suffering Jesus experienced during the hours leading to his crucifixion.  Through their suffering, poor and vulnerable people continue to share in the suffering of Christ, throughout the world, and here on Long Island.  Sometimes, the affluence of Long Island and New York State blind us to the realities of the poverty that exist amid our plenty, often hidden from public view.  In these recesses, the Church shares Christ’s suffering by finding and serving the last, the least, the lost and the poor among us.  Each year, Lent is observed at the same time that New York State elected officials are finalizing the State budget.  Too often, hidden in the recesses of the budget are program cuts to the poor and vulnerable: reductions in health care, housing, transportation, public assistance, education.  This is why New York State’s Catholic bishops chose Lent, 2005, to issue Restoring the Covenant: A Pastoral Letter on Society’s Responsibility to the Poor and Vulnerable. “We are …in the midst of the Church’s Holy Season of Lent,” the bishops write, “when we are asked to examine our lives and to reflect on how we are living thee Gospel call to love and care for each other, and not to forget the least of these.” Further, the bishops write, in the spirit of Lent, “We know that sacrifices will be required of all” as the State sets its public policy priorities. But “a commitment to the common good requires that the benefits and burdens, the gains and sacrifices, be shared equitably, with special attention to how these decisions affect our poorest and most vulnerable people.”  Despite the great wealth of Long Island, too many of our neighbors suffer because gains and sacrifices are not shared equitably.  Each time a poor child goes without health care or quality education, or parents have to choose between paying their rent and feeding the family, Jesus suffers again.  These Stations are devoted to our poor and vulnerable neighbors who are often forgotten and neglected.  By following in the footsteps of Jesus on the way of his cross, we are standing in solidarity with the poor on Long Island who still share in his suffering. Acknowledgements:  The spiritual reflection for each Station is taken from Way of the Cross Toward Justice and Peace by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development and are published with permission of the U.S. Catholic Conference.  The Jesus Continues and Our Response sections of each Station were written by Richard Koubek, PhD., Administrator of the Public Policy Education Network, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Rockville Centre. The Our Response reflections draw from the Stations of the Cross led by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday, 1991. c. 2006 by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Rockville Centre.  Laura A. Cassell, Chief Executive Officer. Excerpts from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Psalms Copyright  © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington , DC.  Used with permission.  All rights reserved.  No portion of the New American Bible may be reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.