The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

V/. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

R/. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Once more Christ has fallen to the ground under the weight of the Cross. The crowd watches, wondering whether he will have the strength to rise again.

Saint Paul writes: “Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a Cross” (Phil 2:6-8).

The third fall seems to express just this:

the self-emptying, the kenosis of the Son of God,

his humiliation beneath the Cross.

Jesus had said to the disciples that he had come not to be served but to serve (cf. Mt 20:28).

In the Upper Room, bending low to the ground and washing their feet, he sought, as it were, to prepare them for this humiliation of his.

For Those In Need Of Motivation

For those of our readers who are struggling to give extra time to God this Lent, there are plenty of resources online that can give you the motivation you need.

Of course you can meditate on the Stations of the Cross here on Open Wide the Doors, but you can also look to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s site for some help on your Lenten journey. Life Teen has Lenten posts for young people up on their blog, and other sites offer viewers the opportunity to take short, online retreats.

Blessed John Paul II stressed that the Lenten Season is a time “to listen to the Word of God more devoutly.” If you don’t have access to the Sacred Scriptures, there are a number of sites that offer easy access to the Biblical text.  

The two most important things you can do to get out of a Lenten rut are (1) ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to move, and (2) frequent the Sacraments (yes, there’s a site for that!). 

Simply pray for the grace to turn your heart to the Lord during the remainder of this Lenten journey, and you will not be disappointed.

The Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks To The Women Of Jerusalem

V/. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

R/. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

“Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me,

but weep for yourselves and for your children.

For behold, the days are coming when they will say,

'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore,

and the breasts that never gave suck!'

Then they will begin to say to the mountains,

'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.'

For if they do this when the wood is green,

what will happen when it is dry?” (Lk 23:28-31).

These are the words of Jesus to the women of Jerusalem who were weeping with compassion for the Condemned One.

“Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” At the time it was certainly difficult to understand the meaning of these words. They contained a prophecy that would soon come to pass.

Shortly before, Jesus had wept over Jerusalem, foretelling the terrible fate that awaited the city.

Now he seems to be referring again to that fate: “Weep for your children . . .”

Weep, because these, your very children, will be witnesses and will share in the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem which “did not know the time of her visitation” (cf. Lk 19:44).

What Can We Do?

Although it is such an exciting time for the Church, most of us have to go on with our daily lives.

We work, we study, we cook and clean, wondering if the only thing we can do about the upcoming Conclave is wait patiently to see what happens.

As members of the Church’s spiritual community, we actually have a big role to play!  Patience is important, yes, but as we wait we must pray that the Cardinal electors remain open to the workings of the Holy Spirit as they prepare to choose our next Pope.

People all over the world are fasting, praying rosaries, interceding in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and offering up the Eucharist for the future of the Church. A more personal way to get involved is to adopt a specific Cardinal to pray for throughout the election process.

Let us call upon Our Lord, then, and pray that He send forth His Holy Spirit to guide His Bride the Church during this part of Her earthly pilgrimage.  

The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls The Second Time

V/. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

R/. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

“I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men, and despised by the people” (Ps 22:6).

These words of the Psalm come to mind as we see Jesus fall to the ground a second time under the Cross. Here in the dust of the earth lies the Condemned One. Crushed by the weight of his Cross. His strength drains away from him more and more. But with great effort he gets up again to continue his march.

To us sinners, what does this second fall say? More than the first one, it seems to urge us to get up, to get up again on our way of the cross.

Cyprian Norwid wrote: “Not behind us with the Saviour’s Cross, but behind the Saviour with our own Cross.” A brief saying, but one that conveys much truth. It explains how Christianity is the religion of the Cross.

The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes The Face of Jesus

V/. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

R/. Because by your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.

Veronica does not appear in the Gospels. Her name is not mentioned, even though the names of other women who accompanied Jesus do appear.

It is possible, therefore, that the name refers more to what the woman did. In fact, according to tradition, on the road to Calvary a woman pushed her way through the soldiers escorting Jesus and with a veil wiped the sweat and blood from the Lord’s face. That face remained imprinted on the veil, a faithful reflection, a “true icon.” This would be the reason for the name Veronica.

If this is so, the name which evokes the memory of what this woman did carries with it the deepest truth about her.

One day, Jesus drew the criticism of onlookers when he defended a sinful woman who had poured perfumed oil on his feet and dried them with her hair. To those who objected, he replied: “Why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me . . . In pouring this ointment on my body she has done it to prepare me for burial” (Mt 26:10, 12). These words could likewise be applied to Veronica.

Thus we see the profound eloquence of this event.

Prayer And Family

Earlier this month, the Blessed John Paul II Shrine continued its Year of Faith Lecture Series with a lively presentation on Prayer and Family, given by Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Church in Washington, D.C.

In his talk, Msgr. Pope encouraged parents to make more time for silence in their households, to focus on being “substantial witnesses to the faith” for their children, and to simply read more Scripture and Bible stories. Family structure is very important in forming a prayerful climate in the household, he said, and so he also gave listeners practical advice on how to intentionally form “structures of grace” in the home.

Msgr. Pope’s lecture is available for viewing on the Shrine’s website, as well as past lectures on the topics of Images of the Nativity: Rediscovering the Soul of the Family, and Catholic Manhood: The Man of God.

The Blessed John Paul II Shrine is hosting this lecture series to promote the Church’s Year of Faith and to advance both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI’s call for a New Evangelization. Those of our readers who will be in Washington, D.C. on April 13 should mark their calendars for the next lecture, on The Gift of Fatherhood in Faith.