Stations of the Cross a meditation

Stations of the Cross a reflection by (Mrs. Alice Desmond) Mary Dominic, OP

My thought is to console us in our fears, anxiety and pain in dealing with the Covid-19 Virus. So, let us draw closer to the cross and unite our sufferings to Jesus in his walk to Calvary, using a meditation of the 3^rd and 4^th Stations of the Cross.
Ms. Alice Desmond, O.P.
Vice President of the Rose Hawthorne Fraternity
March 2020

• Stations 1 and 2
  
  • First Station: Jesus is condemned to death.
    
    From the Liturgy of the Hours
    Reading from Isaiah 53; 11b-12
    "Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked:
    
    Think dear souls of the innocence of Christ condemned to death like a common criminal.
    We too, though innocent, have been given a sentence, the daily Mass has been taken form
    us. We are sorrowful and without understanding, how could this be?
    Let us unite our unjust circumstance with Christ when he was told he was guilty.
    Our pain will never compare to Christ. Though innocent, He was condemned to death.
    
    Psalm 27:3
    Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart would not fear.
    Though war break out against me
    even then I would trust.
    
    Second Station: Jesus carries His cross
    From the Liturgy of the Hours:
    Canticle of Zechariah Ant:
    If anyone wishes to be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross. and follow me.
    
    Jesus is given the heavy cross to carry. We enter the cross of the virus, which is heaped upon us,
    without our doing anything to deserve the punishment. We isolate in our homes, watch the Mass and other religious practices on the internet, so we have our comforts. Jesus had none. Let us unite ourselves and our sufferings during this Lent and every day with the isolation and loneliness Jesus endured in the carrying of his cross.
    
    Psalm 38: 10
    O lord you know all. my longings.
    my groans are not hidden from you
    I cry aloud in anguish of heart.
    

 

• Stations 3 and 4
  

  • "Understand then, the Lord your God is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant to the thousandth generation toward those who Love him and keep his commandments" Deuteronomy 7:9 

    Third Station: Jesus falls the first time
    In His ears are the noise of the world and the brutality of the soldiers, the overwhelming weight of the cross and so He falls. He has chosen through His Love for us to bear the cross; He doesn't say a word.

    We too hear the sounds of the world, and we are confused. We don't know how long we will have to suffer. As we are concerned with ourselves, some of us are wondering if we are going to escape this cross and want it to end in a hurry. 

    Let us unite our fears and concern to Jesus. Let’s ask him to grant us the grace to endure all that will be asked of us in the days to come, and to willing accept our suffering to make up for our sins which have caused his painful fall.....

     

    Forth Station: Jesus meets his blessed Mother, Mary
    Mary suffered with her son on the road to Calvary. She was more than someone in the crowd such as Veronica. Mary felt all the pain of the Suffering Jesus in her own heart, as well as, all the Love for the human race that her son was dying for. On the road to Calvary, Mary became co-Redemptrix.

     We pray for our family to be spared, so we unite ourselves to the hearts of Jesus and Mary. We ask for the grace to willingly endure this cross (if asked), to make up for our sins.

    From the Psalm of the day,
    "Give heed, O lord and
    attend to the sound of my voice....
    in the day of distress, I will call
    and surely you will reply.
    Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord;
    nor work to compare with yours. Psalm 86

     

• Stations 5 and 6
  

  • Friday:  Psalm 51

    Have mercy on me, God in your kindness.
    In your compassion blot out my offense
    O wash me more and more from my guilt
    and cleanse megrim my sin.

     

    Fifth Station: Simeon helps Jesus carry the cross.

    Simeon taken from the crowd, not wanting to be involved. Certainly, not wanting to carry the cross; and embarrassed to be mistaken for a criminal. Not to mention having to leave his child in the crowd with strangers. But the soldiers, seeing Jesus’ inability to carry the cross after the scourging and heavy blood loss, pulled Simeon from the crowd.

    We too have been taken from our daily lives and made to bear a cross not of our own choosing. We like Simeon want to go back to just being a bystander, and choosing what we want to do for Lent, not being forced to do things we don't want to do. We want our own ways of spending this Lenten season: we want to go to Mass, make our own sacrifice; help who we like to help. It is foreign to us to be in this situation.  We want to have our own way of observing Lent. What kind of Simeon are we going to be? Will we step forward and with joy kiss the cross and be willing to suffer all that Jesus is asking of us this Lent? Or will we grumble and complain and want our own way of observing lent doing the sacrifices of our own choosing and complaining about the things we are deprived of. I wonder what happened when Simeon was tossed back into the crowd, was he changed, did he realize he missed a golden opportunity; did he regret not doing a better job of helping a stranger in need?  We too, when this is over, will regret not accepting the cross lovingly, thus, not having looked for the opportunities around us that were not of our own choosing, but God's?  Or like Simeon will we let the cross fall heavier on Christ?

     

    Sixth Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

    Veronica also in the crowd, but she is full of compassion. On seeing one suffering, she rushed forward to help Jesus by wiping his dusty, bloody face.  She was not afraid to go immediately to help someone; forgetting herself and that she might be arrested, as Jesus was a criminal.  She like Simeon did not know who she helped. We too, may never know who we are helping. But the importance is in the selfless act. Jesus rewarded Veronica with an image of himself which is still with us.  When we see and contemplate Veronica's veil, it is a reminder forever of a totally selfless act. On the lonely road to Calvary someone cared.

    From our Liturgy of the Hours today in a sermon by Pope Gregory the great. ... earth do not cover my blood, do not let my cry find a hiding place in you ...

