THE WAY OF THE CROSS: THE SEVENTH STATION - JESUS FALLS A SECOND TIME
People have heavy crosses
to bear in their lives,
crosses of illness, grief, sadness,
regret and hurt.
The Stations of the Cross point us
towards a God who suffers with us,
a God who has not abandoned us,
a God who is with us;
a God who became incarnate
of the Virgin Mary
and who dwelt among us.
They also point us toward a God who has the power to transform, power which can bring good out of evil.
Stretched to breaking point by His awful scourging, bowed under the weight of the cross, worn out by the abandonment of His friends, Jesus stumbles again
All around us people are overburdened by the crosses they carry; they struggle and sometimes fall.
There are those who have lost their jobs and feel that they have little hope of finding another, those who live with the prospect of unemployment, and those who struggle to keep others in work. There are those who suffer because of failures in our financial, health and political systems.
Jesus is with each one of us however we fall and there He chooses to love and save us.
The second fall recognizes Jesus’ experience of psychological and emotional suffering.
This time He must have feared that He could not get up again; that it was hopeless. But Jesus shows complete trust in the Father’s care and plan for Him despite public humiliation and the apparent failure of His earthly mission.
Hope often arises in situations that are overwhelming.
In terminal illness there is first a hope for cure or that the doctors were wrong. But there is an ambiguity in hope. What should we hope for?
There can be a ‘tyranny of hope”
which forces us to look for any option
that would change the future
rather than to accept the present reality.
PRAYER FOR WHEN I FEEL I AM FAILING
Jesus, you stumbled and fell.
You lost strength and became tired.
give us the strength we need
to finish our work as well as we can,
and show your love to others.
PRAYER FOR INNER PEACE
Your life in me brings stillness to my turmoil.
Your life in me brings clarity to my confusion.
Your life in me brings wisdom to my worry.
Your life in me brings contentment to my striving.
You life in me brings gentleness to my anger.
Your life in me brings patience to my panic.
Your life in me brings hope to my suffering.
Your life in me brings faith to my frustration.
Your life in me brings such heavenly treasure into my heart
And enables me to navigate a peaceful path.
In you I find strength for my journey.
