Jesus stands in the most
human of places. He has already experienced profound solidarity with so
many on this earth, by being beaten and tortured. Now he is wrongfully
condemned to punishment by death. His commitment to entering our lives
completely begins its final steps. He has said "yes" to God and
placed his life in God's hands. We follow him in this final surrender,
and contemplate with reverence each place along the way, as he is broken and
given for us.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Second
Station: Jesus Carries His Cross.
Jesus is made to carry
the cross on which he will die. It represents the weight of all our
crosses. What he must have felt as he first took it upon his
shoulders! With each step he enters more deeply into our human
experience. He walks in the path of human misery and suffering, and
experiences its crushing weight.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Third Station:
Jesus Falls the First Time.
The weight is
unbearable. Jesus falls under it. How could he enter our lives
completely without surrendering to the crushing weight of the life of so many
on this earth! He lays on the ground and knows the experience of weakness
beneath unfair burdens. He feels the powerlessness of wondering if he
will ever be able to continue. He is pulled up and made to continue.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Fourth
Station: Jesus Meets His Mother.
Jesus' path takes him to
a powerful source of his strength to continue. All his life, his mother
had taught him the meaning of the words, "Behold, the handmaid of the
Lord." Now they look into each other's eyes. How
pierced-through her heart must be! How pained he must be to see her
tears! Now, her grace-filled smile blesses his mission and stirs his
heart to its depth. Love and trust in God bind them together.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Fifth Station:
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross.
Jesus even experiences
our struggle to receive help. He is made to experience the poverty of not
being able to carry his burden alone. He enters into the experience of
all who must depend upon others to survive. He is deprived of the
satisfaction of carrying this burden on his own.
We adore you, O Christ, and
we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Sixth Station:
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus.
Jesus' journey is at
times brutal. He has entered into the terrible experiences of rejection
and injustice. He has been whipped and beaten. His face shows the signs
of his solidarity with all who have ever suffered injustice and vile, abusive
treatment. He encounters a compassionate, loving disciple who wipes the
vulgar spit and mocking blood from his face. On her veil, she discovers
the image of his face - his gift to her. And, for us to contemplate
forever.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Seventh
Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time.
Even with help, Jesus
stumbles and falls to the ground. In deep exhaustion he stares at the
earth beneath him. "Remember, you are dust and to dust you will
return." He has seen death before. Now he can feel the
profound weakness of disability and disease and aging itself, there on his
knees, under the weight of his cross.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Eighth
Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem.
The women of Jerusalem,
and their children, come out to comfort and thank him. They had seen his
compassion and welcomed his words of healing and freedom. He had broken
all kinds of social and religious conventions to connect with them. Now
they are here to support him. He feels their grief. He suffers,
knowing he can't remain to help them more in this life. He knows the
mystery of facing the separation of death.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Ninth Station:
Jesus Falls the Third Time.
This last fall is
devastating. Jesus can barely proceed to the end. Summoning all
this remaining strength, supported by his inner trust in God, Jesus collapses
under the weight of the cross. His executioners look at him as a broken
man, pathetic yet paying a price he deserves. They help him up so he can
make it up the hill of crucifixion.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Tenth Station:
Jesus is Stripped.
Part of the indignity is
to be crucified naked. Jesus is completely stripped of any pride The
wounds on his back are torn open again. He experiences the ultimate
vulnerability of the defenseless. No shield or security protects him. As
they stare at him, his eyes turn to heaven.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Eleventh
Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross.
Huge nails are hammered
through his hands and feet to fix him on the cross. He is bleeding much
more seriously now. As the cross is lifted up, the weight of his life
hangs on those nails. Every time he struggles to pull himself up to
breathe, his ability to cling to life slips away.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Twelfth
Station: Jesus Dies On The Cross.
Between two criminals, a
mocking title above his head, with only Mary and John and Mary Magdalene to
support him, Jesus surrenders his last breath: "Into your hands I
commend my spirit."
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Thirteenth
Station: Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross.
What tender
mourning! Jesus' lifeless body lays in his mother's arms. He has
truly died. A profound sacrifice, complete.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy
cross you have redeemed the world.
The Fourteenth
Station: Jesus Is Laid In The Tomb.
They take the body of
Jesus to its resting place. The huge stone over the tomb is the final
sign of the permanence of death. In this final act of surrender, who
would have imagined this tomb would soon be empty or that Jesus would show
himself alive to his disciples, or that they would recognize him in the
breaking of bread? Oh, that our hearts might burn within us, as we
realize how he had to suffer and die so as to enter into his glory, for us.
We adore you, O Christ,
and we bless you. Because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.