     

• Stations 7 and 8
  

  • Today’s reading form the Liturgy of the Hours by Pope Leo the Great.
    He who does not love does not know God for God is love. The faithful should look into themselves and make a true judgment on their attitudes of mind and heart. These days of lent provide a special encouragement for works of charity. His gain will be the greatest when he keeps back least for himself."

    Reading Joel 2: 13-13
    Return to me with your whole heart with fasting and weeping, and mourning ...

    The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time:
    This Station represents the journey we are facing with the virus and sometimes we are very tired, even to the point of falling; it is difficult to rise again and face each new challenge the day brings. So, we can unite ourselves to Jesus who also was overwhelmed and fell beneath the weight of the cross. We can accept our sufferings, pick ourselves up, and go on clinging to the fallen Christ. 

    Canticle Daniel "For we have sinned and transgressed by departing from you, and have done every kind of evil."

     

    The Eight Station: Jesus Speaks to the Daughters of Jerusalem

    In the midst of Jesus's suffering he looked into the crowd and saw those who wept for him. So he spoke to them -His message transcends time, He is speaking directly to us. "Do not weep for me. He knew there would be so many of us who would suffer over members of their families who have turned from the faith. He knew there would be times when a pagan society would return. He was showing us he was willing to suffer for those who go astray. He joined with us who suffer and pray for our families in order to bring them back to the faith. He saw the trials of our day and the punishment that would come upon us and our children. In the midst of his suffering he spoke to us.  Let us cling to Jesus in all our trials for he is with us. 

     Lord who is man that you care for him, mortal man that you keep him in mind…” Psalm 144

• Stations 9 and 10
  

  • Nineth Station: Jesus falls the third time
    From the Liturgy of the Hours: by Saint Gregory Nazianzen, bishop
    "We must sacrifice ourselves to God, accepting all that happens to us for the sake of honoring His blood by shedding our own.  We must be ready to be crucified..."

     Do we see ourselves in this last fall? Are we overwhelmed by the shouts of the world, the dire reports on the news? Are we thinking of how much we love others and are willing to give all to those we love? That was Christ, in the dirt being dragged along to Calvary, giving His all for us. Let us unite our isolation and the suffering of these strange times we live into Christ in the third fall.  

     Canticle from Exodus. My strength and my courage is the Lord...

      

    Tenth Station: Jesus is stripped of his garments
    From the liturgy of the Hours by St. Augustine. bishop
    The passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience. Think dear souls of my shame in seeing myself thus exposed to the gaze of the mob… what physical

    Agony, what confusion for my soul." Sr. Joseph Menendez, from the Way of Divine Love 

    We have been stripped of so much this lent, as our usual way of life has been taken from us. We are feeling the pain of withdrawal, anxious to have our life back. 

    Canticle Sarah. 36.1-5,10 -13
    As we cry out come to our aid, O God of the universe,
    And put all the nations in dread of you.
    Give new signs and work new wonders
    So that we might inherit the land as of old.

     

• Stations 11 and 12
  

  • Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross 

    Liturgy of the hours by St. Augustine, bishop
    "Dear Brethren, the Lord has marked out for us the fullness of love that we ought to have each for the other. No man has greater love than the man who lays down his life for his friends.

     Hear the first sound of the hammer, that fixes my right hand deep into the earth it resounds; listen again they fashion my left hand, the very heavens tremble, the angels fall prostrate...they pierce my feet and my blood is poured forth upon the ground.  The earth trembles...there is silence in heaven... God is nailed to the cross."  Sr. Joseph Memdendez from The Way of Divine Love

     We unite our Holy Week trial of separation from our beloved church with the crucified Jesus. He knows our desire to be close to Him especially now. He will bring Joy to us in three days that is the promise He made to us.

     It is good to be afflicted, to learn your will... Psalm 119.

     

    Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
    From the Liturgy of the Hours. Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
    The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out blood and water.  Beloved do not pass over this misery without thought Christ unceasingly does nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.

     Let us offer the pain of not receiving Jesus sacramentally into our hearts on Holy Thursday with Jesus dying on the cross for us.

     Psalm 22 2-23

    Like water I am poured out, disjointed all my bones. O lord, do not leave me alone my strength, make haste to help me! 

• Stations 13 and 14
  

  • Thirteenth Station: Jesus is taken down from the cross

     From the Liturgy of the Hours: Hebrews 9:11-28

    "Just as it is appointed that men die once and after death to be judged, so Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many; he will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

     We see the flowers and trees bursting forth into bloom and, we too, are anxious to come out of our isolation, the virus has caused. We unite our desires to the time when Jesus slept in the tomb and we patiently await the time when we will be free again.

     Psalm 64

    Hear my voice, O God as I complain,
    guard my life from the dread of the foe.
    The just will rejoice in the Lord
    and fly to him for refuge.
    All the upright hearts will glory.  

     

    Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb.

     Something strange has happened -there is a great silence in earth, today a great silence of stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is Asleep. He has gone to search for our first parents and for the lost sheep, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives. The bridal chamber is adored the banquet is ready. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.
    We are hearing some good news some medicine is helping people to recover. We hear stories of bravery and courage of those who are laying down their lives for others. Our poor hearts are encouraged as we walk away for the tomb, our hearts have been ready to welcome the risen Christ with more Joy than we have ever known.

     Canticle of Isaiah 38: 10 -14. 17-20

    Like a swallow I utter shrill cries; I moan like a dove. The Lord is our Savior; we shall sing to stringed instruments in the house of the Lord all the days of our life.

     Conclusion:  There is nothing that faith does not penetrate and surmount. It passes beyond all darkness, and no matter how deep the shadows, it passes through them to the truth which is always firmly embraces form which it is never separated.